I have been making my way through a lot of
classic Italian pasta dishes. I think that it is very important to be able to
create these dishes in the most traditional way. YouTube is an excellent source
for recipes and I have been spending a lot of time there wading through dozens
of instructional videos for each of these dishes. Determining the most
traditional recipe is a lot like triangulating a location. If you look at 20
videos of a particular dish you can narrow down the ingredients to the bare
minimum. Italian cooking is about using a few high quality ingredients to
create a very specific taste and texture. As I heard one Italian chef explain,
the three most important things about Italian cooking are quality, quality, and
quality.
I made an experimental version of bucatini all’amtriciana last night but I
didn’t have the correct ingredients. Instead of guanciale (pork cheek) I used pancetta and instead of Pecorino
cheese I used Grana Padano, two substitutions that would disqualify this as
being bucatini all’amatriciana. The next time I make this I will track down
the proper ingredients, even if I have to fly to Italy to do it. Anyone who has
eaten from my kitchen knows that my Spanish dishes are 100% authentic. I am
trying to carry this culinary honesty over to the Italian dishes I am learning.
A key factor in many Italian pasta dishes
is having good tomato sauce on hand. I make tomato sauce in bulk (but never
enough) and freeze a lot of it in small containers. My tomato sauce is
infinitely better than anything out of a jar or can and it is easy to make. As I have said before, for me it is one of
those un-improvable dishes and comes out delicious every time. This
un-improvable tomato sauce will improve just about any pasta dish that calls
for tomatoes.
The next dish on my list will be carbonara.
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