Pasta in the spotlight at Molleni!

Pasta is the emblem of Italian gastronomy and for good reason… there are no fewer than 1,300 different kinds! From penne rigate to linguine , orecchiette or picci , there is something for everyone. The sauces that accompany them are just as varied since each region, city and village has developed its own recipes over time.

In Italy, pasta is traditionally served al dente and in small portions as primi piatti, in other words, as a “first course” (and not as a main course)… and this at every lunch! Because among our neighbors, pasta replaces bread by providing the necessary daily dose of starchy foods.

This week, Molleni invites you to discover a typical recipe from the new book Pasta Pasta Pasta by the essential Chef Simone Zanoni : pasta alla carbonara (successfully reproduced by us then devoured...!)

(sensitive souls - French - refrain: this is THE Italian recipe... without crème fraîche!)

To reproduce real Italian pasta recipes at home and serve them "as if you were there", shop our special pasta soup plates and Chef Zanoni's book on our e-shop!

Chef Simone Zanoni's recipe (for 4 people)

Ingredients: 400 grams of spaghetti, 6 extra-fresh organic egg yolks, 140 g of grated pecorino romano, 150 g of guanciale, 4 g of black peppercorns

1. Boil water in a saucepan without salting it too much.

2. Heat a non-stick rounded bottom frying pan over very low heat.

3. Crush the pepper in a mortar. Cut the guanciale into sticks and cook over low heat without adding any fat to the pan with half the pepper, until they become very crispy.

4. Remove three-quarters of the guanciale with a skimmer, and place it on paper towels. Leave the rest of the guanciale and all the fat in the pan. Add 2 ladles of pasta cooking water.

5. Cook the spaghetti for half the time indicated on the package.

6. Remove the spaghetti from the cooking water with a spider and put it in the pan, with the guanciale – don't throw away the cooking water!

7. Mix the egg yolks with 120g of pecorino.

8. Continue cooking the pasta in the rounded bottom pan, adding cooking water gradually, until you obtain a creamy sauce thanks to the starch of the pasta.

9. When the pasta is al dente, remove it from the heat, wait 30 seconds for the pan to cool down and add the egg/cheese mixture (in a pan that is too hot, the eggs will cook).

10. Add the remaining pepper and sprinkle with the reserved crispy guanciale and a generous amount of finely grated pecorino. Serve immediately.