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fettuccine alla papalina

fettuccine in a cream, parmesan, egg and prosciutto crudo sauce

Once upon a time, back in the 1930s, so the story goes, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli asked his chef to create a lighter version of the classic Roman Carbonara. And this is what he came up with : soffritto of onions and prosciutto crudo, plus a ‘lighter’(!!) carbonara style sauce of cream, parmigiano and eggs! Eugenio went on to become Pope Pius XII, and by then the chef was serving this meal up in the papal apartments….


'Alla Papalina' is a fun alternative to carbonara; with the benefit of hindsight and viewed from a post- ready meal perspective, it’s easy to look down your nose at Alla Paplina and dismiss it as common and boring (especially if you add peas to it!). After all, it’s almost certainly the reason that all those philistines put cream in their carbonara…. Except maybe they’re not putting cream in their carbonara …. Maybe they’re actually making a kind of Alla Papalina and just call it carbonara!


Incidentally, the very existence of Alla Papalina means that we can once and for all dispel the myth that Carbonara was 'invented' for US troops pining for their eggs and ham as they liberated Rome during WW2. Anyway, don't be snobby. Don't think of this as Carbonara with cream. Give Papalina a chance. Make some fresh pasta of your own like I did tonight (or grab some from the chiller cabinet), grind some black pepper into a pan and toast it and then put this dish together, imagining you’re sitting there in 1930s Rome. It can actually seem quite special.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)

  • prepare the eggs

  • grate the cheese

  • tear the prosciutto

  • chop and cook the onions

  • make the egg and cream sauce

  • cook the pasta

  • combine sauce, prosciutto and pasta

fettuccine in a cream, parmesan, egg and prosciutto crudo sauce

INGREDIENTS

FOR FOUR PEOPLE

  • 150g prosciutto crudo

  • 150ml single cream

  • 70g parmesan

  • 1 medium onion

  • 2 yolks

  • black pepper

PASTA

400g fresh egg fettuccine / tagliatelle


MANTECATURA (?)

minimal

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METHOD

Start by grating some black pepper into a dry non stick pan and toasting it gently. This activates the pepper and smells incredible - as soon as that smell hits you take the pan off the heat but keep the pepper moving in the pan while it cools down a bit - you don’t want to burn it at all. Beat 2 yolks together with the cream in a bowl. Sprinkle in the parmesan; keep mixing to obtain a smooth sauce. Next cut a medium onion into thin rings (I think little, thin strings of cooked onion end up looking and eating better than indiscriminately finely chopped diced onion!). Cook in gently in olive oil in the pan with the pepper, but be careful not to give it too much colour. When the onion's softened to your liking, set it aside.

Cook the pasta. As it reaches 'al dente', fish it out of the Boiling Pan (saving the cooking water) and add it to the cream sauce in a sauce wok. Add a splash of cooking water as you toss and combine, off the heat, for about a minute. Add 2/3rds of the prosciutto crudo (hold the rest back to garnish) and all of the onion; toss and combine. Plate each portion immediately and add the rest of the prosciutto to garnish.

NUTRITION per serving

  • KCAL: 472

  • Fat (g): 21.3

  • Sat Fat (g): 10.2

  • Carb (g): 42.7

  • Sug (g): 5.3

  • Fibre(g): 2.8

  • Prot (g): 26.9

  • Salt (g): 2.08

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