400 grams package Rigatoni Pasta
1/4 Cup Butter(100 g )
1/2 cup Cream
3/4 Cup grated parmesan or grana padano cheese (100 g)
3/4 Cup Taleggio cheese, cut in small cubes (100 g )
3/4 Cup Fontina cheese, grated (100 g)
3/4 Cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (100 g)
Ajinomoto Umami super seasoning
1/2 k honey cured bacon
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley for garnish
Procedure:
1. Put cheeses in a big pot with butter, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Ajinomoto super seasoning.
2. Cook on a low flame and mix well. When cheeses are melted add the cream.
Saute bacon till crisp and crumble or coarsely chop. Set aside.
3. While cheeses are melting, cook rigatoni in abundant salted water. Drain pasta and add to the pot with the cheese, mix over medium heat for 1 or 2 min.
4. Sprinkle with remaining grana and top with bacon strips. Serve immediately.
I made the recipe above from Quickfire with some modifications. For one, I didn’t have tellagio cheese nor Fontina. So instead I substituted Raclette, Manchego and mozzarella for the two cheeses to come up with 1 and 1/2 cups of cheese including Gorgonzola and parmesan. I halved the recipe, you see.
Outcome: My husband liked it very much, my son gave it the thumbs up but he didn’t swoon. I found it salty, despite the fact that I didn’t put salt, just umami and white pepper. The texture of the parmesan was also too obtrusive.
Next time, I think I will use a different set of cheeses. Maybe quick melt will do? Cheaper and smoother in texture.
To accompany the said dish, I had one schublig sliced and cooked and opened a small pack of smoked salmon. For these two dishes, I prepared a dill sauce without dill which I didn’t have in the pantry nor Rustan’s in its shelves. The dill sauce without dill consisted of mayo, Dijon mustard, white pepper and white sugar to taste. Also had some American bread transformed into garlic bread (used butter with crushed garlic). I’m more cost-conscious these days so where cheaper substitutes are available, I substitute. For the pasta dish, though, I chose to get special cheeses to test the recipe in its original form, or the closest possible.
Why was my menu the way it was? Over the weekend, I read an article on the Novartis GM (President?) in the Philippines. A German, he said that dinner time consists of cold food for Gemans, perhaps cold cuts, cheese and salads. Is that healthier, I wonder?
Back in 1980, when my sister and I visited Germany where two other sisters were based, we were invited to dinner by a German couple. That time I wasn’t into eating “sophisticated” food. I was so sad to see the table laden with smoked salmon, bread and greens. I took two slices of salmon and had them slide down my esophagus. I took one small leaf and swallowed it. That was quite an ordeal!
