Servings: 4-6 as a main course
Ingredients
1 pound pasta – spaghetti, linguine, tagliatelle, fettuccine or similar
4 pieces of bacon, crumbled
1-1 1/2 pounds of oyster mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
3 tablespoons butter
1 Vidalia-type sweet onion, chopped fine
6-8 cloves of garlic, minced fine
Hot pepper flakes, to taste
1 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
3 large eggs, beaten well
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Chopped parsley for garnish
Tip: Replace the bacon with 2-3 more tablespoons of butter to make the dish vegetarian.
Directions
In a large skillet, sauté the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon pieces to a paper towel to cool and drain. Once cool, crumble the bacon into smaller pieces and set aside.
Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to the skillet, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook the mushrooms until brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove mushrooms with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the final 1 tablespoon of the butter to the skillet. On medium heat, sauté the onions in the butter until soft, about 7-10 minutes. Add the garlic, the cooked bacon and the pepper flakes to the onions and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add in the white wine and mushrooms and cook at a boil until the sauce has reduced to a tablespoon or so of liquid, stirring continuously to keep the sauce from burning onto the bottom of the plan. Keep warm.
Boil a large pot of salted water, cook the pasta according to instructions on the package, and drain. Add the still steaming pasta to the skillet with the mushroom mixture. Using a spatula or fork, thoroughly combine the pasta into the mixture.
Add eggs to the pasta and mushrooms, continuing to stir vigorously. The egg should begin to cook onto the pasta. Add cheese, still stirring. If the mixture is too soupy, turn up heat stirring all the while. Serve warm and garnished with fresh parsley and extra Parmesan cheese.
For a twist on this recipe, add a tablespoon or two of basil pesto to the eggs when you beat them.
