Community Cookbook: Yasmina Backström’s Feel-Good Veggie Carbonara

Yasmina Backström is a Greenpoint resident whose Instagram, @basicbatchbk, highlights healthy recipes using ingredients bought locally in Greenpoint and Williamsburg.

Backström started cooking healthy dishes during the pandemic when her father was diagnosed with health problems connected to lifestyle and diet. Her philosophy is to stick to the basics and find local, fresh produce with high nutritional value and lots of vitamins.

This week, Backström shared her recipe for her Feel-Good Veggie Carbonara, a healthy spin on the creamy pasta dish. “This is a great alternative to greasy carbonara, and if you haven’t tried crispy mushroom chips, they taste surprisingly similar to bacon chips,” said Backström. 

See the recipe for Veggie Carbonara below and last week’s Community Cookbook recipe here.

Yasmina Backström’s Feel-Good Veggie Carbonara

Ingredients:

Spinach spaghetti

1.5 ounces of grated pecorino cheese

1.5 ounces of grated parmesan cheese

4 egg yolks

Fresh black pepper

1/2 pound of Brussels sprouts

1 carton of cremini mushrooms

2 small shallots

2 cloves of garlic

Olive oil

Directions:  

1. Set your oven to 350 F while you brush off your mushrooms. 
2. Finely slice the mushrooms. 
3. Peel your Brussels sprouts while keeping the leaves intact. 
4. In two separate trays, bake the mushrooms and Brussels sprouts in the oven until the sprouts get lightly golden brown edges and the mushrooms turn into crispy chips. 
5. Meanwhile, finely chop and then fry the shallots in olive oil over low heat for a few minutes, then add grated garlic and continue frying over low heat for another minute or two.
6. Grate the cheeses and put them aside. 
7. Boil your pasta, and keep 1 cup of pasta water. 
8. When your pasta is al dente, add it to the skillet with your onions together with 3 – 5 tablespoons of pasta water. 
9. Add your cheeses slowly, and in batches to let them melt while stirring. 
10. Mix pasta, onions, pasta water, and cheese together until really nice and creamy, then add your crispy Brussels sprouts and mushrooms last. 
11. Serve with an egg yolk and some fresh black pepper.