Lou's Most Excellent Cod n' Chile Pepper Risotto

[Yes, it’s been awhile….]

A great, fairly fast (comes together in about 45 minutes) dish that does a Sunday good. I've done some variations of this using diced carrots in place of the asparagus. But asparagus is everywhere this time of year so here goes...

4 cod filets
1 cup of risotto
4 cups chicken broth
3 thick slices of pancetta, julienned
1 small yellow onion, mined
2 cloves garlic, sliced very thin
3 large asparagus spears, diced into 1 cm pieces
1 green onion, green parts only, julienned
2 TBS diced chile peppers (Hatch-style)
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
1 TBS unsalted butter
Smoked paprika
Salt and pepper

Boil the chicken broth and set aside.

In a pot suitable for making risotto (everyone has a risotto pot, right?), over medium heat add in 2 TBS of olive oil and the butter; heat until melted. Add in the yellow onion and garlic and sauté until translucent, about three minutes while trying not to burn it.

In a separate small pan, add in 1 TBS of olive oil over medium heat. Sauté up the pancetta until it’s crispy. Remove and set aside the pancetta, reserving the oil and then sauté the asparagus for about two minutes in the pancetta oil. Remove the asparagus and cover.

Lightly coat the cod filets in paprika and a generous pinch of salt.  Set aside but be ready for it.

Back to the risotto…. Add in the risotto to the pot and stir over medium heat for about 2 minutes, then add in about 1 cup of the broth: it should begin to boil quickly. Stir in the chile peppers and about ½ tsp of salt. Continue to stir until the rice has adsorbed most of the broth, then add another cup of broth. Repeat this process up to the third addition and then taste the risotto: it should be a little crunchy like al dente pasta. If not, add in more broth.

In another pan add about 2 TSP of olive oil and heat to medium. Cook the cod filets until you think they’re done. For a 1.5” (3 cm) thick piece of cod this could be about 1.5 minutes per side.

When the risotto is nearly done, add in the asparagus and green onion. Stir for about a minute and then add in the Parmesan cheese.

Serve the cod on top of some risotto and sprinkle the pancetta over the top. Voila…

Lou's Most Excellent Spaghetti Carbonara

Too many people mess with this dish up by adding additional ingredients, like cream and onion. I’ll eat it, hell, I’ll even order it knowing that it may come out not like mine unless I know in advance it has peas in it. WTF is that all about?

I’m a big fan of fresh pasta except here. The preparation can be a bit tough on delicate pasta so dried works best because it has a higher crunch factor. Also, fresh pasta takes on a lot more water than dried and can wind up becoming gummy here.

I’m always one for adding more stuff to everything I make…except this. Carbonara shouldn’t be fucked with and everyone loves my carbonara and that’s the proof. Try this recipe and you’ll see why. Proof to my obsession with this dish? My old roommate in grad school (Liz) and I tried to coteam on making carbonara and we got into a huge fight about it. There wasn’t enough bacon and I flat out didn’t want to help her because of that reason alone. Happily we laugh about it today. But…well…still…never mind….

This recipe happens quickly, like restaurant kitchen quickly. Assuming no distractions you can easily have this done in 15 minutes or less (once you have the water boiling) from start to finish.

1 pound spaghetti
½ pound of pancetta (substitute thick cut bacon if unavailable)
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 large eggs, room temperature
¼ cup dry white wine
¾ cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
2 TBS fresh grated Pecorino-Romano cheese
2 TSP minced parsley
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Extra Parmesan for serving, if desired

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil according to the pasta directions. You will cook the noodles to al dente, which is critical to great carbonara. Start cooking the pasta when you’re ready to proceed below.

Heat the 2 TBS of olive oil in a skillet over medium/medium-high heat. While heating, cut the pancetta into dime sized chunks. Add the garlic cloves and pancetta and cook until browned; discard the garlic. Drain the oil, reduce heat to medium and add the wine. Simmer until the wine is cooked into the meat, about 5 minutes.

While pancetta is cooking, in a very large bowl scramble the eggs. Add the cheeses, parsley, and 5 – 8 cranks of fresh ground pepper. Mix thoroughly.

By this time your pasta should be near al dente. When ready, QUICKLY drain and then pour the pasta – still a little wet – into the cheese/egg mixture. With salad tongs quickly toss – don’t stir – the mixture together; the egg mix should start to coddle. Sprinkle the pancetta over and toss together.

Serve immediately on warmed plates.

If using pancetta instead of bacon you may need to add a little more salt. Also, if you don’t have Pecorino-Romano you can do without; just add more Parmesan. The trade off is you won’t have the flavor bite one should get with carbonara – it should sting your nose just a little with some pungent aroma in the steam rising off the plate. That bite, along with the bite of the al dente pasta and crisp pancetta, is what makes this great dish.

But it’s still great without.