In the spirit of #CarbonaraDay, celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito cooked the Italian delicacy live on @lacucinaitaianausa Instagram channel. Chef DiSpirito was the first special guest of the new series #BUTTALAPASTA, hosted by Editor in Chief Maddalena Fossati from Milan, Italy.
As Maddalena explained, “Butta la Pasta” means “drop the pasta in the water”, a common Italian expression used to let the person preparing dinner know when people are on their way to eat.
The live chat started in fact when the DiSpirito dropped the pasta in the water. From his New York apartment, with the city view in the back, the chef was able to pull off a delicious Spaghetti Carbonara on a portable stove without his professional kitchen tools. “It is a very quick dish to prepare, it takes about 15 minutes”, he explained. “It was an easy dish for the coal miners, i carbonari, to make with what they had in their house. It’s only four ingredients, pasta, guanciale, pecorino, and egg”.
While Carbonara is often open to interpretations, he insists on sticking to the original recipe with a few ingredients with big flavors. “No garlic, onion, Swiss cheese, cream!” he cautions, but concedes that certain ingredients can be replaced when not available. “You can easily find guanciale, but if needed you can replace it with pancetta or bacon as long as it is not smoked, it will interfere with the flavors.” The guanciale, pork cheeks, is in fact cured with spices, often pepper, and not smoked. As Carbonara is a Roman dish, he recommends using Pecorino Romano, a common cheese of the Lazio region, even if some use Parmigiano Reggiano, or a mix of both. “It will still be good but will not be the real Carbonara taste,” he says.
DiSpirito only uses egg yolks, because the whites don’t have fat that is needed for the emulsification, and he makes sure to add cooking water in the sauce, another important ingredient for a creamy result. “Cooking water is an ingredient of the dish”, confirmed Maddalena. “There is a big trend in Italy cooking the pasta as a risotto, using the pasta starch for a creamy effect instead of fats.” He generally removes the pasta when it’s 80% done, but for this recipe, as the pasta won’t continue to cook in a pan, so he leaves it a bit longer, still keeping it al dente. Without using a strainer, DiSpirito removed the spaghetti from water with cooking tongs, dropped them wet in the sauce and start mixing it.
“There is no liquid, that’s what you want, the eggs embracing the pasta,” he finally said satisfied, before tasting the mouthwatering dish, with the envy of Maddalena and inspired viewers.
While cooking, the chef and tv celebrity talked about his proud Italian roots from several towns in Campania, including Naples, Avellino, Salerno, and shared that he still has many relatives in Italy, including some doctors working on the frontlines throughout the emergency in the North.
Stay tuned for more special guests at #ButtaLaPasta” on @lacucinaitalianausa!
CARBONARA BY CHEF ROCCO DISPIRITO
2 to 3 servings
Ingredients:
6 oz pasta
3 egg yolks
¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano
2 oz sliced guanciale
fresh black pepper
Method:
Boil pasta in 3 quarts lightly salted water. Sauté guanciale until translucent and tender. Place egg yolks and pecorino in a large bowl. Mix them together with a fork or whisk. When pasta is 90% cooked, using tongs remove from water (allow water to adhere)and add to egg & cheese mixture. Toss until sauce is creamy, add guanciale and fat and season with black pepper. Serve in a bowl with more pecorino and black pepper.