lunedì 19 maggio 2014

Let's see how a carbonara looks like

Me that I am living abroad, I can really see how Italian cooking is daily “misunderstood” or sometimes even mistreated. There are few recepies moreover which is almost impossible to find prepared in a reasonable way. A very emblematic one is the “carbonara sauce”.
This sauce is so easily and commonly prepared in italy, but at the same time so badly approached abroad that I have never saw anything served as per carbonara looking similar to what it should be.
I have to admit that also in Italy there are different approaches to this preparation, more or less close to the tradition, involving different ingredients, like the pecorino cheese instead of the parmesan or the use of the yolk rather than the whole egg.
I then want to state very clearly that I do not claim to explain you here the authentic and original carbonara. But never the less, this is a very popular version, the same that my mom has always done and that for sure it is much closer to the original recipe than all the versions that I saw around the world with my eyes so far!
The main ingredient for the carbonara is the eggs which are served raw, so be sure that they are properly fresh. If you want to prepare for more than 2 calculate like following: 1 egg per person +1 egg for the bowl. 

For 2
2 eggs (for me always fresh bio eggs)
80g bacon, speck or guanciale (whatever cold meat from pork, expect salami or sausage you are able to find where you live) cut in a thick single slice
50g parmesan
250g spaghetti
Salt
Pepper

Start heating the salted water and when boiling add the pasta and cook according time and procedure on the package.
Cut the meat in small cubes (about 0,5-1 cm) and roast it at medium-high heat until it starts to get brown.
 
Place the eggs in a big bowl (where you will serve the noodles) with a pinch of salt and beat shortly with a fork (approximately 30 seconds) until you have a foam.

Add the grated cheese and mix gently. Now add about 2 spoons of noodles cooking water and mix again.

Collect a couple of tbs of the fat released by the meat, add it to the cream and beat again shortly with the fork.

Finally add the meat and pepper to taste, but keep in mind that in this recipe the pepper is a strong taste so add generously (better freshly grinded one).


Strain the pasta and blend with the sauce
  






martedì 13 maggio 2014

Avocado noodles

I saw some time ago an article about a very popular pasta recipe in Finland. So popular that it has been the most searched recipe in 2013 on google.fi.
According the info that I collected in the web everything started here.

For quite a bit of time I was like ”should I, should I not” but then why not to try it?!
Here is my version. In the original there should be lime, which I had not at home so I replaced it with simple normal lemon. Same with spaghetti that I did not have in house and I replaced by other whole wheat noodles. Recently we discovered bio whole wheat noodles and we enjoy them often (they give me the feeling I am eating healthy).
Coriander I saw it listed in some versions of the recipe, but I do not love it and so I skipped it as well.

My global feedback about the recipe? Different, especially for Italians it looks really weird :) but if you are a guacamole fan, than you should definitely try it!
I think it may be a good option for a cold noodle salad in a hot summer day. In this case, do not use the spaghetti, but go for a shorter pasta shape which fits much better to the salad.

For 2

A small ripe avocado
1 garlic clove
(Green) chili
2 tbs lemon juice
Olive oil as required
Parsley
Basil
30g Parmesan
250g Noodles (spaghetti recommended, but I used whole wheat fusilli)

Heat the salted water and when boiling add the pasta and cook according time and procedure
on the package.
Grind the garlic and the chili and place them in a big bowl (big enough for the whole pasta).
Prepare the avocado (remove the stone and the skin), cut in cubes and place in the bowl. Smash roughly with a fork.
Add the lemon juice, salt, pepper, herbs and grated cheese. Add a couple of spoons of pasta cooking water and mix well with the fork. Add then an amount of olive oil big enough to have a creamy soft sauce. (you can choose actually, if you like a more light version add a bit more noodles cooking water and a bit less oil)
Strain the pasta and blend with the sauce. Enjoy!