Tag: cheese

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Another wonderful traditional peasant dish from Italy! That’s what I thought when I first tasted spaghetti alla carbonara. After all, the name suggests that this is a dish for charcoal burners (“carbonari” in Italian), who undoubtedly appreciated a filling meal that didn’t cost a lot.

Alas, the recipe seems to have been created to use the bacon and eggs given to the starving civilians of Rome by the U.S. Army at the end of World War II. Even if spaghetti alla carbonara is not something that Michelangelo ate for lunch while painting the Sistine Chapel, it is possible that he sat down to a plateful of spaghetti con cacio e uova (spaghetti with cheese and eggs), which is a similar dish minus the bacon but with the grease.

And since my speculator* is working at full speed today, let me say that the good women of Rome may have created the recipe to serve to the charcoal burners bringing fuel from the countryside to a city lacking power that first winter after the war. Whatever the origin of the recipe, spaghetti alla carbonara is a deliciously simple dish.

Today, many people omit the “alla” (which means “to” in Italian) from the name, but whatever you call it, “spaghetti carbonara” or “spaghetti alla carbonara” is a wonderful change from the red sauces and heavy cream sauces most of us associate with pasta dishes. The sauce consists only of eggs, a little oil and Parmesan cheese. If you like bacon, eggs and cheese, chances are good that you will enjoy this recipe.

Here is how to put it on the table in half an hour.

INGREDIENTS:

1 T olive oil
1/2 pound extra thick sliced bacon
3 or 4 cloves garlic
1 lb. spaghetti
4 large eggs
1 1/4 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh parsley leaves for garnish

PROCEDURE:

Put four large eggs in a bowl of warm water. Bring four or five quarts of water to a boil in a large pot or or Dutch oven.

While the water is heating, cut the bacon into half inch pieces. Peel and mince the garlic. You should have about a tablespoon of minced garlic. Grate the Parmesan cheese and set it aside.

Put a tablespoon of olive oil into a large skillet and add the bacon. Fry the bacon over medium heat until slightly crisp. Remove the bacon and drain it on a paper towel in a bowl. Remove the skillet from the heat. You should have about three tablespoons of oil in the skillet. Dip out or add a little as necessary.

Beat the eggs until they are lemon yellow in a small bowl. Whisk about half the grated Parmesan cheese and a quarter teaspoon salt into the eggs.

When the water comes to a boil, add a teaspoon of salt and the spaghetti. Cook eight or nine minutes to the al dente stage. Before draining the spaghetti, reserve a cup of the pasta water.

About two minutes before the spaghetti is done, return the skillet to the burner, turn the heat to medium and sauté the garlic for half a minute. Return the bacon to the skillet and make a generous grind of fresh black pepper over the bacon. Turn the heat to low.

Now you have to work quickly. Drain the spaghetti and put it in the skillet with the bacon and garlic. Mix everything together for about a minute. Turn off the heat and dribble the eggs into the hot pasta while you stir briskly to keep the eggs from curdling. Sprinkle on the rest of the grated Parmesan cheese and stir until you have a smooth sauce covering each strand of spaghetti. If the sauce seems too thick and dry, stir in a few tablespoons of the hot pasta water until you have the consistency you want.

Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Mound on individual plates and garnish with a little chopped parsley. Serve with a green salad and a red wine such as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo or a good domestic Pinot Noir.

NOTES: It is important to have the eggs at or a little above warm room temperature so they will cook properly in the hot spaghetti.

Do not use the grated Parmesan cheese sold in plastic jars. You can buy grated Parmesan cheese in the dairy case at the supermarket or better yet, buy a wedge of good Parmesan cheese and grate it just before you use it. The better the cheese, the better the flavor. Top of the line is Parmigiano-Reggiano, which is imported from Italy and pricy, but a good quality domestic Parmesan cheese will work fine.

If you don’t have one already, consider picking up a cheese grater. It has a little hopper that you put a chunk of cheese in so it rests against a metal drum turned with a small crank. The grater handle is hinged. You press the cheese against the drum with the handle while you turn the crank and watch the grated cheese pile up on a plate. These gadgets sell for under ten dollars, and they are worth every penny.

*If you want to know what a speculator is, click here: The Speculator.

Seafood Divan

When Jerri first made this casserole I thought that it was called Seafood Divine because it tasted heavenly.   However, it is actually a takeoff of Chicken Divan, a casserole made with poached chicken, broccoli and Mornay Sauce–a classic French cheese sauce made with white sauce, Parmesan and Gruyère cheese.    Chicken Divan was invented and named by an anonymous chef at the Divan Parisien Restaurant in New York City sometime early in the twentieth century.

The meaning of divan is unclear.  One explanation is that “divan” is a French word for a meeting place.  Another is that the word actually refers to the privy council of the Ottoman Empire and by association with the council chamber itself.  My guess is that the Divan Parisien  Restaurant and its signature dish were given the name because it sounded elegant.

The strategy worked and the restaurant flourished for many years just a short distance north of Grand Central Terminal.   The recipe spawned dozens, if not hundreds, of variations and takeoffs, many of which seem to use “Divan” in the name just because it sounds good.

Thus, there are leftover turkey divans, ham divans, pork divans, fish divans, lobster and shrimp divans, hamburger divans, vegetarian divans and even spam divans.  I kid you not.  The one thing these recipes have in common besides the name is some kind of cheese.

Here is our recipe for “a really elegant dish” (a divan!) made with canned and frozen ingredients that you can keep on hand to use when you don’t know what to make for dinner and don’t feel like going to the store to get inspired.  This recipe probably originated somewhere in the midwest fifty or sixty years ago.  Neither of us really knows where we got it.  Jerri even accuses me of first making it, but she is wrong.

INGREDIENTS:

For the casserole:

1/2 pound fresh or frozen codfish fillets
1 six ounce can of crabmeat
1 can of condensed Cream of Celery Soup
1 fourteen ounce can of cut asparagus
1 four ounce can of sliced mushrooms
1 two ounce jar diced pimientos
4 tsp. all purpose flour
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
White or brown rice

For poaching the fish:

2 quarts water
1 bay leaf
1 small onion
4 peppercorns
4 whole cloves
2 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt

PROCEDURE:

If the fillets are frozen, thaw them before poaching and and grate the cheese.

Put the poaching ingredients into a three or four quart saucepan and bring the liquid to a boil.  Boil for five minutes, then remove the pan from the heat for a few minutes to allow the liquid to cool slightly.

Drop the fillets into the hot liquid and return the pan to low heat for five minutes or until the fish flakes but is not soft.  Do not boil or overcook the fish.  With a slotted spoon remove the fish from the poaching liquid to a mixing bowl.  Discard the liquid.  Add the crabmeat to the fish and mix them together, breaking the fillets into large flakes.

Preheat the oven to 325º.   Drain the asparagus and put it into a baking dish.  Drain the mushrooms and layer them on top.  Layer the pimientos on the mushrooms.  Sprinkle the vegetables with four teaspoons of all purpose flour.  Layer the fish and crab mixture on the vegetables.

Warm the soup with 2 or 3 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan and mix until smooth.  Pour the soup over the fish and vegetables.  Sprinkle with the grated cheese.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes.  Cook the rice according to your favorite method and make a salad while the casserole is baking.

Serve over rice accompanied by a garden salad and French bread.

NOTES:  You can substitute haddock, pollock or other firm-fleshed fish for the codfish fillets.  A glass of chilled white wine goes well with this dish.