Exploring the nuances and influences behind Northern, Southern, and American Italian fare, plus a light and crisp summer pasta recipe to master at home this season

by Chef Steven Botta

PENNE A POEM

SUMMER PASTA

(Available as a special at Osteria Cucina Rustica)

Recipe:

1 lb Penne pasta cooked al dente

1 cup Reserved pasta water

6 Tomatoes, diced

½ cup Pancetta

½ cup Shallots

1 cup Mozzarella, diced

½ cup Grated cheese

10 Basil leaves, torn or chiffonade

2 tablespoons Olive oil

Directions:

Sauté pancetta in olive oil until brown. Set aside. In the same pan, sauté the shallots for one minute. Add the diced tomatoes and sauté until they release their juices. Add the pancetta and marry all ingredients in the pan. Take some of the reserved pasta water and add about ½ cup. Add the mozzarella until it’s warmed. In a large mixing bowl, add the pasta, then pour all the ingredients into the pan. Toss in grated cheese and basil, and mix together with spoon until mozzarella starts to melt slightly. Add more basil or grated cheese as desired.

THREE WORLDS MEET

Italian food is often personnel and subjective. Growing up in Brooklyn, my mother made a variety of dishes. Some were American, like beef stew in the winter and hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken on a BBQ in the summer. Then there was the Italian food: eggplant parm, Sunday gravy (sauce), linguine with clam sauce, and many other dishes, which were Italian as I knew them. The reality is the dishes I grew up eating (which I deemed “Italian food”) were really Italian-American. Italian-American cooking is a combination of traditional recipes that were brought over from Italy that, over the years, picked up American influences. One example is eggplant parm; this dish in Italy is Parmigiana di Melanzane. The difference, while subtle, changes the dish discernibly. Traditional melanzane is a baked dish consisting of several layers of thinly sliced eggplant dredged in flour that are each covered with mariniere sauce and a hard cheese like Parmigiana-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano. Eggplant parm, on the other hand, is breaded, fried, and topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese (the ingredients are also layered then baked). This is the Italian-American version.

Growing up, I never thought of my mother’s cooking as Italian-American. Many friends’ mothers cooked similarly to mine, and some cooked a little differently because they were born in Italy. However, they also made dishes that were Italian-American because as they assimilated to the new country, they picked up American habits. I also had an interest in cooking from watching my mother, and later on I started cooking for friends and family. Like many who love to cook, I always dreamed of opening my own restaurant. I had several friends who owned restaurants, including my present partner, Angelo Bongiovanni. I often asked them questions about recipes and cooking techniques, wanting to learn how they cooked for hundreds of people in a single night and always kept the food consistent. I kept a mental rolodex of everything these restaurateurs ever told me. When I decided to open my first restaurant, Brando’s, I took a lot of that knowledge and also read any and everything I could about the Italian food I grew up eating and the Italian food from Italy.

There is a gastronomic Mason-Dixon line dividing the cuisines of Northern and Southern Italy. The differences even vary from region to region. Southern Italian food is driven by the sea, while Northern Italian fare embraces the land in the most simplistic terms. Some Italian staples include seafood, vegetables, olive oil, pasta with very light sauce, and, of course, Neapolitan pizza. Northern Italian favors slightly heavier dishes such as risotto, prosciutto, and Parmigiana cheese, and some dishes are influenced by proximity to Germany and Switzerland. Here, I share a classic Southern Italian pasta dish (be on the lookout for Northern and American-Italian recipes in future issues).

Steven Botta

Executive Chef/Owner

Brando’s Citi Cucina / Osteria Cucina Rustica

Feast Italian Kitchen / Beach Tavern / Osteria Molo