Ingredients
Carbonara
1 pound uncooked spaghetti
2 pounds bacon, chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 pound fresh button mushrooms. sliced thinly
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup chicken broth
14 ounces all-purpose cream
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and more for serving
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
For Deep Frying:
75g mozzarella, cut into 2cm cubes
50g plain flour, well seasoned
2 eggs, beaten
100g panko breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil
INSTRUCTIONS
Cooking the Carbonara:
Sauté bacon until crispy, remove, and drain excess fat, leaving 1 tbsp.
Sauté onions and garlic until softened, add mushrooms until softened, then set aside.
Melt butter, add flour, stir for 1-2 minutes until smooth and lightly browned.
Gradually whisk in chicken broth, then add cream and simmer until slightly thickened.
Stir in Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
Boil 4 quarts of salted water, cook spaghetti until almost done, then drain it.
Toss in cooked pasta, bacon, and mushroom mixture until heated through.
Cool completely then chill for at least 2 hours.
Deep frying:
Using damp, clean hands take a piece of mozzarella and form the cold carbonara round it to roughly the size of a golf ball and put on a tray. Repeat with the remaining mozzarella and carbonara.
Toss the carbonara ball first into the seasoned flour, then in the beaten egg and then the breadcrumbs, so they’re well coated.
Fill a pan no more than 1/3 full with vegetable oil and heat to 180C or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Cook the carbonara ball, in batches, for 2-3 minutes or until really crisp and golden, then drain on kitchen paper and season lightly with sea salt flakes.
Notes
Cook pasta slightly less than directed; it continues cooking in sauce and deep frying.
Use extra cream sauce to counter pasta's moisture absorption.
Make the sauce slightly thinner, as it thickens over time.
After adding heavy cream, simmer gently; avoid boiling to prevent curdling.
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