Fettuccine with Tomato and Chicken Liver Sauce
Here is a delicious pasta recipe, another example of the Roman affinity for offal. Whether tripe (trippa) or paiata (pasta sauce made with the stomach of a suckling lamb); or oxtails braised with tomatoes, celery and carrots (coda alla vaccinara), a true Roman meal is bound to include one of them. So what’s a little chicken liver with pasta, as in this dish? The Romans love it and have been enjoying it for centuries, so why shouldn’t you?
Recipe information
Yield
serves 6
Ingredients
For the Sauce
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment
Preparation
Step 1
To prepare the sauce: Drop the dried porcini into the hot stock, and let it rehydrate for 30 minutes or longer. Before you start cooking, lift the soaked mushrooms from the stock and squeeze them dry—saving all the liquid, of course. Cut the mushrooms in bite-sized pieces, about 1/2 inch. Let the stock sit so any sediment settles to the bottom of the container.
Step 2
Pour 1/3 cup olive oil in the skillet, and set it over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and salt lightly. Cook the onion for a couple of minutes, until it’s wilting and sizzling.
Step 3
Clear a space in the pan, and drop in the prosciutto strips. Toss these in the hot spot to caramelize for a minute, then stir them in with the onion.
Step 4
Clear another hot spot for the chopped chicken livers; salt the pieces lightly, stir for a minute until they start to sizzle, then mix with everything else.
Step 5
Introduce the porcini the same way: cook them for a minute in a hot spot, then stir in with other ingredients.
Step 6
Pour in the wine, bring it to a boil, and let it bubble for a minute or so. Pour in the mushroom-soaking stock (but not the sediment in the container). Bring to a boil, and let cook rapidly to reduce slightly, about 2 minutes.
Step 7
Pour the crushed tomatoes and their juices into the pan, and stir. Rinse the tomato container with a cup or so of “slosh” water, and stir in. Season lightly with salt.
Step 8
Bring the sauce to a boil, then adjust the heat to keep it perking gently. Stir in another 2 tablespoons of olive oil; cook the sauce uncovered for about 20 minutes, to thicken it and develop the flavors.
Step 9
As the sauce cooks, start heating a large pot of water for the fettuccine, if you will be serving it right away. You will need about 8 quarts of water with 2 tablespoons of coarse salt for this big batch of fresh fettuccine.
Step 10
When the sauce is almost reduced to the consistency you like, start cooking the pasta. (If you will be cooking the pasta later, turn off the heat and let sauce cool; it will thicken as it sits.)
Step 11
Have the pasta water at a full rolling boil. Just before adding the fettuccine, shake each small nest of noodles in a colander or sieve to remove excess flour.
Step 12
Drop in the fettuccine nests at the same time; keep stirring and lifting with tongs to loosen the nests and separate the strands. Cover the pot, and bring the water back to the boil over high heat; stir once or twice to keep the fettuccine from sticking. (At this point, bring your sauce to a simmer if it has been turned off.)
Step 13
When the water’s at a rolling boil again, stir and cook the fettuccine for about 2 minutes, or until the strands are cooked al dente. Lift out the noodles in big bunches, using tongs and a spider, and lower them into the sauce; work quickly, so the noodles don’t overcook.
Step 14
Toss the fettuccine continuously in the simmering sauce until they’re all coated. If the sauce is too thick, loosen it with spoonfuls of hot pasta-cooking water; if the sauce is soupy, cook rapidly over high heat for a few moments to thicken.
Step 15
Turn off the heat, and toss the pasta with half of the grated cheese; drizzle over it a final flourish of olive oil.
Step 16
Serve right away—from the skillet, or a large warm serving bowl if you prefer-passing more cheese at the table.
