Spaghetti con Pancetta, Pecorino e Pepe Nero - Spaghetti with Pancetta, Pecorino Romano & Black Pepper

When I was a very small girl I wasn't fond of red sauce on my pasta so Nana would make mine with what I thought was just butter and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. When I tried making this myself a few years back, I found it to be dry, sticky and not the greatest flavor. I have learned the secret that Italian housewives use when making a simple pasta dish with only a few tablespoons of butter, oil, pancetta, or vegetables, and that is adding a bit of the starchy pasta water to the skillet, which in cooking down moistens the pasta and thickens the sauce.

This dish is called Spaghetti all'Amatriciana Bianca in Roma by those born and raised there. They claim that this dish is most authentic to the red sauce version. In the Roma version you would use dried red pepper flakes, adding them when you do the pancetta to add not only spice but heat to the dish. Whether you choose to use black pepper or dried red pepper flakes in this dish, the pepper is the key ingredient. Without it the pasta is on the bland side.

Ingredients Needed to Make This Dish:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 pound thickly sliced pancetta, cut into small strips
Kosher salt to taste
1 pound spaghetti or bucatini
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese or 1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil and butter together in a skillet over medium heat.

When the butter foams add the pancetta. (If you chose to use dried red pepper flakes, add them now as well. Start with a pinch and go from there to taste.) Cook gently, over medium heat (or lower if browning too fast), until the pancetta is lightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes or so.

Bring a large pot of water to boil; add 1 tablespoon salt and the spaghetti. (I use Barilla Plus multi grain spaghetti.) Cook, uncovered, over high heat until the pasta is cooked al dente (tender but firm to the bite). Scoop out 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and reserve. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet.

Stir in the reserved pasta water, parsley, and cheese. Mix over low heat until the pasta is well dressed with the sauce. Taste and season with salt if necessary (the pancetta is already quite salty) and add your black pepper to taste. You will use more than you normally would put in most dishes. Serve piping hot with a bit more cheese.

Goulash alla Triestina - Beef Stew Trieste Style

After years of reading about the dishes of different regions of Italy, I have learned that there are dishes instantly identified with a city -- the black risotto of Venezia , the fettucine all'Alfredo of Roma, the tortellini of Bologna and the goulash of Trieste. This melt in your mouth stew preparation with a dense wine-tomato sauce made sweet by onions is one my husband and I instantly fell in love with. The secret to a good stew is in the long, slow cooking. After browning the meat, this will cook all by itself, needing only an occasional stir. I love dishes such as this that are simple to prepare and fill the house with mouth-watering aromas while they slowly cook. This is nice served with slices of fried polenta. My very American husband enjoys it best served over egg noodles.


The Ingredients Needed to Make this Dish:

1/4 cup olive oil
2 pounds stew meat, cut in about 1-inch pieces
2 large onions, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3 to 4 bay leaves, crumbled
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 cups dry full-bodied wine (I am not a fan of Merlot, but like it used in this dish)
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes in puree (I prefer Muir Glen) - Again I have used crushed over can whole and put through a food mill. Use either one you choose.
1 1/2 cups meat broth, preferably homemade (50% less salt canned beef broth can be substituted)


Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the meat and cook, stirring, until it is lightly browned on all sides, perhaps 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer meat to a plate, reduce the heat to medium/medium high and add the onions.

Cook and stir until the onions are lightly golden, 4 to 5 minutes.

Return the meat to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Add the paprika, bay leaves, and vinegar, and stir once or twice. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until it is reduced by half, 6 to 7 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and 1 cup of the meat broth and mix well. Cover the skillet, leaving it slightly askew, and reduce heat to low. Simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat can be cut with a fork, stirring a few times. If the sauce dried too much during cooking, add some more meat broth.

The stew served over egg noodles. This serves 4 to 6 people, depending on size of appetites.

Pollo alla Cacciatora Milanese - Chicken Hunter-Style from Milan

I have read that in the trattorie of Milan, rabbit, pheasant, lamb or chicken are often cooked alla Cacciatore. This preparation implies a method of cooking that gives the dish a rustic and robust quality. In Milan the key ingredients to this simple dish is dried porcini mushrooms whose woodsy flavor enriches the depth of flavor in this slowly cooked dish. Serve with soft, grilled or roasted polenta. The best part is the leftover sauce, which makes a delicious second meal tossed with penne, rigatoni or any pasta type you enjoy. A Note: Traditonally Italian cooks are light on the tomatoes. In this dish because of making a pasta sauce as well for a second meal, I like to use the canned crushed tomatoes in puree over whole canned Italian tomatoes that have been put through a food mill to puree and remove seeds which is more tradtional in most Italian recipes using can tomatoes. I like the thicker texture the crushed tomatoes in puree gives the sauce.

Ingredients:
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 2 cups lukewarm water for 20 minutes
1/4 cup EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
2 cups flour
1 chicken (3 to 4 pounds) cut into pieces, washed and dried with paper towels
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, minced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
1 cup dry white wine (I usually use Gaetano D'Aquino Delle Venezie 2007, a reasonably priced Pinot Grigio with a dry flavor and slightly bitter end)
1 (28 oz) can Crushed tomatoes in puree (I prefer Muir Glen brand)


Drain the mushrooms reserving the soaking liquid. Rinse the mushrooms well under cold running water, then chop coarsely. Line a strainer with a few layers of paper towels and strain the soaking liquid into a bowl to get rid of the sandy deposits. Set aside.

In a large deep skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Flour the chicken pieces lightly and add to the skillet skin side down. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook, turning only once, until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Discard the oil and add the butter, returning the skillet to medium heat. When the butter begins to foam, add the onion, garlic, rosemary and parsley. Cooking, stirring until the onion is lightly golden and soft, perhaps 6 minutes.

Add the porcini and wine, stirring with a wooden spoon, scraping up all the bits on the bottom of the pan, until the wine is almost evaporated.

Add the tomatoes and 1 cup of the porcini liquid, then lightly season with salt and pepper.

As soon as the sauce begins to bubble, return the chicken to the skillet, reduce heat to low, and partially cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened nicely, about 40 to 50 minutes. If needed, add a bit more porcini liquid if sauce thickens too much. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot.

This is even better if you allow the dish to rest for about an hour before serving. The flavors become more pronounced.

The leftover sauce served the following evening over penne. My heart sang when I ate both the cacciatore and the pasta. My Nana used to use porcini mushrooms and rosemary in many of her dishes, and the aroma of this dish brought me back to Nana's kitchen all those years ago and the taste brought tears to my eyes. Eccellente!