The Secret Roman Pasta I Can't Stop Eating

Pasta alla papalina is one of Rome's best-kept secrets. A rich, creamy, cheesy pasta with ham, so good, it could earn a spot at the Pope's table. But more on that in a minute. For now, let's saute all some onions. But first, we're going to peel and small dice one shallot. You could also use a yellow, white, sweet, or red onion. We're going to take these over to the cooktop, and I'm gonna be cooking this in a large 12-inch stainless steel pan. We're gonna crank the heat up to medium-low, then I'm adding in two tablespoons total of unsalted butter. Once it's melted, add the shallots in there. Give it a gentle season. Of course, salt help draw moisture so that it browns quicker. And we're just gonna saute these for about four to six minutes or until lightly browned. Now, because we're just going to occasionally stir these, we can actually get started on prepping up the ham. Now, for this recipe, any ham will work. And it's even more of a bonus if you just have any leftover ham from the holiday. But if you're out of that holiday season, prosciutto is excellent in this recipe. But if you are using some of that leftover ham, oftentimes they'll have a rind around the outside with the sweet glaze. What I'm gonna do is just use a chef knife and slice that away. Now, you can cut these in any size you want, preferably maybe a quarter to half-inch cube or a thick julienne, which is what I'm going to do. Let's take the ham back over to the cooktop, have a look at our shallots. They look fantastic, nice and lightly browned, just how I want it. Let's add in the ham, and we're gonna further saute for another three to four minutes or until just the outside edges of the ham start to turn light brown. Once they hit that stage, we're gonna turn the heat off and get started on our sauce. But first, we need to grate up about 1 1⁄2 cups or four ounces of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Next up, in a large bowl, we're gonna add in one large egg. Then we need to separate five egg yolks from the egg whites. I do this just by bobbling that yolk in between two shells. We'll place it right in the bowl with the yolks, and for the whites, you'll have a good amount left over. Maybe pop it in the fridge for a nice egg white omelet, or if you have some leftover ham, boom, you got an egg omelet, you're welcome. Now, back over to the sauce. Let's add in our finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, a good amount of freshly cracked black pepper, then using a whisk or a fork, mix everything together until it is completely combined, and yes, it's going to be very thick. We're gonna set that back by the cooktop. And now we need to talk about pasta. Now, classically, fettuccine would be used here, and you can use fresh or dry. In addition to fettuccine, you could use a tagliatelle or even a pappardelle. It is completely up to you. For me, since I've got fresh on hand, fettuccine it is. Let's go back over to the cooktop. I have a large pot of boiling water. We are gonna season it with enough coarse salt so that it is salty as the ocean. What this will do, will help season up our pasta. Then let's add in our pasta, and because this is fresh, this is only going to take a total of two to three minutes, but it doesn't matter if you're using fresh or dry, because halfway through the pasta cooking process, we're gonna take about a half cup of that hot pasta water and temper up our egg, cheese, and pepper mixture. Just add it in, and using a fork or whisk, mix it until combined. This will help ensure our eggs do not scramble when we mix it in with our hot pasta later. Perfection. Let's go have a look at our pasta. It's finished. We're gonna drain it. Add it right to the saute pan with the onions and ham. Then let's add in our egg and Parmigiano sauce. Use a rubber spatula to get all that goodness out of there. Then fold the pasta together with the sauce, with the ham, with the shallots, and it will start to thicken up big time. Now, just because there is ham and Parmigiano in here, you may think this is salty enough. Be sure to give it a taste, see where it's at. For me, I need to add a little bit more salt in here. Perfect. And at this point, you may be asking, what does this dish have to do with the Pope? Well, this dish was inspired by Pope Pius XII, then Cardinal Picelli in the 1930s. Legend has it, he asked a restaurant in Rome for a new dish rooted in Roman tradition. The chef, riffing on carbonara, swapped guanciale for ham, pecorino for Parmigiano, and added onion. Fast forward, and you'll even find some variations that use cream and peas, which is delicious, and here's how you do that version. You'd still saute the same amount of shallots and ham, but for the sauce, only two egg yolks, and here's the difference, a 1 1⁄2 cup of heavy whipping cream. The same 1 1⁄2 cups of Parmigiano-Reggiano, pepper, mix it together until it's combined, and you still will temper it with a 1⁄2 cup of hot pasta water. And for the second difference, the peas. I like to add these right to that boiling pasta with about 20 seconds left in the cooking process. This will just help to take the chill off them and make sure they're al dente. Add everything right to the same saute pan along with the sauce, mix it, and boom, there's your variation. And while this isn't classically as intended, it's still pretty dang tasty. But now to plate up the original version, I like to do a pasta nest using some large tweezers and a ladle. Of course, I like to add in extra ham, and how about an optional garnish of more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano? Mm, chef's kiss, my friends. It's quick, it's easy, it uses few ingredients, and if you happen to have leftover ham, you gotta make it. And if you love pastas, check out my three classic Italian pastas recipe video. I've got cacio e pepe, alla gricia, and aglio e olio. You will love it. See you on there. So creamy. Mm.