Excuse Us for Living

Sixth PastaPost

Pasta Pepperoni

by

Phil & Geri

 

     Excuse us for living, but we all owe a debt of gratitude to our ancestors! They may have started a family business on the high end of accomplishment. They may have been a dismal failure on the lower end, providing us with a negative example as to the pitfalls of life. But whether success, failure, or everything in between, our ancestors are the foundation on which we have built our lives.

     Salvatore Fontana, my paternal great grandfather (my father’s mother’s father!), standing in front of his grocery store at #41 14th Street between 1st & 2nd Avenues, in Little Italy, New York City, c. 1930’s.

     My ancestors’ greatest contribution to our family’s past was the salutary act of immigrating to the United States from Italy in the late 19^th & early 20^th centuries. Like so many in this second wave of immigration in American history (the first wave being the Catholic Irish mid-19^th century), they were the poor of southern Europe. My ancestors were among the masses of peasants from the island of Sicily that crossed the Atlantic in the steerage of the ships. Quite unusual, to say the least, and still the source of skepticism within our family over 100 years later, is our ancestors’ story/claim. The so called “facts” are that one set of paternal grandparents, my grandfather and grandmother, came to America as children separately, different ships, years apart, from the same little village of Vila Bata, outside Palermo, Sicily. But the “clincher” is that each family’s surname was “Fontana”  – -from the same village! – -and they claimed not to be related!  – -Possible. – -Also possibly cousins “three times removed” or whatever!

All this is background to establish my bona fides to be quite comfortable when it comes to what I dub “peasant food.” Every ethnic group has their basic traditional dishes that go back to “the old country” or “when we were poor and came to America.” And these recipes are handed down to us and perpetuated generation after generation and the dishes enjoyed with much delight.

It was in this spirit that a year or two ago I said to wife Geri, “I’ve never heard of a pasta recipe with pepperoni. Maybe there is one out there but I never heard of it.” I was familiar with pepperoni and eggs as a late night-early/wee hours/morning treat from my youth and decades ago with my crony friends. But pasta and pepperoni? – -Never! And why not? “There should be some kind of recipe like that, basic and simple,” I continued. And as with similar “brainstorms” over the years, Geri asked, “Like what? What should be in it?” “Oh,” I said, “the basics like garlic and oil, onion, a little parsley and sliced pepperoni.” And again like so many times before with my crazy ideas, I left it to Geri, the real cook/chef, to work her magic, transforming my conception into a real recipe and a respectable, delectable dish.

     And so Pasta Pepperoni was born! Geri changed the onions to scallions, naturally. And she decided on Fettuccine pasta rather than spaghetti, which turned out to be a good choice as our preference. (Maybe you would prefer spaghetti or another pasta.) First try we used Hormel pepperoni and felt it was too light by taste. Since then we switched to Blackbear for a stronger taste! (Geri says Bridgeford is good too and you may have your own favorite brand pepperoni.) And we slice the pepperoni not thinly but generously at least 1/8^th inch thick! The finishing touch was the first time we served the dish to our #1 son, Andy, and daughter-in-law, Erin, and asked for suggestions. And they made a simple, good suggestion; red pepper flakes! We put that into the recipe and the taste went “over the top”! – -Thanks, Andy and Erin!

What I would refer to as another Sicilian peasant dish, Pasta Pepperoni can be added to our list! It’s robust and not for the faint of heart! – -So good it’s unreal! – -A knock out! – -You can’t miss! Now nobody said this is healthy! Eat it infrequently and at your own cholesterol risk!

     Presenting…

                                                            …Pasta Pepperoni

 

3/4 cup oil (canola or olive)

1 med. bunch of scallions (sliced 1/4” thick)

8 cloves garlic (sliced long)

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 1/2 cups fresh parsley (coarse chopped)

1 whole stick pepperoni (sliced 1/8^th in. thick) (not Hormel; use Backbear or Bridgeford, robust!)

1/2 lb. Fettuccine pasta (or your preferred pasta)

1 tbs. salt

3-4 quarts boiling water

Sauté scallions, garlic & red pepper flakes in the oil in medium sauce pan until tender, 4-5 minutes. Add sliced pepperoni & heat gently. Remove from heat. Cook pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain in colander. Toss with sauce & chopped parsley.

Makes 2 generous servings!

 Excuse us for living, but eat this & you’ll know you are living!

     Comments: Please, before or after you make it!