Welcome to A standing reservation! Thanks for reserving your table. If you’ve found your way here via pure luck and haven’t already reserved your standing reservation, pencil yourself in the book and we’ll be sure to serve you up something good:
A fun added BONUS to this week’s newsletter!
Because this subject is so near and dear to our hearts - as in, it’s constantly a topic of discussion in our house - I decided to add in an audio version of the newsletter. A quick little convo with Gianluca about his thoughts and feelings on garlic.
P.S. This is just a test to see how we (you and I) like the audio feature. If we hate the podcast vibes, we’ll go back to strictly writing. Happy listening and reading!
These are heavy times
Garlic is heavy. This is the word that Italians often use to describe food and or difficult conversations. I now find myself using “heavy” to describe certain foods or dishes that linger with me for too long. Indeed, most of the time dishes that include the overuse of garlic, are in fact, “heavy” and leave me with a taste of garlic swishing around my mouth well into the next meal. I think to myself, now that I date an Italian with strong view points on garlic, is this one of those mind games of partner turning into partner? Have I adopted an unfavorable reaction to garlic and its obsessed users?
When I first started dating Gianluca he made it known that he had an adversity towards garlic. It’s not that he doesn’t like it, just that he has opinions about it - mostly around the way in which “non Italians” cook with it. It first started out with small comments here and there that helped me pin point his ideas. These opinions have been voiced over the last 6 years to finally manifest themselves into this newsletter. So, here’s a glimpse into what it’s like to cook and eat with a person who is obsessed with policing the use of garlic.
Garlic is an essence, not a presence
Garlic is an essential ingredient in Italian cooking but it’s not the physical clove that you want to be chomping down on when you raise a twirl of pasta to your mouth, it’s the essence that should be present. Essence, you say? Yes, the flavor that subtly is infused into olive oil when one or two cloves simmer in your soffritto or the crushed cloves that swim in your tomato sauce only to be plucked out before being tossed with your favorite shape of pasta. No one, and I truly mean, no Italian, wants to chomp down on a piece of garlic - whole, sliced, or diced. Garlic’s presence can melt away if done right, but if overused and abused, it can be heavy and if you’re Gianluca, toxic!
I know what you’re thinking. This pedantic rant about garlic is heavy. Now, do you see how a conversation can be as heavy as garlic to digest? Pretty heavy. I’ve come to realize that the presence of too much garlic (when it’s not just an essence) ruins a meal for me. I know that many people are different - they can’t get enough of the stuff and for good reason, it does make things taste good. Garlic has become the most overused ingredient in recipes that flood social media - “so you’re going to start with 10 cloves of garlic finely sliced and straight into your hot oil”. The line gives me a slight twitch to my eye as I type it. So you have to ask yourself, is what I’m eating actually taste good and is it properly balanced…or is it just masked with copious amounts of garlic. I hope it’s not the latter.
You’re probably thinking, well, Paige, isn’t Italian food supposed to be garlicky? Isn’t Italian food commonly associated with garlic? It’s true. Many associate “Italian food” with the use of garlic. As an Italian-American growing up in New Jersey, there’s an Italian restaurant on almost every corner and in every strip mall (aka a North American shopping mall). It’s in our blood to be “Italian”. At some point our ancestors settled along the coasts of New Jersey and New York, bringing their dishes from home, usually calling them by the names of their native Italian dialect. And in fact, these were recipes from their villages that represented where they came from, who they left behind. But, as generations passed and as did those who first journeyed from the motherland; the original recipes, which only existed in the minds of our emigrant ancestors, transformed and adapted like a game of telephone. And so, the next of kin catered and altered their family recipes to fit the different palates of the American and English people. Maybe this is where the addition of too many cloves of garlic to any and all recipes spiraled out of control - the distancing of years, assimilation and, ultimately, the imitation of what makes “Italian” food truly italian. That imitation being the use of garlic.
Take for instance the garlic knot which here in London they call a dough ball. A garlic knot or dough ball is exactly what you might think it sounds like. Pieces of dough either tightly wrapped into a knot shape or simply shaped into a ball of dough, lathered in oil and covered with diced garlic. In New York and New Jersey garlic knots are simply a side that you order with your pizza - as if the carbs from the pizza weren’t enough, you also need a side of slightly undercooked garlicky dough to round off the meal. Don’t get me wrong, I used to and probably still (it’s been ages since I’ve had one) love a garlic knot as much as the next girl but there’s now a little voice (ahem, Gianluca) in the back of my head saying something along the lines of “Are you sure? That’s going to stay with you all day.”
There are few recipes from Italian cuisine that I can think of which use garlic as the main attraction. One of them being bagna càuda. Bagna càuda is a hot antipasto that is similar to what we Americans call a dip. It translates directly to “hot bath” and has a short list of ingredients, one of them being an entire head of garlic. Bagna càuda reigns from the north of Italy, the Piedmont region, and consists mainly of garlic, anchovies, olive oil and maybe some butter. Like a fondue without cheese, the dip is kept warm usually over a small flame and raw vegetables are dipped into the rich mixture ensuring and securing that the garlicky after effects that will stick with you long after you’ve finished your dessert. I won’t be giving you the recipe here as I’ve never made it myself, but I’ve had it when traveling in Turin and I’d say it’s not something I’d need to order again. My garlic lovers, bagna càuda is your kind of dish!
Garlic it hot oil
The smell or the perfume of garlic is something that reminds me of home, specifically my grandmothers kitchen. I knew when she was starting to cook something delicious the moment I stepped off the elevator and onto the 5th floor. The smell of garlic simmering in hot oil inviting my hunger in for lunch. I can see myself turning the brass knob on the apartment door, the creaking noise it made from many years of salty air rusting at its hinges and the table set with covers laid across the cushions of the dining chairs so to catch any sauce that might end up on the white seats. I take a seat. It’s time for spaghetti alle vongole with not a piece of garlic in sight.
Spaghetti alle vongole
Since I was a child, I’ve been eating spaghetti alle vongole the way my grandmother and my mother made it. I really didn’t know any other way. It wasn’t something we ate out at restaurants and I didn’t start traveling to Italy until I was in my 20s. The dish was one of my favorites growing up and still, to this day, remains to be. Funnily enough, on the other side of the world, Gianluca was also eating spaghetti alle vongole and it just so happens this is the meal he asks for on his birthday. Our families cook their spaghetti alle vongole very different, but sometimes the same? If that makes sense.
My grandmother used only canned clams with the addition of a dozen fresh clams. The juice from the cans of clams are kept in the sauce making the final dish have lots of clam juice, perfect for spooning up at the end. Whereas, Gianluca’s family uses only fresh clams and whatever liquid they give off when cooking, making a creamier sauce when tossed with the spaghetti. Since having my fair share of spaghetti alle vongole, I now prefer the classic creamy sauce that’s created when clam juice and the starch of the pasta are vigorously stirred creating the perfect glossy sauce. Let’s get into the recipe!
Serves about 5 people
Ingredients
Spaghetti (I prefer quadrato if you can find it) - 500g
Garlic - 1 clove
Extra virgin olive oil
Clams - 1-1.5kg depending on size of the clams
Parsley - half a bunch, chopped for garnish.
A splash of dry white wine - maybe some for yourself too
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste
Course sea salt to soak the clams
Method
Clean your clams. Make sure there are no clams that are filled with sand - once in a while you may get a clam that is filled with sand and that ruins your sauce base. Once you’ve rinsed your clams, place them in a bowl and cover with cold water and a few generous handfuls of course sea salt - this will help draw out any leftover sand inside the clams. If you can, let them sit in the fridge and in the water for 5-6 hours.
Once your clams have purged their sand. Drain them from the water. In a pan, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add 1 clove of garlic to the olive oil and allow your oil to be infused with the flavor of the garlic - be sure not to burn your garlic. Once the oil takes on the garlic flavor, add your clams straight into the hot pan. Add a splash of white wine, cover with a lid, and allow the clams to cook over high heat, shaking the pan from time to time to encourage the clams to open. Once the clams open, turn off the heat and pluck them from the pan and transfer into a bowl. Strain the clam juice into a small bowl with a fine sieve to help remove any excess sand. Remove the clove of garlic and throw away.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, drop your spaghetti and cook until half the cooking time or a minute or 2 before al dente - be sure to reserve the pasta cooking water. Pour your strained sauce from the clams back into your pan. Add your cooked spaghetti to the pan with your sauce. Finish cooking the pasta in the pan. Stir and flip your spaghetti vigorously into the sauce creating a creamy consistency from the starch of the pasta and the juice of the clams. Add your clams back in as well as the chopped parsley. Serve and enjoy!
Until next time at a standing reservation…
With love & snacks,
Paige
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Need a happy moment?
My grandmother was and still is my greatest inspiration for why I got into cooking and turned it into not only a passion but a profession. Below is a photo of my grandmother in the kitchen and a recent photo of myself. I grew up in the kitchen with my grandmother. She taught me how to master any kind of eggs, pancakes, cream puffs, tomato sauce, artichokes, meatballs, stuffing, cakes…you name it she wanted to cook it! The house was filled with clippings from magazines and cookbooks stacked high and ear-tagged to refer to recipes she wanted to try. When I went away to university, we used to call each other everyday at 1pm to watch the daytime cooking show, The Chew, together. Chatting about the recipes and catching each other up on the daily goings-on. She truly was my best friend. I just absolutely love this photo of her and it just so happens, we look and act a lot like one another. And that’s all I could ever hope for.
Love it Paige and Gianluca!!🥰
I absolutely agree with GL !!! Koreans like to say "deep" or it has "depth" when garlic is added. But depth does not mean it should be OVERPOWERING! We want the rich essence of garlic without it LINGERING and CONSUMING the whole dish. Now having said this, yes, would I drive out of my way in the mountains to go find that garlic glove? Absolutely! Cuz without it, the dish becomes FLAT and essentially, boring/bland. I almost thought I have some Italian in me, and then I continued reading lol Sorry Gianluca! I love biting into minced garlic or even whole cloves if its cooked appropriately and its SWEET rather than your BAM garlic explosion.
Can't wait to make Spaghetti alle vongole! And I'm all for this audio bit <3