Anyway, I have this thick and heavy book – The Complete Italian Cookbook (by Carlo Bernasconi and Christian Teubner). My husband bought it for me years ago, knowing my love for all things Italian. I count it as one of my favourites, among the things he has given me. I still take this book out from time to time, just to pore over the gorgeous photos, or to re-read recipes. As such, it is well-thumbed, with many pages flagged 🙂
Seeing that reader from Italy made me whip that book out again. After flipping through briefly, I spotted the page on Spaghetti alla Carbonara, one of my beloved pasta dishes. I realised I haven’t had it in a while, and suddenly yearned for a taste of that eggy-cheesy-smoky flavour. Well, the good thing about knowing how to cook is, you can satiate your cravings quite easily. So, I made it for dinner 🙂
Since there are scores of recipes for Spaghetti alla Carbonara on the Internet, I shan’t list it here. My only word of advice is, use the freshest, best quality ingredients your money can buy. I know this should always be the mantra, but it is especially crucial for simple dishes, for you’ll have nothing to disguise the taste of inferior quality ingredients.
After making the spaghetti, I gave my “Made in Italy” daughter a quick lesson in plating it. I can’t remember exactly who said it, but I think it was Jamie Oliver. He said pasta should always stand proud on the plate, in a pretty mound. I couldn’t agree more! It riles me whenever I see pasta served as a floppy, sloppy, mangled mess smothered in waaaay too much sauce. That would beChar Kway Teow. So, always use a pair of tongs and the right dish to plate your pasta.
At first bite of my Spaghetti alla Carbonara, I had a “Remy Moment”. Remember when Remy (in Ratatouille) took a bite of strawberry and another of cheese? Sparks all around? Well, it happened to me. I had fireworks on display. It was eggy and cheesy and full of umami. Perfetto!
So, to that Italian reader who was the reason why I had a most scrummilicious pasta dinner tonight, if you are reading this, “Mille grazie e ci vediamo!”
