What began as a simple peasant or leftover dish, a quick method of preparing pasta with a sauce based on fresh or peeled tomatoes, grated cheese, garlic, hot chili pepper and fresh basil, has transformed into an icon of Italian cuisine, or rather Campanian to be more precise.
In short, not a “normal” pasta with tomato sauce (which still requires skill, choosing the right timing and ingredients), but a delicious first course.
When reproducing dishes like this, it’s important to stick as close to tradition as possible.
INGREDIENTS
- Durum wheat semolina pasta, strictly Italian, preferably from Gragnano (made using traditional, centuries-old methods with bronze dies, slowly dried in static ovens at low temperatures for 14 to 60 hours)
- Peeled tomatoes (preferably San Marzano, Pachini, or Datterini)
- Sweet garlic
- Lots of basil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Grated Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano DOP
- Salt and pepper
PROCEDURE
- The only “license” I’ve allowed myself with respect to tradition is the addition of a very small amount of finely chopped shallot to the quick sauté of oil, garlic, and fresh chili pepper.
- After quickly heating, add the crushed tomatoes and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, until the tomatoes break apart. Halfway through cooking, add a dozen or so fresh basil leaves, also torn by hand. Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water (10 g of coarse salt per liter and per 100 grams of pasta).
- We finish cooking it in the tomato sauce over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes, adding a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water and stirring constantly.
- As always, taste it and, OFF THE heat, MIX with the 2 cheeses, stirring constantly until completely and evenly combined. Finish the dish with a few leaves of fresh basil, a twist of ground pepper and a drizzle of raw olive oil.
BUON APPETITO !!!
ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND TRADITION
When Neapolitans are in a hurry and don’t have much time to cook, they prepare “O Scarpariello.” This is one of the typical dishes of Neapolitan cuisine, originating in one of the city’s most popular areas: the Spanish Quarter. The dish, in fact, originated in those alleys where the “scarpari,” or shoemakers, once lived. They worked every day in their tiny workshops to repair or make magnificent shoes. Some say that the wives and sisters of these shoemakers, not having much time to spend in the kitchen, would prepare a “quick meal” during their lunch break: Scarpariello. Another theory, however, holds that this dish was made with leftovers from the home, or with gifts (almost always cheese) given to the “scarparo” by people who couldn’t afford to pay him. Scarpariello Day was Monday, the shoemakers’ day off, when they would collect everything donated by customers and cook it with the ragù left over from Sunday. Even today, Scarpariello is one of the most popular dishes among Neapolitans, especially when a quick and easy meal is needed.
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