FETTUCCINE ALLA PAPALINA

This dish is simple with intense and genuine flavours. It represents Rome’s gastronomic heritage. This recipe was created in the first half of the 20th century precisely in honour of a pope, indeed at his explicit request. The story goes that Pius XII, born Eugenio Pacelli, tired of eating the same things over and over again or perhaps to impress a group of foreign guests, asked the chef on duty one day for a “special pasta” different from the usual, one that respected tradition but was light and digestible.

According to some, in fact, the conception of the dish took place before 1939, that is, when Eugenio Pacelli was still a cardinal; according to others, it dates back to the 1950s.

There are no certainties about its inventor either: an anonymous Vatican cook, or the chef of the restaurant “La Cisterna,” where Cardinal Pacelli is said to have used to take his meals, or Cesaretto Simmi, owner of the Ristorante del Colonnato a stone’s throw from St. Peter’s Square, who “often had the occasion to provide lunches directly at the Vatican.” And there are even those who claim that it was the pontiff himself who came up with the recipe….

A “wrong” carbonara

Be that as it may, the cook was inspired by the recipe for spaghetti carbonara, which the pontiff ate but considered too heavy, changing and integrating some ingredients and creating a more refined and “aristocratic” dish.

Guanciale was thus replaced with the richer and more delicate prosciutto crudo while Grana Padano cheese took the place of the stronger and more flavorful pecorino.

Onion sautéed in butter was then added, which, together with egg yolk, blended the flavors better and gave the dish an exceptional creaminess.

Instead of semolina pasta, the preference went to egg pasta, and in particular to the fettuccine typical of Ciociaria.

This mix of flavors soon became one of the workhorses of the capital’s neighborhood osterias, though it remained perhaps less well-known than the “classic” amatriciana, carbonara, and cacio e pepe.

Today the most popular recipe also includes cream, almost certainly not contemplated in the original version, which gives the dish a delicate texture.

In any case, variations abound, and there are those who prefer cooked ham to raw, those who add peas, and those who instead of butter use extra virgin olive oil.

As in other preparations, imagination is welcome: as long as one remembers his noble birth and does not overdo the richness of the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 9 oz of fresh egg Fettuccine pasta
  • 1 cup of fresh or frozen peas
  • 8 slices of prosciutto, diced
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 onion
  • 1/2 cup of butter (plus more for whipping)
  • Grana Padano cheese, grated to taste
  • salt and black pepper to taste

METHOD

To prepare fettuccine alla papalina with peas, start by melting the butter in a nonstick pan.

Season the finely chopped onion with it, and when it has become transparent, add the peas, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

When almost cooked, add the diced prosciutto, season with salt and keep warm.

Meanwhile, lightly beat the eggs with two tablespoons of grated Grana Padano and a grinding of pepper in a bowl large enough to hold, then, the pasta.

Boil the fettuccine al dente, drain them (keeping a cup of the cooking water aside) and quickly mix them with the beaten eggs, which should congeal around the pasta, forming a kind of veil.

Add the peas and ham and top with a few knobs of butter and more grated Grana Padano.

Stir well and quickly but gently to prevent the fettuccine from breaking up.

If everything turns out too dry, splash with a drop of the pasta cooking water kept aside.

Finish with a little freshly ground pepper, divide the fettuccine alla papalina with peas among individual plates, and serve immediately.