Cooking with Oranges (Part 2): Citrus Pasta

For the past few days I have been cooking with products from Trepunti, an online shop owned by a Sicillian farmer. I shared my recipe for a dish prepared using Sicilian blood oranges and fennels, which were hardly an innovative combination. Neither does this one actually though I did make a slight change. 

Celebrity chef Giada de Laurentiis did an excellent Lemon Spaghetti which you could find in her cookbook and website (my go-to source for easy Italian cooking, by the way), or at her restaurant in Las Vegas. Her version was actually quite simple, and can be done with or without meat. In my modified version, I added oranges plus its zest to add to the sweet and bitter tastes (and some colors), and I used Guanciale, or Italian cured pork jowl, which was usually used for Carbonara pasta. Dried bucatini pasta was used – the sharp acidity of the sauce called for something round and thick that could hold on to some sauce but not soaked in it. And on top, a dash of vodka helped bring the flavor together.

Citrus Guanciale Pasta (serves 2)

Ingredients: 

200g dried bucatini (can substitute with any long pasta such as linguine or spaghetti)
1/3 cup of lemon juice
2 tablespoon of lemon zest, grated
1 large orange – get the sweetest type you can find
70g Guanciale, cut into 1 cm dices
50g of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (or Grana Padano)
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of vodka
Salt and pepper to taste
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped, for garnishes

Steps:

1. Cut the oranges. I used the supreme method (see my last post) to cut the orange into slices without the pith. The zest was saved (again, with the pith completely removed) and cut into thin julienned strips. The rest of orange, I squeeze as much juice from it and save it for the pasta sauce

2. In the large saucepan, bring water to a boil, add a heap tablespoon of salt and cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. (if the packet gave you a range of time, go for the lower end) 

3. Meanwhile, in a separate frying pan, with medium heat, put in half of the olive oil and cook the diced guanciale, toss occasionally until slightly browned (5 minutes).

4. Just when the pasta is almost cooked, in the frying pan, whisk in the rest of the olive oil, grated cheese, lemon and orange juices and 1/3 cup of pasta water. Taste and add more salt if needed. Or if you think the sauce is too acidic to your taste, add a teaspoon of sugar for the balance. Adjust the portion of pasta water if necessary. 

5. Drain the pasta when done, and add the pasta into the frying pan along with the chopped parsley, lemon zest and vodka. Toss until completely mixed. 

6. Transfer the pasta and sauce into 2 deep dish. Top with orange slices and julienned zest. Garnish with more chopped parsley and olive oil if you prefer. 

Trepunti Sicily: https://trepuntisicily.com/