Truth or tall tale, some of the greatest recipe origin stories involve accidents, shortages, forgotten ingredients, and the savvy chefs who improvised to save the day.
As Tollhouse spins it, chocolate chip cookies were born in the 1930s at the Tollhouse Inn in Massachusetts. Ruth Wakefield was running low on chocolate, so she chopped what she had into bits and expected it to melt. The rest is delicious history.
Nachos Especiales
Nachos might not be on the menu today without one quick-thinking maître d’ named Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya.
As the story goes, one night back in 1943, in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, just across the border from Texas, Anaya was closing his restaurant when a group of American army wives wandered in and asked to eat.
The chef had already left, so Ignacio tore up tortillas and topped them in American cheese and jalapeños.
He called the dish, Nachos Especiales, and it caught on both sides of the border.
Tarte Tatin the best comparison to what happened in my kitchen the other night.
The jury is out on whether the Tartin sisters actually over-caramelized the apples and popped the crust on top to mask their mistake, or if it was just a marketing ploy.
I, however, can assure you that I abandoned my tomatoes for wine, cigarettes, and deep conversation on the terrace.
When I smelled burning, I followed the scent trail and found them blistered, but not beyond repair.
The deep and smoky, black peppery flavor of crispy guanciale (cured pork cheek), is the key to an otherwise simple pasta from Rome’s contemporary culinary canon.
When I saw what I had done, I took it to the next level.
I did a little white wine fumée on the tomatoes.
That is, I poured a shot’s glass worth over the tomatoes and turned the heat back on.
This both deglazed the pan and locked in the flavor.
I cooked the pasta as usual and tossed it with the tomatoes and crispy pieces of guanciale.
Another variation on the theme that I will proudly claim, is a generous dusting of chopped fresh parsley.
Parsley is my ride or die, the most versatile herb in the kitchen.
Parsley is a blast of botanical freshness to balance out any dish that is tipping the savory scales. It will save you if you over-salt, and in this case, it tempers the smoky tomatoes while making up for the vegetable brightness that burned away.
Also it’s pretty.
Read on for the recipe.
Wine Pairing
The smoky nature of this dish lends itself to a red, and local Lazio variety, Cesanese would be fine.
Since my recipe calls for white, and it wasn’t a two-bottle night….I chose to cook with the same wine I served.
A local white wine macerated on skins for a little longer than usual, which is actually pretty common in the wine growing regions surrounding Rome.
La Torretta ‘Toretta’ Bianco - A dry and aromatic blend of Malvasia and Trebbiano. Fermented and aged in cement and anfora. No oaky notes here! Just some earthiness and great mineral finish.
Amatriciana lovers...send me your variations on a theme!