Pesaro, 11 May 2024 – Courgettes, lime, eggs, lots of mint and lots of pepper: the summer carbonara It’s served. This is the dish that Luca Pappagallofamous chef of Gambero Rosso, decided to propose on his cooking show in Scavolini Store in via Liuti, this afternoon. A hundreds of people who signed up to watch the show, in the true sense of the word, of chef Pappagallo’s cuisine, who as soon as he arrived did not deny selfies and autographs to all his fans: “With this heat, especially with the arrival of summer, we need to maintain ourselves light and fit – said Luca Pappagallo -. It’s not the first time I’ve come to Pesaro, I’ve already been there to do some sightseeing and discover new recipes, but there’s one I’ve never tried: Rossini pizza. I know, it’s unforgivable, I’ll have to recover as soon as possible.”
As soon as the show began, the chef explained the reasons for choosing the dish he brought: “There are wars over how carbonara is made, we will put another stone in this battle – said Pappagallo -. Instead of bacon, the zuchinis. Mint, because it always goes so well, as if it were pecorino romano, but don’t forget the parmesan. In short, light. Also because who cooks carbonara on August 15th? A little ‘heavy. Once, when I brought this recipe, someone yelled that it looked like a Mojito: I’d say then it’s perfect for this season.”
The chef then also told the story of how his passion for cooking began: “The truth? I was hungry – he says jokingly -. My brother, who was unable to accompany me, and I really like to eat and, above all, we like to discover and taste things that we may not find in Tuscany. Therefore, taken by a moment of inspiration, we decided to try to throw ourselves into the field of cooking, later also finding pleasant success. This allowed me to enter the world of television.”
This, for Pappagallo, is not the first experience he has had with Scavolini’s kitchen: “We had the opportunity to collaborate previously for a cooking show that was held in Rome – concluded the chef -. They also invited me for this occasion and I accepted. It must be said that, when it comes to Scavolini , you always work with excellently crafted kitchens. They are a guarantee.”
But how is summer carbonara prepared? First of all, you put the water on the stove, because the preparation takes the same time as the pasta to cook. Then cut the courgettes in half and then cut them thinly into half rounds. Add the courgettes and a little garlic to a pan with a drizzle of oil. In five minutes they are ready. Then we go to prepare it “enjoyable sauce”: one egg yolk for every 100 grams of pasta. Inside the yolks, add a little parmesan to taste, until it thickens. Add the pepper and then, to remove the eggy sensation, a sprinkling of lime zest. As soon as the water boils, add the pasta. As soon as it is cooked, add it to the pan with the courgettes. Leave to cool a little, about two minutes, and then add the cream, to best enhance the creaminess. Then, finally, add the mint, which can be whole leaves or chopped.
