Spaghetti Madness

Spring weather in Campania has finally caught up with the calendar.  And that means sunshine, short sleeved shirts...and spaghetti.  Yes, spaghetti.  I must admit with all the different pasta varieties to choose from, spaghetti has been, is, and probably always will be one of my favorites.  No, not the Americanized versions with heavy meat sauces or even- shudder-meatballs. I'm talking about lighter sauces that work with the pasta.  Complement it and  not cover it.  In the past couple of years, I've had a chance to taste some super spaghettis created by some of the top chefs in Campania.  Here are some of my unforgettable assaggis ...

Spaghetti di Gragnano, codfish, broccolli, Paestum buffalo carpaccio with a white turnip and bluefish sauce.
Chef Ernesto Iaccarino, Don Alfonso 1890 (Na)

I tasted this dish on my first visit to Don Alfonso 1890 two years ago.  After a couple of bites, and endless smiles from the staff and entire Iaccarino family, this restaurant became one of my favorite places on earth.

 garlic, olive oil, and hot peppers with Cetara anchovy sauce,Cetara anchovies
Chef Francesco Russo, Hotel Raito (Sa)

Ok.  The view from the balcony didn't hurt.  It actually served as an amazing backdrop to this unforgettable plate of pasta prepared by Chef Russo.  Besides the mix of flavors I loved the presentation.

Spaghetti with Cetara anchovy sauce
Chef Pasquale Torrente, Il Convento (Sa)

Ah, Cetara.  A fisherman's village on the Amalfi Coast.  Home to Chef Pasquale Torrente and his famous anchovies.  I tasted this dish with the chef on the terrace of his restaurant just as the sun was going down.

Spaghetti with a walnut cream sauce, anchovies and  bottarga with citrus fruits and ricotta
Chef Francesco Spagnuolo, Morabianca Ristorante (Av)

Not all of my awesome assaggis were on the seaside.  This dish was prepared by Chef Spagnoulo in Mirabella Eclano surrounded by Mastroberardino Winery's aglianico grapevines.

Spaghetti with tomato sauce and basil
Chef Giuseppe Daddio, Scuola di Cucina Dolce & Salato (Ce)

This simple dish prepared by Chef Daddio was one in a series of 12 pasta dishes I tasted one afternoon at his cooking school in Caserta.  Many say that one of the toughest dishes to prepare is this one.

Spaghetti with garlic, olive oil, chili peppers, pine nuts, and collard greens
Chef Tommaso Di Meo,  Osteria Abraxas (Na)

Rounding out the list, a dish prepared right in front of my eyes by Chef Di Meo.  One that I enjoyed eating in the kitchen while wrapping up our conversation in the kitchen...

Spaghetti season 2013 is officially open.

A Taste of Tradizione - Ristorante Al Convento, Cetara (Sa)

It was pouring down rain as I pulled into Cetara.  Pouring as I parked my car at the tiny little fisherman's port about a block and a half from my destination.   It didn't matter.  I had my rainboots, an umbrella, and an appointment wth Chef Pasquale Torrente at his restaurant Al Convento.  An appointment that I had been waiting (con calma), patiently for quite some time.
I hadn't seen Torrente in awhile...he'd been in Rome for the past 6 months or so setting up  another locale, La Friggitoria, located in Eataly.
So there I was...splashing my way through the silent streets of Cetara to Torrente's door. I'm not sure what warmed me up quicker...The restaurant's heating system, or the smile and hug from Torrente as he greeted me at the door and hung up my coat.  It felt good to be back.  Back in Cetara and ready to immerse myself in tradizione, tradition.
 No sooner had I placed my purse, notepad and all necessary blogger gear at my table, Torrente called me into the kitchen...Catch of the day, he told me as he carefully looked over the fresh still alive and kickin' seafood brought to him from a local fisherman.

Chef Pasquale Torrente

We'll have some for lunch, I was told...but first there was a lot more to see, taste, and learn about in Torrente's kitchen.  So we began with a few appetizers rich in tradition, flavor, and most importantly...semplicita'...simplicity.
La caponata miniata:  a dish that dates back a couple of hundred years.  It was a poorman's dish which used just about everything in the kitchen cabinet.  That afternoon I enjoyed a salad with tuna, freselle (hard dried bread), dried tomatoes, gardenia (a mix of marinated vegetables prepared by the Chef himself) and sardines.

Next up polenta.  But before I could ask, Torrente quickly cleared up my  misconception that polenta is serve only up North.  He reminded me that in Naples it is served fried. But he had another idea, a lighter idea.  His version of polenta is grilled...then placed between fish, topped with tomato sauce with a few capers and black Taggiasca olives.

Tradition continued as Torrente brought me an escarole pie.  Common in Campania, with olives, pine nuts, raisins...but Torrente had a twist.  Instead of anchovies, he decided to top the dish with tuna bottarga to give this simple flavorful dish a little extra touch.

Next, a dish that I drove an hour in the rain for.  Torrente's Genovese pasta made with Tuna.  Genovese, is another traditional dish in Naples, made with onions, celery carrots and beef.  But since we were in Cetara, a stone's throw from the sea, Torrente uses tuna.  I stood in the kitchen while my candele pasta was being tossed with the sweet smelling sauce.

But we we're not through.  Not just yet.  Torrente called me back into the kitchen.  He wanted to show me something else.  His next dish, his cacio e pepe.  A pasta dish traditionally prepared with pecorino cheese and black pepper.  Torrente's version...parmeggiano cheese and mussels.   It looked simple enough...
He tossed a few fistfuls of grated parmeggiano cheese to a saucepan full of steamed and shelled mussel...

 Then whisked it up...

Added the cooked pasta (linguine) to the pan...tossed it around some more, and then served it up.

Then a shot of freshly ground pepper table side...

Tradizione...an afternoon of tradition, of stories in the comfortable cozy, caldo dining room and kitchen of Ristorante Al Convento.  Remember that fish I saw earlier?  Flopping around in the kitchen?
It was on my table...lightly battered, fried, and served with a side of lemon.

Time to go...the rain had stopped, at least long enough for me to thank Torrente for his time and his traditions. I walked along Cetara's fisherman's pier to reach my car.  There I saw a group of fishermen adjusting their nets.  I recognized one from the restaurant earlier.  I stopped to say hello.

Did you see the fish I brought earlier?, he asked.
Yes, and ate it too. I answered with a smile.

A smile that continued throughout the rest of our conversation about Cetara, seafood, and tradizione...



Ristorante Pizzeria Al ConventoPiazza San Francesco, 16 
84010 Cetara (Sa) - Costiera Amalfitana
Tel. 089.261039 

Una Passeggiata a...Cetara (Sa) with Chef Pasquale Torrente

Pasquale Torrente

Cetara-Amalfi Coast.  Eighteen years in Campania, and I had  never been to this secret by the sea.  A sleepy village that around 2,500 people call home. 

Home of the Torre di Cetara.  Home of  the Church and Convent of St. Francis,seventeenth century, whose dome and nave was frescoed by the painter  Marco Benincasa.  Home of the Church of St. Peter the Apostle, renovated in the eighteenth century, with a baroque interior, with the dome bell tower from the thirteenth century with mullioned windows, and an octagonal belfry.

A fisherman’s village famous for its tuna, it’s sardines, …and Chef Pasquale Torrente. 

So I asked the chef to show me around.  Help me understand what was so special about this little town.  Talk to me about street food, and everything and anything that popped up.  And we did over a bite to eat at three of Torrente’s tasty spots that are spread around the small scenic little town.

I wanted to see Pane e Coccos’ (Loosely translated as Pane e Qualcosa…Bread and something)  Street food-but Torrente style.  This little location had its grand opening less than two weeks ago.  Over  a glass of Pignoletto Frizzante by Vignetto San Vito ,I learned quite a bit of about the philosophy here…nestled in a corner of Corso Federici, seated at a table outside watching sunbathers return from the beach.  A cutting board …or three..arrive, brought to us by Pasquale’s brother, Luigi.  A cutting board packed with quality.  Mortadella from Salumificio Pasquini, pancetta from Paolo Parisi, prosciutto crudo from Salumificio Cillo and Prosciuttificio Dal’Ava, salami from Tramonti (Sa).  So we tried some.  Torrente talked to me about the way it used to be...that when you headed out for the beach, your mom would make you a sandwich.  One made with two simple pieces of bread, but inside….wow.  Eggplant parmigiana.  Or meatballs made from slow cooking a ragù sauce overnight.  Or even milza (spleen).  So we tried some. Torrente shared that on the  way back from the beach, I could pick up some wine. Cheese.  Tuna.  Anchovies.  Qualcosa…something.

Or, on my way back from the beach, I could hit stop 2 of our Torrente tour.  La Cuopperia del Convento.  Five years  in pole position on the port of Cetara. A table by the sea.  A breeze, a beer, and a cupietel’. Neapolitan for fried goodies served in a brown paper cone.  Fried fish, shrimp, and squid.  A plate of fried eggplant balls, sardine balls, potato crocchè, and arancini.  Torrente (also known as the Re degli Alici-the anchovy king), shared with me his insight as to why Cetara is famous for this fine little fish.  First of all, the sea…clean, pulita.  The famous alici sotto sale?  Salted anchovies.  These sardines, caught and conserved between  April 27 and July 27 (when they are full of eggs…making them tastier) have their heads and interiors removed and are placed in a container of sea salt for about a day.  Then placed in small wooden barrels, a layer of fish, a layer of salt, and so on and so on, and so on.  Months pass, and around November, the liquid that has accumulated is conserved and becomes the famous colatura di alici…perfect to add to spaghetti.  Well, can’t leave Cetara without trying that…

So we were off again.  Up the street to Torrente’s restaurant Al Convento.  A restaurant located on the first floor of a renovated 16^th Century convent…complete with original frescoes.  A beautiful view of the town piazza below and the full moon that decided to join me in Cetara above.  A seat at a table on the terrace.  The chef spreads butter on a piece of toasted bread, gently places two  anchovies on top. He sets it in front of me.  This is Cetara…I thought.  Simple…characteristic.  Anchovies…alici. Simple, like my plate of spaghetti with that precious liquid from months of conservation, years of experience , years of tradition.  A plate of spaghetti with colatura di alici.  Simple, characteristic.  A plate of pasta alla puttanesca with sardines…simple…tradition…characteristic.

Cetara…Simple as a cool breeze from the sea.  A cupietel'.   A plate of spaghetti.  A full moon.

Cetara…Characteristic as the laughter from teenagers playing soccer in the piazza below my table at Al Convento.

Karen…I think you have enough material for three months of blogs…Torrente teases.

I smile…he’s right. 

Cetara…I’ve only touched the surface….

Pane e Coccos'

Federici n°3 Cetara (SA). Tel. 089 261485

La Cuopperia del Convento
84010 Cetara (SA) Piazza Grotta, 2
Tel: 089.261275

Ristorante Pizzeria «Al Convento»
Piazza San Francesco, 16 - Tel. 089.261039
84010 Cetara (Sa) - Costiera Amalfitana

Italian Version