Pinoy Life At Large

Most people, including myself, would love to go to a restaurant the serves fresh pasta. Not the one from a bag but pasta that has been made from scratch, that is, from flour to dough to sauce to your plate. I’ve only tasted fresh pasta once at a really expensive restaurant, which my sister paid for (lucky me).

Last weekend (June 15), I was lucky enough to witness Italian executive chef Carmine Pece of the Cafe Puccini at a cooking demo inside the Rustan’s Supermarket, Power Plant mall. It was father’s day and there were a lot of people at the mall and Rustan’s took advantage of the large crowd by celebrating Ciao Italia, an Italian food festival to be celebrated throughout June. Meeting chefs have always been a treat for me, not only because they cook well, but because I haven’t met a chef I didn’t like. They’re funny, witty, gracious and accommodating, always willing to answer every question, no matter how stupid or inane (can you make tiramisu without Mascarpone cheese? Apparently, this chef can!).

Allow me to share Chef Pece’s recipe for Fettuccine Alla Panna, which he demonstrated and that I was quite fortunate enough to sample. Alla Panna literally means with cream so Fettuccine Alla Panna is fettucine with cream. Panna is the same word as in the dessert Panna Cotta which literally means cooked cream.

These are the ingredients:

1. 30g Sage
2. 30g White Onion
3. 20g unsalted butter
4. 20g Buffalo Mozzarella cheese (though ordinary mozzarella would do, the good chef insists on buffalo mozzarella or Mozzarella di Bufala Campana. This is mozzarella made from the milk of buffaloes that come from certain parts of southern Italy. Worry not, you can find it at Rustan’s supermarket. It’s usually in a bottle and is dipped in a clear liquid.)
5. 20g Parmesan cheese
6. 100ml Dry white wine (the general rule here is to use only the wine that you can drink. Don’t use wine that has a taste you don’t like.)
7. 10g ground black pepper
8. 30g nutmeg
9. 500ml thick cream

For the homemade fettucine:

1. 300g semolina flour
2. 3 pieces eggs
3. a pinch of salt
4. 1000ml or one liter of water

Procedure:

1. Mound the flour on a flat, clean surface.
2. Make a well in the pile of flour with a spoon or your hand. Afterwards, pour the eggs into the well and use a fork to mix.
3. Add some salt to the mixture to enhance the flavor of the pasta.
4. After mixing it, you will need to knead the mixture to make the dough. While working, dust the surface with some flour to prevent sticking. Knead the dough until it is smooth and firm. When done, cover with cling wrap until you ready to work with it.

The Sauce:

1. Put butter in a hot pan plus all the onions, sage, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
2. Pour the white wine and mix it with the cream under low fire.
3. After a little reduction, add the mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.
4. Add sauce to the pasta, serve and enjoy with parsley on top.

This is the flour Chef Pece wants to use for his homemade fettuccine dish.

Notice that he uses no pasta machine. He says it’s not so different.

I suggest you all try this recipe. I tasted this dish and it was truly heavenly.

Chef Carmine Pece cooks at Cafe Puccini at the Fort Strip mall and Il Pirata at the Eastwood City.