Recipes By Ian Fisher
5 recipes found
Spaghetti Carbonara
This dish is a deli bacon-egg-and-cheese-on-a-roll that has been pasta-fied, fancified, fetishized and turned into an Italian tradition that, like many inviolate Italian traditions, is actually far less old than the Mayflower. Because America may have contributed to its creation, carbonara is Exhibit A in the back-and-forth between Italy and the United States when it comes to food. Remember: the main goal is creaminess.
Shortcut Guanciale
There is an edge of obsessiveness to carbonara — and I gave in to it completely by starting to make my own guanciale, the cured pig cheek central to most Italian versions of the dish. There’s no real need to; it’s available online, but I was inspired after eating a wonderful meal at Vetri Ristorante in Philadelphia, and buying a cookbook, “Rustic Italian Food,” by its owner, Marc Vetri. He made it sound easy — and it is. It’s also satisfying. Guanciale is generally cured for a week, then hung to dry for about three weeks, which is how I usually make it. A fireplace is perfect. But Mr. Vetri has a version that cures for only three days, then is baked. If you order raw cheeks, they need to be trimmed. You want to end up with a neat, flat slab, roughly an inch and a half thick. The key is to cut off the glands, down to the first level of meat, and all excess fat. Here is Mr. Vetri’s recipe:
Beet- and Horseradish-Cured Salmon
This is a good first foray into curing because the process is simple and relatively quick and the reward considerable. Thanks to the beets, the color on the outside of the salmon is a deep, rich fuchsia. And don't be afraid to use fresh horseradish if you can find it; just be careful.
Duck Prosciutto
Consider using this cured duck, adapted from "Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing," by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn, as a garnish for salad; as a canapé, on a bit of toasted bread spread with Dijon mustard; or sautéed like pancetta.
