Pasta alla Carbonara

When Judy Rodgers, the chef at Zuni, was a 16-year-old high school student in St. Louis, she went to France to study abroad for a year with friends of her neighbors. But these weren't any old friends. They were the Troisgros brothers, who had a famous restaurant in Roanne, Les Frères Troisgros, and it was in their kitchen that the Midwestern teenager absorbed the pleasures of cooking and eating in a way that would direct the course of her life. She spent that year with the Troisgros family, including the Troisgros sœur, Madeleine Troisgros Serraille, who at least twice a week fed Judy Rodgers wonderful, homey meals cooked in her own kitchen. Judy Rodgers inhabited the Troisgros kitchens, where, at the encouragement of her St. Louis neighbor and a nod of assent from the family Troisgros, she became a scribe, keeping notebooks so meticulous that one day they would become her passport into the world of fine American food when Alice Waters hired her to cook at Chez Panisse.

After cooking in America and France, Judy Rodgers went to Italy, where she was bewitched again - this time by Italian food.

Stopping in Roanne on the way home, sharing travel stories with the Troisgros, I could not help but focus on how delicious the food was in Italy. I should not have been surprised that they also shared that view. So much for Gallic chauvinism. No one seemed the least bit bothered by this apparent "defection" - if anything, it was evidence I had inherited their affection for authentic, generous food to celebrate every day.

I had found a culinary home in the Tuscan idiom, and on subsequent trips, fell for the charms of Umbria, Sicily, the Abruzzo, Campania, and so on. By the time I headed back to California that first year I had a goal. I would look for that restaurant where I could settle down to cook both French and Italian traditional food and evoke the spirit of dinner at Madeleine's.

Judy Rodgers, The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, Pages 23 and 24.

My friend Walter likes pasta, but he doesn't LOVE pasta. He doesn't like pasta in the same way that those of us who adore carbs and who might actually consider eating a potato chip sandwich do. Every now and then he has a little hankering for it, but most of the time, he'll pass. So when I set out to make the Zuni version of Pasta alla Carbonara, I assumed I would like it. However, I wasn't prepared for its being so delicious that Walter would eat every morsel on his plate within what seemed like seconds of my placing it before him and, for the first time, before I finished mine.  It's that good.

Pasta alla Carbonara

Zuni's Carbonara is not traditional.  Its ingredients include ricotta and bacon.  My favorite ricotta in the whole world is from DiPalo Fine Foods, which is a wonderful place for all things Italian. DiPalo's, a family-owned business, is run by brothers Salvatore and Louis DiPalo and their sister Marie. The store is located at 200 Grand Street in New York City's Little Italy, across the street from its original location, which was opened in 1910 by the trio's great grandfather, an Italian immigrant. I've been going there since I was a little girl; my grandmother was born in an apartment two blocks from where the store now stands. The ricotta and mozzarella are homemade, and both are absolutely delicious. If you live in NYC, it's always worth a special trip there. 

At DiPalo's you will find pastas cut on bronze dies - and you might even run into the man from Italy who produces them. You can taste Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese from a wheel personally selected in Italy by Lou DiPalo. Some of what else you will find is the newest harvest olive oil; artisanal Balsamic vinegar; whole grain farro; the three kinds of rice for risotto - Arborio, Carnaroli, and Vialone Nana; dried sausages; fresh sausages; cured meats imported from Italy; all kinds of cheeses; and, as I said, the best - THE BEST - handmade mozzarella and ricotta (which means amazing ravioli made from that ricotta) you will find in any of the five Boroughs.

It's no surprise that when it was time to make my first Italian-inspired dish from Zuni, I headed straight for DiPalo's.

Marie holding pecorino romano cheese and beautiful handmade ricotta

Judy Rodgers suggests using a "chewy, dried semolina pasta shape that does not grab too much sauce: spaghetti, spaghettini, penne, or bucatini." I find it really does make a difference to use artisanal pasta from Italy, which has been made using bronze cutting die, and usually use Pasta Setaro or Rustichella D'Abruzzo pasta.




This time I tried Cav. Guiseppe Cocco penne rigate, and it was delicious.

I always weigh pasta before I cook it, planning on 4 ounces a person for a main course and 2 ounces for a starter.

Marie with wheel of Fulvi Pecorino Romano

After I left DiPalo's, I jumped off the train at Union Square and headed to the Greenmarket, where I got beautiful blue eggs laid by Araucana chickens from Windfall Farms. Araucana chickens are a breed that originated in Chile. The natural color of the shells of Martha Stewart's Araucana hens inspired a collection of paints by Fine Paints of Europe. (I can personally attest to the radiance and quality of these paints, which are fully pigmented and produce a light-reflective finish that has to be seen to be appreciated. If you are interested in this fantastic paint and want some color guidance, give Emmett Fiore a call. He is friendly - and brilliant - and will work with you tirelessly to achieve the result you are looking for. Trust me on this one.)




I often make a special trip here to get these eggs, which have the most wonderful flavor and are so fresh when they are fried that the yolks stand up round and proud the way I picture the breasts of a 16th century Italian courtesan. The picture does not do justice to how blue the eggs are.

Peas from my Garden

I was going to say that this is a recipe where excellent ingredients shine, but that's really the point, isn't it? If Zuni has a philosophy, this would be it.

And so, the Zuni repertory is an evolving hybrid of the cuisines that I love, made possible by the generosity of many teachers and colleagues. I hope I can in this volume honor and convey some of their collective wisdom and passion. If our food is delicious, it is due to that passion, and to the extraordinary quality of the products we obtain, and to the talent and devotion of every cook who has embraced it with heart.
Judy Rodgers, The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, Page 28.

I served this dish with salad made from arugula grown at S & S.O. Farm and sold at Union Square.

S. & S.O. Farm Stand at Union Square

Dessert was a bowl of cold cherries.

As usual, Sylvano was on hand to help out.