Tasteful quick meals is something Italians do well

 

8 Slices of bread about 8-10 mm thick

1 Buffalo mozzarella ball (with one ball you will make 4 slices)

3 Eggs

2 tbs Milk

4 Anchovy fillets (alternatively 4 little slices of cooked ham)

Salt and ground white pepper

Light olive oil for frying (do not use sunflower oil!)

 

Cut the slices of bread. You need 8 slices to serve 4 persons. Pair the slices putting one on top of another and trim the edges to get rid of the crust. Also, the two slices must match in size.

Cut the mozzarella ball into 4 slices. Pat dry the mozzarella slices using kitchen paper. Fill the pan with olive oil and start heating the oil.

 

While the oil is getting hot, put the eggs in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Stir with a fork for a few seconds. Add the milk.

Stir again for a few seconds. Take two slices of bread and top one slice with mozzarella. The slice of mozzarella has to be smaller than the slice of bread so that the two slices of bread can be joined and encase the mozzarella.

 

Put one anchovy fillet onto the slice of mozzarella. The anchovy will give the mozzarella in carrozza a nice and delicate flavour. Another option, if you do not like anchovies, is to top the mozzarella with a little square of cooked ham.

Cover with the second slice of bread. Press the sandwich down so that the two slices of bread join together, especially around the side edges.

 

Now, take the sandwich and holding the two bread slices firmly together, dip each side edge for a fraction of a second into cold water. Then, dip the wet side edge into the flour. This will create a sort of glue that will help to seal the sandwich during the frying stage.

When the oil has reached the right temperature for frying, dip the sandwich and fry for about 2 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Then, using a wooden spatula, turn the sandwich onto the other side and fry for another 2 minutes.

Now take it out and lay the mozzarella in carrozza onto a kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.

Next, put a few lettuce leaves on the plate and top them with the mozzarella in carrozza.

Serves 4.

 

18 ounces (1 pound 1 ounce) Spaghetti

2 tablespoons (1/8 cup) Extra virgin olive oil

4 1/2 ounces Guanciale di maiale (alternatively use unsmoked streaky bacon)

1 Red chilli

14 ounces Plum peeled tomatoes (canned)

3 1/2 ounces Pecorino cheese – medium aged (grated)

Salt for seasoning

 

First thing to do is the ingredient preparation. Take a slice off the “guanciale” and make it into sticks. A 5mm (3/16″) thick slice will do; that will allow you to make 5x5mm (3/16″x3/16″) sticks, 2cm (3/4″) long. Don’t worry if they look chunky; after the frying they will half their size.

Then, remove the plum tomatoes from the can and put them into a container. Break the plum tomatoes with whatever comes to hand.

 

Take a frying pan (ideally an iron pan) and pour the extra virgin olive oil into it. Swirl the pan around so that the oil will evenly coat the pan. The fat (olive oil or pork lard) should be minimal, just to allow a thin coating, because after, when we add the guanciale, some of the fat contained in the guanciale will melt, adding extra fat to the pan. Now, heat the oil on medium heat.

When the oil is hot, add the chilli. Do not break the chilli in many pieces; just break it into two, so that it will be easier to remove it from the pan at a later stage.

 

Add the guanciale into the pan and turn the heat to low. Quickly stir with a wooden spoon, so that the guanciale sticks are turned as well, to allow an even frying.

After about a couple of minutes, the guanciale sticks should turn to a golden colour. This is the critical stage because frying for longer would dry the guanciale too much, making it too crispy, which is not good for the amatriciana sauce.

 

So, we stop the frying process, adding the tomatoes to the pan.

Give it a good stir and simmer for about 10-12 minutes, which is the time you need to cook the spaghetti. During this time stir every now and then.

Now, “butta gli spaghetti” (throw the spaghetti in) and boil them. Remember to cook the spaghetti “al dente” and to use 10g (1/3 ounce) salt for each litre (4 1/8 cups) of boiling water.

A few minutes before the end, check the seasoning and remove and discard the chilli.

 

Now, the sauce is ready to top the spaghetti. When the spaghetti is cooked “al dente”, drain it into a colander and put it back into the big pan you have used to cook it. Add the amatriciana sauce. Stir to evenly coat the spaghetti.

Add half of the Pecorino cheese into the pan and stir. Keep the remaining Pecorino cheese for the serving. Plate the spaghetti, add some extra Pecorino cheese on top and enjoy.

Serves 4.