The pillow
There are two schools of thought: those that rely on tradition and respect - almost obsessively - the recipe handbook and those that add a personal touch so as to transform - almost completely - the dish.
And then there are those small details - the bacon, for example - that allow you to create a traditional dish started from another recipe.
I love pasta
Pasta is one of the symbols of the Bel Paese. Since time immemorial, pasta has represented - in association - with pizza and the mandolin, the identifying elements of our territory.
Digging deeper you discover traditional recipes that have their roots in the creation of a particular cut rather than in the preference of one seasoning over another.
Just think of Genoa, the association immediately comes into play with trofie with pesto, or pasta alla norma, and Sicily appears in a flash! In short, which region you go to, pasta you find.
It seems obvious, yet there is a region in Italy, more precisely a city, in which a single ingredient manages to overturn the dish in an extraordinary way, thus giving life to another delicacy capable of tickling the palate, but let's go step by step.
The key ingredient, around which everything revolves, is the bacon : thin or thick, diced or roughly cut, well cooked or just seared. Every chef has his own little secret.
The city? The capital, Rome !
From cacio e pepe to Gricia
La Gricia, pronounced with a deep marking on the letter C, as if to underline the goodness of the dish, the notable caloric intake accompanied by a fun and surprising feast in company.
Roma and Gricia go hand in hand. The secret is contained in the bacon which transforms the dish into something equally unique: cacio e pepe.
If bacon is the key element to give cacio e pepe an extra edge, and to keep the most daring vegetarians at bay, there is another ingredient that manages to radically transform the pact; in reality there can be two ingredients, each of which allows the cacio e pepe with bacon to become another delight for lovers of pasta and traditional dishes from central Italy.
Gricia is to Rome, as Amatriciana is to Amatrice.
Red, well cooked, tasty and abundant: when the tomato has these characteristics it makes its triumphal entrance and reaches the podium of fundamental ingredients.
The second level: from Gricia to Amatriciana
Amatriciana has (re)conquered the hearts - and the palates of many, following the sad events of a few years ago the city of Amatrice chose to start from scratch and rebuild itself - in every sense.
Where to start from? They chose to start again from what they did best: Amatriciana pasta.
Here, with a series of events, every year a popular festival is celebrated in which pasta has pride of place and is served to all participants.
From Gricia to Amatriciana it's a short step, just add the tomato and you're done.
If the ingredients are only the same, it is the tricks of the trade that reign supreme and allow each chef to create a unique dish. Guanciale and tomato. Two simple ingredients that are transformed and help create a complete and delicious dish.
If instead of tomato you use egg, however, another typical dish of the Italian tradition is born and which many, outside our borders, envy us.
The third level: from Gricia to Carbonara
Cream? Absolutely not!
Browsing the internet you will find many apparently perfect recipes that define cream as the secret ingredient for creating a creamy, delicious and tasty carbonara pasta. No.
Carbonara, as per grandma's recipe book, tells of a dish without cream and full of creaminess. How you do it?
Do we start with the cacio e pepe, keep the cooking water, continue the process for the gricia, and at the end of cooking - and only at this moment - do we add the egg? Is the pasta too dry? Just half a ladle of cooking water is enough and here is the tasty, tasty dish with grandmother's approval.
In short, if you want to respect tradition it is not enough to choose a recipe found online. You need to work hard to use the right ingredients and if you want to be even more compliant with the rules and - truly - amaze your diners, you need to rely on genuine products that come from controlled origins and are able to give that extra touch.
Imaginative twist
Pasta tonight? Just open the pantry, take a quick look at what's left and start boiling water.
Imagination helps the most daring minds, the preference for genuine products aligns with the idea of bringing dishes to the table that are both tasty and healthy.
Bovì offers the perfect solution for filling the refrigerator with cuts of meat capable of stimulating the imagination and moving away from the idea that meat always and only means the classic steak, perhaps grilled with a side salad, as if to say that a dish is fine healthy, but an exception to the rule helps the palate.
The Bovì Box presents itself exactly in this perspective. The choice to prefer genuine products is a wise decision that goes hand in hand with the desire to amaze guests and offer original dishes, hence the excuse of "Are you vegetarian? I have some blank pasta.” is no longer valid: propose cacio e pepe and transform it into carbonara. You need to add some magical ingredients!
