Roman Recipe

ROME, ITALY - Under the cover of darkness,
the Eternal City sleeps.

The first stirring comes from the town square.

As the sun rises over the Adriatic Sea,
vendors roll open their gates and busily begin
carting out boxes of fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses,
and an assortment of meats.

On the west side of the peninsula, half way up the boot of Italy, Rome is blooming.

Food buyers for city restaurants and everyday
home cooks alike shop side-by-side in
search of the day's best stock.

Surrounded by laterias, pizzerias and trattorias, Antonella Chiaranzelli offers the opinion that for all the culinary expertise in this city of experts, the best Spaghetti Carbonara in town is made at home, by her mama. Chiaranzelli produces the address of a restaurant just outside of town where
mama will be.

Just outside central Rome, in the San Giovanni district, Mama Chiaranzelli is enjoying
the fare at Il Ragioniere.
Buffalo mozzarella the size of a baseball sits on a bed of lettuce surrounded by ripe
tomatoes, melted cheese and thinly-sliced prosciutto.

The restaurant's owner and chef is a man named Ercole (pictured above) .
The restaurant has been in the family for more than 50 years, and Ercole explains
the local fascination with food.

'In America, it's rush, rush, rush,' he said. 'It's so different here. For the Italian people,
we all get together, we eat together. Eating is our culture. It's very important.'

In between servings of the neighborhood dinner, Mama Chiaranzelli makes good
on her promise and shares her secret Roman recipe.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara (Mama Chiaranzelli's recipe from Rome)

16 ounces spaghetti
8 ounces bacon
Extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Chop the bacon into small cubes and brown in a pan together with a few spoonfuls
of oil and the garlic.
Remove the garlic when the bacon begins to brown.
In a double boiler, mix the eggs and yolks together with the grated cheeses,
season with salt and freshly ground pepper to obtain a creamy sauce.

The sauce should be prepared while the pasta is cooking.
As soon as the pasta is ready, strain and mix the pasta with the egg mixture
and the crunchy bacon.

by Thomas Dimopoulos
published in The Saratogian, March 2005.