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Big Flavors, Small prices: Square Spaghetti with Cheese and Pig Lard

...it's a 'belly' plate, simple, rich and fat, and gratifying on the tongue - yet refined, with a sort of deep roundness and enough complexity that emerges in the chew.
Prep Time 213 d 12 hrs 43 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Course first courses
Cuisine Italian
Servings 3

Equipment

  • An Italian 'chitarra' noodle utensil, optional

Ingredients
  

  • 2 eggs, good quality
  • 200 grams -/+, of good quality hard wheat floor, depending on personal taste (0 or 00 or other, mixing as well if you like. I usually use mostly a good quality stone-ground 0 mixing in some 00)
  • (a pinch) salt
  • (a few drops) ev olive oil
  • (or 300 grams of long-noodle, thick spaghetti 'spaghettoni', if you don't want to make the noodles)
  • 100 grams robiola or other cream cheese, (like fresh goat, ricotta even, etc.)
  • 6-10 small, firm zucchini (if you can find the tiny ones, the best for this dish, more. Second choice would be 'roman', (light-green and striped) zucchini, which are sweeter than the usual.)
  • 10 transparent thin slices of pig lard(o) (colonnata or other good quality) you can use some bacon, if you must, but then of course do make it crispy, either in a pan or in the oven, and crumple the flakes over top while plating.
  • 20-30 grams Aged cheese, (pecorino, parmigiano, etc. You can mix those, to.)
  • 1 grated lemon rind untreated of course
  • 1 scallion leg (chopped)
  • a little fresh ginger (juice)
  • to taste salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 1-2 pats unsalted butter
  • a couple twirls ev olive oil
  • a few leafs basil
  • 1 pinch sugar

Instructions
 

  • Start with the noodles, of course: make a flour 'fountain' on your marble of wood working plane, adding a pinch of salt, crack the two eggs into the middle, use a fork to slowly mix the whipping eggs and later a few drops of olive oil with the ebbing edges of the flour fountain, until it's been absorbed. Then start using your hands until it's all one homogeneous dough, then work the dough with shoulder and body for 10-15 minutes or until small bubbles begin to form within, until it's both elastic and soft-smooth, then set aside for 30 minutes or so after wrapping it in plastic.
  • Meantime, roughly julienne the zucchini and leave aside, grate the aged cheese and mix it in a bowl with the cream cheese, a dash of salt, some pepper fresh-ground, and a little bit of fresh ginger (in case you're not used to using it: for the ginger you grate it, then squeeze it for the juice,) and finally the lemon rind
  • Now roll the dough into sheets - they can be much thicker than tagliatelle. Not too thick but.... let's say it's up to you how square you want the noodles to be. But adjust later boiling times for the size of the pasta made, of course - roughly to the size of the 'guitar' you'll be using to a make the noodles. Then one by one you place the sheets onto the guitar and roll them down using the pin and your fingers, after. Divide
  • Put a big pot of salted water on a back burner while in a large pan over a front burner, take two of the lard strips and render their fat on lowest heat, use a quick half-dribble of oil to even the rendering if you want. But remove once the strips have been rendered. In another pan up front, saute the zucchini in oil or oil and a pat of butter, salt and pepper, a dash of sugar, then add about half the chopped scallion when they're nearly done. As they cook, put the cheeses, a couple pats of butter, the rest of the uncooked scallion, the grated lemon rind, some fresh ground black pepper and the ginger in a large serving bowl (as mentioned above.) As soon as the zucchini are done, turn off the heat and add the roughly diced basil leaves, mix.
  • By now the water in back is boiling so drain in the noodles - if you use the larger chords (wider) they'll take about 5 minutes to cook, maybe 3-4 for the smaller ones (cooking time is after the water returns to a full boil, but always taste to make sure.) You can add a little oil into the water before the noodles to avoid sticking, at least some do - though I don't think it should make much difference (use a wooden fork or spoon to move the noodles once, after they're in.) Take a little bit of the pasta water, maybe a table spoon or so, and dribble into the serving bowl with the ingredients, and mix then well, use a whisk maybe, until
  • Once the noodles are almost ready, turn off the heat, take a cup of water and add some of it into the rendered fat, turn on and up the heat on the pan the fat is in, drain the noodles rapidly and pour them into the pan, toss a few seconds and check to see if the emulsion is too thick or broken down (too watery,) adjust and toss, then off the heat - and into the mixing bowl. Mix well until the noodles are fully coated.
  • Finally, after plating in individual bowls, place one or two slices of the paper-thin lard onto the hot pasta twirls - the slices will melt into the sauce, adding an intense flavor. Or, as EZ might have said - a load of exquisite rubbish.
Keyword Cheese, pig lard or bacon, spaghettoni, goat cheese, Spaghetti