are you gonna eat that?

When in Rome (or, how I fell in love with pasta carbonara)

Less than 24 hours after a whirlwind of dresses, toasts, and the Virginia countryside, there we were, strolling along a piazza, eating pizza bianca out of a brown paper sleeve and people-watching with the best of them. One dish that is ubiquitous in Rome, but for some reason seems to be missing from many Italian restaurants in America, is pasta carbonara. For you Americans: it’s basically bacon and eggs, in pasta form.  What’s not to love?  Anyway, when we got back to the city, we were hard-pressed to find it in (save a pretty decent version, for brunch at Rosemary’s in the west village; and I hear Lupa does a fine rendition)…so I decided to make it myself.  

Apparently, there are two places in this entire city to buy guianciale (pronounced gwan-CHAL-ay), or pig’s cheeks, and one of them happens to be a 5-minute walk from my apartment (Faicco Pork Store at 206 Bleecker).  It was a sign!

Right next door to Faicco’s is Murray’s Cheese Shop, where I picked up fresh spaghetti (In Rome they tend to make pasta carbonara with bucatini, sort of a fatter spaghetti, but it’s harder to find stateside), and some grated pecorino and romano (no self-respecting Roman uses cream in their pasta carbonara - it’s seen as like, cheating - although, the debate rages on).  So here we go.

This is what guianciale looks like!

Remove the tough outer rind and Cut it into small pieces.

Fry until light golden brown, on medium-low heat.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.  Apparently, true Romans don’t use cream in their sauce (though the debate rages on).  Anyway, I forgot to buy it, so here I whisked together just 2 large eggs + 1/2 cup grated parmesan + 1/2 cup pecorino romano (all from Murray’s Cheese Shop).

Fresh spaghetti also from Murray’s.  Boil (note that fresh pasta takes only a few minutes in the water).  I like fresh better than dry for this recipe because the sauce clings to it better, and it tastes truer to what we had in Rome.

Once the spaghetti is cooked, reserve some of the pasta water.  Remove pasta from pot and quickly mix into a large bowl with the egg mixture, working quickly to incorporate (so the eggs don’t scramble).  Add the cooked guianciale.  Thin out the sauce with some of the reserved pasta water, if needed.  

Finish with lots of pepper (especially for you cacio e pepe freaks), some more cheese, and a dash of olive oil.  How easy was that?

(We paired this with a simple appetizer: toasted bread, plus ricotta (Murray’s rocks!) drizzled with olive oil + salt and pepper.

On a final note, I have to share these beautiful pieces of pottery we bought from a Sunday market in Perugia, a small medieval college town in Umbria, the last stop on our [too-short] ‘moon.  I love these!

Happy new year all!  Stay warm.

pesto fusilli pasta

you know what screams summer?  recipes that don’t involve much cooking (who needs that added heat?).  this bright and peppery pesto-pasta salad is a perfect example.  it’s super simple - the only real equipment you’ll need is a food processor (i have this awesome mini one that is great for ny-sized kitchens).  shall we proceed?

In a food processor, add 1/3 cup pine nuts (or some combination of pine nuts and walnuts), 5 cloves of garlic, and 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper. 

Give her a whirl!

Add a bunch of basil, like 3 cups packed.  Slowly pour in a cup of olive oil slowly as you pulse the food processor, or if you have a mini one with one without a chute, just stop and go as you add olive oil a little at a time.

It should be roughly this consistency:

Add 1/2 cup parmesan cheese!  This really helps to bind the pesto together and give it a nice creaminess and bite.

Chop up some cucumbers and sundried tomatoes into bite-sized pieces (reconstitute them in warm water for about 30 minutes, then lightly squeeze out of most of the liquid before you chop them). 

Add to cooked and cooled fusilli pasta (I used a box).  Mix in the pesto until everything is nice and coated.  Fusilli is great with pesto because those nooks really grab onto every bit.

how to construct the perfect fish taco

Last year I wrote about my go-to meal for big parties: pulled pork tacos.  It’s economical, easy, and a big crowd-pleaser.  A close cousin of the pulled pork taco is something I devoured on a regular basis during my college years in San Diego: the humble but glorious fish taco, specifically its Baja incarnation.  For those who don’t know, the hallmark of the Baja fish taco is not just the beer-battered fish, which you’ll find in fish tacos throughout the U.S., but the distinctive smoky salsa, shredded cabbage, and special “white sauce” (not the kind from the halal cart, but a sort of mexican crema).

My version below is a quick and easy rendition: Gorton’s frozen fish sticks, corn tortillas, a quick Mexican slaw (1 bag of coleslaw mix and chopped cilantro tossed with lime juice, olive oil, cayenne, salt & pepper), and Mexican crema (sour cream + a bit of mayo + lime juice + grated lime zest).  If you happen to have guacamole, easy recipe here, then great, add that too.  Then assemble as follows:

Back in the day when I resided in a building with a rooftop pool, a luxury only DC could afford, I spent the most wonderful summer ever lounging around on the weekends with a tray of these and a cooler of Coronas.  

hotmageddon ceviche

Look, I know it’s been a while since I posted a recipe.  Between travel, and work, and just general forgetfulness, and then this crazy heat wave, all I want to do is lay nekkido on the couch drinking ice-cold sangria while someone spritzes facial mist on more than just me visage.  But today I was like, stop being lazy, then I read an article about ceviche in the nytimes, and instead of consulting the recipe included therein, because ceviche is that awesomely easy (basically like making pico de gallo, but easier, and with raw fish), I ventured out into the oven that is DC today to the nearest whole foods.  With this hot weather-appropriate recipe, because the last thing anyone wants to do right now is prepare anything requiring heat, I ask your forgiveness for being such a deadbeat blogger.  Forgive me?  K good.  Here goes.

Buy about 1/2 pound of firm white fish, such as tilapia, halibut, or my favorite (because it tastes similar to halibut, but is half the price), hake (shown below).

Cut fish into small bite-sized chunks.  Marinate in the juice of 2 limes, a dash of salt, and (for a little kick) some thinly sliced jalapenos.  And if you happen to have it, do what the Peruvians sometimes do and add the water and milky flesh from a fresh coconut.  How delicious does that sound.  Or passionfruit juice.  Omg amazing.  And fried shallots.  Ok I’m getting carried away.  

A tip for juicing limes: roll the lime back and forth beneath your palm to loosen the fibers and release the juice.

Arrange the fish so that it is submerged in the marinade.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  

Meanwhile, chop up some red onion, fresh pineapple, cucumber, and avocado into bite-sized chunks.  Add some finely chopped cilantro.

Once the fish is “cooked”  (it’s technically still raw but has the texture and opacity of cooked fish), add the chopped goodies and stir until everything is bathed in lime juice.  

The citric acid from the lime juice causes the flesh’s proteins to denature, in much the same way that heat will.  Stir it up good.

Serve with tortilla chips, baked plantain chips, or sweet potato chips.  

I served this as an appetizer to a meal of simple fish tacos and white wine.  And yes I use chopsticks like with every meal.

Stay cool peeps!