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Pasta alla Zozzona
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Pasta alla Zozzona

Why isn’t this dish more famous outside Rome? Pasta alla Zozzona is a decadent pasta that has a flavor you’ve never experienced before. It’s as though a Carbonara and Amatriciana made love and had a baby. It’s an extraordinary dish which combines pork ingredients with egg, tomato and pecorino cheese.

Equipment

  • knife
  • bowl
  • fork
  • Frying pan
  • wooden spoon
  • pot
  • Small bowl
  • Strainer
  • Spoon

Ingredients

  • 10.58 oz Rigatoni Pasta 300g
  • 3 free range/organic eggs
  • 1 thick pork Italian sausage
  • 5.29 oz Guanciale 150g
  • ½ Onion chopped finely
  • 28.2 oz Peeled tomatoes 2 x 400g cans
  • Pecorino Romano cheese as much as you like!
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Fresh basil as much as preferred
  • Salt and pepper as much as required

Instructions

To Prepare the Sauce

  • Pour the canned tomatoes into a bowl and gently press to break them down using a fork.
  • Remove the skin from the guanciale with a knife, but leave the fat.
  • Cut the guanciale into thin strips, then into bite-size pieces.
  • Make a shallow cut in the Italian sausage, then peel off the skin. Press the sausage meat flat with the side/tip of the knife and break it into smaller pieces.
  • Put three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in the frying pan. Add diced onion and cook for up to 7 minutes on medium heat (less if it starts to brown too much).
  • When the onion turns golden brown, add the guanciale, and once this is crispy add Italian sausage. Stir continuously making sure it is cooked all over.
  • Add some more extra virgin olive oil and allow it to cook through.
  • When sausage becomes greyish brown, add peeled tomatoes. Stir gently and cook for 15 minutes on medium-low heat.
  • Add a touch of salt and press down on the tomatoes to release the juice. Leave to cook for 15 more minutes.

To Cook the pasta

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a generous tablespoon of sea salt.
  • Add rigatoni to the boiling water and cook for 13 minutes, (or follow packet instructions to ensure they’re al dente).
  • Stir pasta occasionally and once ready, scoop up a mug full of pasta water.

Make the Carbonara Sauce

  • Separate the egg white and the yolk then whisk egg yolks in a bowl.
  • Add 4 generous tablespoons of Pecorino Romano. Mix the egg yolks and cheese with a fork until it thickens then add black pepper.
  • Mix a small amount of hot pasta water into the mix. The sauce should become a little runny, and the hot water should cook the egg yolks slightly.
  • Sprinkle fresh basil into the sauce, stir gently then add the pasta and Pecorino cheese.
  • Stir and toss until it becomes a pinkish color then add more Pecorino, and sprinkle black pepper on top.

Video