#17 - Amatriciana Minestrone + Carbonara Tart
A couple of Roman pasta sauces getting a wee makeover
There are many pasta sauces that are so delicious, they deserve to be converted into other foods, and this week’s newsletter is going to focus on two of them. You are getting an amatriciana reimagined into a minestrone, which makes a lovely midweek tea.
You are also getting a carbonara all wrapped in pastry and turned into a tart (there is cream in this one though - don’t hate me, it’s necessary for a quiche). We’ll go over the basics of shortcrust pastry making too, so if you are a hot-handed creature like me, hopefully you can learn some things which will make it a less frustrating exercise.
You’ll also hear about a song, a book and a bowl that I am fixated on this week, and where to buy the best tablecloths!
Enjoy my dudes!
Sophie x
The Recipes
Amatriciana Minestrone
Amatriciana is a gorgeous sauce originating from Rome, loaded up with guanciale (cured pig cheeks), tomatoes and pecorino. The fattiness of the guanciale creates a really luscious sauce, and I thought that a classic minestrone also deserved a bit of that love. Pancetta works well in its place if you can’t find guanciale.
Serves 4
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery sticks
160g guanciale or pancetta
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 tsp tomato puree
400g passata
1.2ml chicken stock
160g macaroni
400g white beans
handful of fresh basil leaves
30g pecorino romano
salt, pepper and olive oil
Finely dice your onion, carrot and celery.
Get a casserole dish over a medium heat with a little olive oil, then tip in your guanciale or pancetta. Turn the heat down, and cook it gently for about 5 minutes, until the fat has rendered out and it’s gone all crispy.
Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon, and set it aside. Tip your diced veg in there, and cook it for about 15 minutes, until it has softened.
Grate your garlic, and add your chilli flakes and tomato puree to the pan. Give it a mix, and cook these out for 2 minutes.
Add your passata and chicken stock to the pan, then bring it up to the boil. Simmer it for 10 minutes.
Drain your beans in a colander, and give them a rinse. Season your sauce with salt and pepper, then tip your beans and pasta into the pan. Simmer the mixture for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick to the base of the pan.
Check to see if your pasta is cooked - you want it al dente. Cook for a little longer if you need to.
Tear your basil leaves into the pan and give it a mix, then adjust the seasoning if you need.
Spoon your broth into bowls, and top each with your crispy guanciale or pancetta, and a good sprinkle of pecorino. Serve it up.
Carbonara Quiche
I don’t care if it’s old fashioned, I just absolutely love a quiche. A quiche lorraine packed with eggs, cream, lardons and maybe a little gruyere is classic, so it wasn’t that much more of a leap to me to swap the gruyere out for cheeses that you find more commonly in a carbonara - that is to say, parmesan and pecorino. I know there is no cream in a carbonara, but it is an important ingredients to give you that silky savoury custard, so it stays in this instance, LOTS of black pepper is the other important ingredient here.
This recipe gives your crisp, crumbly pastry, and a luscious silky filling. No scrambled egg in sight!
Here are my tips for the best shortcrust pastry: