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Rome is known for 4 famous pasta dishes, two of which are Amatriciana and Carbonara. This pasta, Zozzona (translation: dirty!) is a combination of the two. All the savory tomato flavor of Amatriciana with the rich, creamy decadence of Carbonara - all with some Italian sausage thrown in for good measure. What's not to love?
The real trick here, as it is for all Carbonara recipes, is making sure you take the time to temper the egg mixture with the hot pasta water. This way, you can ensure you end up with a really creamy sauce instead of scrambled eggs!
Ingredients
- 4 large egg yolks
-
1 cup freshly grated
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, plus more to serve
-
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
-
1 pound short pasta, such as Nodi Marini
- 1/4 pound diced pancetta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
- 2 shallots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
-
2 cups tomato
passata
-
1 teaspoon Calabrian chili paste or ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the egg yolks, parmesan and pecorino cheeses. Stir together with a rubber spatula. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Season the water generously with salt.
- Meanwhile, add the pancetta and 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large skillet. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring often until the pancetta is brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta to a plate. To the hot pan with the pancetta fat add the Italian sausage. Cook the sausage, breaking it into small pieces with the back of wooden spoon, until the sausage is lightly browned and cooked through, about 7 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic and salt to the pan and cook until soft and fragrant, another 3 minutes. Add the passata and Calabrian chili paste. Stir to combine. Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.
- Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until just barely al dente, about 11 minutes. Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup of pasta water.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce along with 1/2 cup pasta water. Toss and stir to coat the pasta in the sauce and finish cooking the pasta. You may need to add an additional 1/4 cup pasta water if the sauce gets to thick. Temper the egg mixture with 1/4 cup pasta water, stirring constantly to prevent scrambling. When the pasta is al dente and coated in the sauce, remove the pan from the heat. Quickly stir in the egg yolk mixture and the pancetta, tossing and stirring until the sauce is creamy, glossy and clings to the pasta. Serve with additional cheese if desired.
Let’s Cook
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Parmigiano Reggiano DOP Cheese Aged
- Discount Price Member
- $18.00
- Regular Price / Regular
- $19.50
- Unit Price
- /per
Pecorino Romano DOP Cheese
- Discount Price Member
- $12.00
- Regular Price / Regular
- $12.50
- Unit Price
- /per
Organic Nodi Marini Pasta
- Discount Price Member
- $10.00
- Regular Price / Regular
- $11.00
- Unit Price
- /per
Crushed Calabrian Chili Paste
- Discount Price Member
- $10.00
- Regular Price / Regular
- $10.50
- Unit Price
- /per
Parmigiano Reggiano DOP Cheese Aged
- Discount Price Member
- $18.00
- Regular Price / Regular
- $19.50
- Unit Price
- /per
Pecorino Romano DOP Cheese
- Discount Price Member
- $12.00
- Regular Price / Regular
- $12.50
- Unit Price
- /per
Organic Nodi Marini Pasta
- Discount Price Member
- $10.00
- Regular Price / Regular
- $11.00
- Unit Price
- /per
Crushed Calabrian Chili Paste
- Discount Price Member
- $10.00
- Regular Price / Regular
- $10.50
- Unit Price
- /per
7 comments
Recipe was straightforward although there is a bit of knife work during prep. I found my way around some of it (I have arthritis) with the help of a chopper. Also, a beginner might not feel 100% confident with tempering egg yolks but I managed not to scramble them. Be careful with the Calabrian chili paste (or spicy substitute). We stuck with the recipe and it was a good thing. Anymore of it would have been too spicy for our tastes. The end result was a wonderful dish that got rave reviews. The passata had a nice, bright flavor. It may just become my go-to pasta sauce.
Ordered the kit a while ago to make this recipe authentic for my family gathering this weekend and it was awesome! Kids and their spouses were all raving that it was North End restaurant quality .
This recipe intrigued me, because we sampled and loved the four distinct traditional Roman pastas on a culinary trip in 2018. Wow!!! Giada,
this is absolutely delicious!!! My husband loves Italian sausage, so I had to give it a try, and we were delighted. Can’t wait to make it for guests!
Grazie!!!
Um this is incredible. I used sambal oelek instead of Calabrian chili paste, and had to google how to temper eggs but this was outstanding. Definitely will be making time and time again.
@Stephen, thanks so much for the feedback! We highly suggest our gluten free pasta that’s sold on our website, some of the best in the market!
One of my favorite pasta dishes now. Delicious!
Recipe was fantastic. I just wish there was a great gluten free pasta that would give me the same results as real pasta