Lazio, the Italian area of which Rome is the capital, has 4 well-known easy traditional pasta dishes with comparable elements:
- Cacio pepe: pecorino + black pepper
- Gricia: guanciale + pecorino + black pepper
- Carbonara: guanciale + pecorino + black pepper + egg yolk
- Amatriciana: guanciale + pecorino + black pepper + white wine + chilli flakes
Not too long ago my good friend Melvin identified that there’s a fifth one referred to as Zozzona, which I had by no means heard of earlier than. However it seems that it has been round because the Nineteen Sixties and it’s exceptionally tasty. Zozzona is sort of a marriage of Carbonara and Amatriciana, however with out the wine and chilli, and with the addition of onion and salsiccia (Italian pork sausage). Some individuals say it’s a mixture of all 4 of the classics and was invented to make use of leftovers from these 4, however that’s not right as salsiccia and onion are in neither of them.
Zozzo is a Roman phrase which means one thing plentiful, greasy, succulent, and wealthy, and that’s precisely what this pasta is like. It additionally jogs my memory of the Italian phrase ingozzarsi, which suggests to stuff your self with meals. The egg yolks and tomato combine very properly to grow to be a creamy but ‘recent’ (as in balanced quite than heavy) sauce. The pecorino, guanciale, and salsiccia present nice depth of taste. That is consolation meals at its finest.
Some recipes name for passata (sieved tomatoes), different recipes for canned cherry tomatoes. I made a decision to make use of recent cherry tomatoes as they’re plentiful for the time being, and to offer a contact of summer time to this dish. I preferred the recent taste they offered however not a lot the skins, so I’ll in all probability use passata any longer.
Rigatoni is the same old pasta form for this, as items of salsiccia and guanciale get contained in the tubes, and the ridges are nice for holding the sauce. Different quick ribbed pasta tubes reminiscent of mezze maniche would additionally work.
Elements
For two servings
- 160 grams (.35 lb) rigatoni
- 250 grams (1 cup) sieved tomatoes (passata) or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 50 grams (1 small) minced onion
- 75 grams (3 oz) guanciale (or pancetta), sliced into skinny strips
- 150 grams (.33 lb) salsiccia (Italian sausage), taken out of its casing
- 25 grams (1 oz) freshly grated pecorino romano + extra for garnish
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and freshly floor black pepper
Directions
Warmth a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and add 75 grams of guanciale in strips.
Stir over medium warmth till the guanciale is golden brown (however not utterly crisped up) and has launched fairly a little bit of fats.
Take the guanciale out of the pan with a strainer, and reserve.
Add 50 grams of minced onion to the pan with the fats from the guanciale.
Stir over medium warmth till the onion is comfortable, 5 to 10 minutes.
Within the meantime, carry a pot of water to a boil for the pasta.
Add 150 grams of salsiccia meat and enhance the warmth.
Stir with two wood spatulas, breaking apart the salsiccia, till the salsiccia is damaged up and beginning to shade.
Add 250 grams of sieved tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes.
Add the reserved guanciale and season with freshly floor black pepper. (Don’t season with salt, because the guanciale, salsiccia, and pecorino already present loads of salt.) Stir and cut back the warmth to medium as quickly because it boils.
Boil 160 grams of rigatoni in ample salted water for the time indicated on the package deal for al dente.
Simmer the sauce till the sieved tomatoes have thickened or the cherry tomatoes have fallen aside. If utilizing cherry tomatoes, you might want so as to add some pasta cooking water.
Within the meantime, place 2 egg yolks in a bowl.
Whisk the egg yolks.
Add 25 grams of freshly grated pecorino.
Whisk to combine the cheese with the egg yolks.
Wait till the pasta is sort of accomplished, then slowly add only a little bit of the pasta cooking water to the egg yolk and pecorino combination, whereas whisking. Only a few tablespoons is enough (I solely used half the quantity you see within the photograph).
That is to loosen and mood the egg yolk and cheese combination. In case you add an excessive amount of pasta cooking water or too shortly, you’re going to get scrambled eggs quite than a creamy sauce.
Flip the warmth to very low when the sauce is prepared.
Drain the pasta when it’s al dente, and add it to the sauce.
Toss over low warmth for about 1 minute, till the pasta is coated with the sauce, then flip off the warmth.
Be sure the warmth is off, then add the egg yolk and pecorino combination to the pasta.
Stir to combine.
Serve without delay on preheated plates, sprinkled with some extra freshly grated pecorino, and a splash of freshly floor black pepper.
