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Iâm leaving you a voicemail to walk you through how to make carbonara along with some random thoughts that come to mind right before bed. A little secretâŠitâs food, always food.
An old voicemail, a memory, a connectionâŠ
The phone rang and went straight to voicemail. âPaige, itâs meâŠgrandmaâ. As if her voice didnât give it away, she had to reintroduce herself. She called to give me her grocery list. 1/4 pound of ham sliced as thin as paper. A bag of chocolate kisses which would inevitably go straight into the freezer. A pint of sour cream. Oh, and she wondered if I could take her to the hair dresser on Thursday at 12:30. Thick as thieves were we. When it came to being âItalianâ, my grandmother had it in her blood. From harboring the inherit long standing family grudge straight down to the last name, Rocco. Mary Lou was something else. But being Italian-American in the 1930s wasnât as glamorous as a title as it is in present day. Being Italian-American in the 1930s was about assimilation. Many didnât speak of the past they left behind or speak to the next generation in their mother tongues. The American dream was the only way forward for most immigrants. And so, the next generation lost touch with the language and sometimes even the food or recipes that lived solely in the minds of their elders.
But today, although many âItalian-Americansâ donât speak the language and some have never been to Italy, being Italian-American is worn with pride. Italian flags are flown in front yards, neighborhoods and roads are dedicated to being Italian and known as âLittle Italyâ, selling Italian-esque goods and small figurines of the Pope. Thereâs even a guy you can hire to come teach you and your friends how to make fresh âmoozzarelâ in your living room.
Weâre living in an era where weâre searching for connection, for roots, for family. Traveling oceans to find a long lost cousin. Making trips back to âthe motherlandâ and to the small towns where our great-great grandparents fled from so many years ago. Only to find many of these villages havenât really changed all that much. In fact, it feels like time might have stopped. To me this is important. Itâs important to remember and to hold onto, record, write, speak, and share those memories of our past so that our future can feel that connection. When I step into the streets of NYC, I somehow feel more Italian than ever. The connection, the stories we tell in the neighborhoods, the people who have adopted the culture even if itâs not technically in their blood. Thatâs the beauty of blended cultures and immigration. Youâre always certain to find your people. No matter how âItalianâ you may be, thereâs always someone there to tell you âmy grandmothers sauce is the best youâll ever taste.â
Pillow talk
And that brought me to this thought of heritage and re-connecting. It was one of those late night thoughts that if we take a bit further, could be something great. The thought right before youâre just about to fall asleep. When youâre certain that, with this idea, youâre about to become the next Steve JobsâŠand then you fall deep into sleep and by morning youâve forgotten your million dollar idea.
For those of you who share a bed or room with another, you might understand or denounce me when I say that, I for one, love to chit chat (aka pillow talk) right before bed. When the lights are out, the room is dark and my thoughts are bouncing is when my best work and ideas come to mind. Itâs both a blessing and a curse - for starters I donât have a bedside table (our bedroom basically only fits the bed) so the lack of surface space for my journal to jot down these brilliant ideas is non existent and then a curse for my ideas as they vanish by morningâŠand then also a curse for Gianluca as he has to listen to my chatter until Iâm ready to fall asleep.
So as we laid in bed in the pitch black, Gianluca had a thought. He said âI just thought that whenever weâre in Italy and we go to our friends houses for dinner, we always know itâs going to be pasta.â I asked him to explain further. He said âI just love that when you cook for friends itâs never pasta, itâs always going to be something other than a pasta and I love that.â And so, last weekend, I decided to invite friends over and just cook a pasta.Â
Carbonara
As we come to the end of what we know as âcomfort food seasonâ, I thought what better way to celebrate than with one of the heaviest dishes I know, carbonara. Itâs creamy, itâs cheesy and itâs downright delicious. This dish is not something I grew up eating nor did I know about until living in Italy. Definitely not something my grandmother was making. And I feel like itâs a weird flex to say âmy grandma makes the best carbonaraâ. Itâs not a dish you often make at home, even in Italy. Guanciale is a staple in most Roman kitchens but, at home, itâs used to make amatriciana or as a flavor profile in sautĂ©ed vegetables.
A recent Financial Times article revealed that carbonara is, in fact, not italian. Itâs American! I find it hard to believe even after reading the article but I think itâs safe to say that, if true, the Italians adopted it and raised it into the beautiful being that it is today. But with all that said, weâre making this dish the traditional and classical Roman-Italian way. Repeat after me. No cream. No pancetta. No bacon. The only way to get this right is with quality ingredients and patience. Patience is your best friend for this recipe and if you keep a level head and a cooks intuition, youâll be sure to perfect it.Â
Ingredients
150g guanciale
50g pecorino
50g parmigiano
320g mezze paccheri or the classic, spaghetti (allow about 80g of pasta per person)
5 egg yolks
Method
In a heat proof bowl, make a paste of the egg yolks, cheese and black pepper. Cut the guanciale into slices and then again into strips and add to a pan to render the fat. Cook the guanciale until the fat, which will look translucent, is crispy and brown. Remove your guanciale from the pan and place in a separate bowl. Pour off fat from pan into a heat proof bowl and reserve. Keep this pan handy for later use. Boil your pasta in unsalted water taking note of the cooking time on the package. While your water is boiling, take your bowl with the the egg mixture and hold it over the boiling water. Acting like a bain-marie, you will continue to stir and heat your egg and cheese mixture. You will see the mixture start to loosen and warm over the hot water. Do this gently and more brief moments at a time.
Half way through the pastaâs cooking time, gently and slowly incorporate a ladle of cooking water into the egg and cheese paste, being sure not to scramble your egg. Stir to create a loose but creamy sauce. This should no longer look like a paste but should look more like a creamy and consistent sauce. Meanwhile return your pan to the burner with a spoonful of the reserved guanciale fat and place on a very low flame. Once the pasta is cooked, reserve some of your pasta water, strain, add pasta to your pan. Coat the pasta with the fat and turn the heat off. Pour over your cheese and egg sauce and quickly stir your sauce into the pasta, adding pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce. Add in half the guanciale, toss again. Serve immediately topped with remaining guanciale pieces and a few more cracks of black pepper.
Until next time at a standing reservationâŠ
With love & snacks,
Paige
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Need a happy moment?
Thinking or dreaming of traveling to Italy in the future? Have you ever heard of Matera? Located in Basilicata, Matera is a UNESCO World Heritage site and for good reason as it has a history of over 10,000 years. The Sassi, the rock cave dwellings, are dug right into the rock. The city has been famous for many films including Mel Gibsonâs, The Passion of the Christ. If you havenât heard of it, I encourage you to take a step off the beaten path and quite literally, back in time. Itâs a sight for sore eyes.
Looking for tips, tricks, and food recommendations throughout Italy? Tavolotwelve can help you get to snacking and experiencing Italy off the beaten path.
Studied the heck out of this recipe and I'm stoked to try to this out! Carbonara has always been a bit intimidating for me to try at home but a little testing at home never hurts!!!
Q - since we're mimicking a bain-marie technique - can I place the bowl n top of a steamer you think? So I don't have to actually hold it over? This girls got a lotta burns testing recipes lately lol