I made this Carbonara dish a while ago and I decided to call it Isle Carbonara because the two main ingredients I used come from the two big Italian islands. My Sicilian friend Martina brought me a Ricotta Salata, and in the fridge I had a piece of Mustela, a cured pork loin typical of Sardinia, which is used as an additional ingredient to basic soffritto for regional dishes. Carbonara was a great way to bring the two flavours together. The steps to follow are exactly the same as your Classic Carbonara, as you’ve seen before on Blender and Basil, but using the Ricotta Salata to replace the Pecorino gives it a slightly more poignant, mature taste. The Mustela, used to replace the guanciale, has a much more meaty texture, giving the dish a completely different personality.

Ingredients:
220gr dried spaghetti
100gr Sardinian Mustela
50gr grated parmesan
50gr grated Ricotta Salata
2 eggs
salt and black pepper

Step 1 – Open the page of our Classic Carbonara recipe on Blender and Basil and follow all the steps.

Step 2 – Replace the bacon with the Mustela: let it fry till golden. It’s very meaty and it won’t get as crunchy as bacon or pancetta do.

Step 3 – Also remember to replace the pecorino cheese with the Ricotta Salata and add it to the eggs with the Parmesan in the same way you would do for a Classic Carbonara.

Step 4 – Just enjoy while still warm! I love pasta dishes because you can always re-invent classic recipes depending on what you have in the fridge. This was a success – I hope it will be for you if you try this recipe.