Pork neck chop with garlic and aromatic herbs sauce

Today a fast and simple recipe for cook in an unusual way an usual pork chop.

Yesterday we went to the supermarket and bought fresh garlic. Its aroma is wonderful, so today all my fridge was invaded by this amazing smell. And I thought to use it for my daily recipe, combining it with pork's succulence and softness and mustard's strenght.

And this is the final product:

Photo is not good here (low quality) but you can find also the videorecipe on my Youtube channel in HD.

Let's start with the ingredients (for 1 person):

1 pork neck chop

40 g. (1.5 oz.) butter

2 rosemary sprigs 

3 fresh garlic cloves

parsley

1,5 teaspoon of mustard 

Flour

Salt

Pepper (I used a mexican mix with 5 kinds of pepper: black, white, green, rose and hot)

White wine (little more than half glass)

At first, chop together 1 rosemary sprig, garlic and parsley and put the chopping mix in a boule. Then add to this mustard, salt and pepper, mix everything together and let rest for about an hour covering with plastic wrap.

Now pass into the flour the pork chop and melt the butter in a pan. Then, when butter is frying add the pork chop and cook for about 2min. for side.

When pork is golden brown take it and put in a dish. Meanwhile put the mix into the butter and cook high heat for 30 sec. then add wine and when alchol is vanished add the pork chop. So cover all and let it go for about 2-3 min.

Now your pork chop is ready.

Serve hot with its own sauce and the other rosemary sprig for decoration.

Buon appetito!! ;-)

Spaghetti alla carbonara

Carbonara is a typical italian sauce for pasta, precisely from Rome, based on guanciale (pork cheek), eggs, black pepper and Pecorino Romano D.o.p.

The origin of this dish is controversial: someone says that it was born during the Second World War when, after the liberation of Rome, US militaries give food to italian people and especially spaghetti, bacon and eggs. But the old roman people say that this dish was already exist. Probably the true origin of Carbonara is, like many italian recipes, popular. In fact the dish takes his name from Carbonari (roman dialectal for charcoals). According to this hypotesis charcoal workers invented this dish with ingredients easily available like eggs and guanciale (pork cheek).

In the popular roman kitchen is often used pork cheek because is a poor part of the pork and 'cause this is more fat than bacon. This allowed roman people to don't use oil or other fat more fine (and expensive).

But let's start with the recipe.

Ingredients for 3 persons:

Spaghetti 300 g. (10,5 oz)

3 Eggs

Guanciale 200g. (7 oz)

Black Pepper

Salt

Pecorino cheese (Pecorino Romano Dop)

In the video on Youtube I used also bacon because I'm living in Holland and here is impossible to find italian guanciale (I brought it with me from Italy). So I used also bacon in case someone couldn't find guanciale, because, I repeat, is not easy find it outside Italy.

At first take a full water pot and bring it to boil. Meanwhile in a pan put in guanciale and wait it will be golden brown and crunchy. Usually italian guanciale is very fat and already peppered but if you use bacon have to add a little of olive oil and grated pepper.

When water is boiling put inside an hand of salt and then pasta. Meantime in a bowl beat eggs with black pepper, pecorino cheese and a pinch of salt.

When pasta is "al dente" (about 2/3 minutes before the recommended time of cooking), put pasta in the pan without throw away the cooking water, with the help of a fork or a skimmer.

So add a tablespoon of cooking water and sautee pasta for about two minutes in the pan, then add eggs and immediately cut off the fire because eggs have to remain raw.

Now add an other tablespoon of cooking water and sautee pasta for about one minute in the warm pan with eggs and guanciale.

Serve this with an hand of pecorino cheese and black pepper above.

Enjoy your meal, or rather "Buon appetito!"