Vegetarian Mushroom Carbonara Delight

Fill a large pot with water, season well with kosher salt, and bring to a boil.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, the whole egg, grated Parmesan, and 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.

In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, tossing to coat them with oil. Cook mostly undisturbed, tossing every 4-5 minutes, until the mushrooms are golden brown, about 13-16 minutes.

While the mushrooms are cooking, cook orecchiette in the boiling salted water until al dente, following the package directions. Before draining, reserve 2 cups of the pasta cooking liquid.

Once the mushrooms are browned, reduce the heat to medium-low, add minced garlic, chopped shallots, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the aromatics are softened but not browned, about 1 minute.

Add the cooked orecchiette and 1 cup of pasta cooking liquid to the mushroom mixture. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often to absorb the liquid, for about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool for 1 minute. Gradually add the egg mixture to the pot, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon, adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed to loosen the sauce until it coats all noodles.

Stir in the chopped parsley and season with salt to taste. Divide the pasta among bowls, top with more grated Parmesan and a few cranks of black pepper.