This recipe was part of a "fast cooking" lesson I recently attended. The Carbonara is a classic Italian dish, coming from the culinary tradition of Latium, an evolution of a very rustic preparation made of cacio cheese and eggs, "cacio e ova". The name Carbonara refers to the fact that it was originally consumed by the "Carbonari" (the members of the secret revolutionary society founded in Italy in the early 19th-century), who used to carry it in their food bags and eat even cold the day after it was cooked, only with their hands. The classic Carbonara recipe is based on eggs, cheese (Parmigiano or better Pecorino), bacon and black pepper. In this more delicate and lighter version, yet still tasty, we used smoked swordfish instead of bacon, and no cheese. The ideal wine to pair should be a fresh white wine, with a good smoothness and structure, lightly aromatic, like a Chardonnay, a Pinot grigio or a Sauvignon from the Collio or Colli Orientali del Friuli. Even a white blend could be fine, or a sparkling wine, like a Metodo classico Oltrepò Pavese. Here the recipe of the "fast" and easy Smoked swordfish Carbonara spaghetti. Enjoy it!
Smoked swordfish Carbonara spaghetti
(the recipe is taken from my class cookbook written by Roberta Molani, makes 6 servings)
320 g spaghetti
60 g smoked swordfish (cleaned and cut into little strips)
20 g braised chopped onion
1 egg plus 2 yolks
2 tablespoons liquid cream
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
fresh chopped parsley
pepper
Braise the onion in a pan with two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Add the swordfish and brown it till it gets crunchy. Do not salt, just pepper. Cook the spaghetti and drain them with a ladle of their cooking water in the pan of the swordfish. Stir well for one minute. Whisk the egg and the yolks with the cream, add the mixture to the spaghetti and stir only one time. Let the egg cream thicken in the pan with the spaghetti for 30 seconds without stirring. Serve and decorate with some fresh chopped parsley and, if desired, with some pink pepper grains.
