Recipes: Nona's Suppli + Bucatini Carbonara

We're eating Italian, with an authentic appetizer like 'Nona' used to make, plus a classic Carbonara. These recipes were shared by Chef Benjamin Clark, from Italian restaurant Olivia in Tampa, St Pete and soon in Sarasota. 

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Nona’s Suppli

My Nona (my paternal Grandmother) really shared my love for cooking.  My sister, brother and I loved eating over at her house, whether because she was babysitting us, or for a more special occasion like Christmas Eve.  One of the staples of her Christmas Eve dinner were these suppli, which are essentially a fried rice and cheese ball that she grew up eating from her Nona. She would always tell me stories about how all the families in Italy had large bowls of suppli just sitting out on the table when people arrived; they could be eaten with dinner hot, or even at room temperature as an appetizer.  I always imagined how beautiful a sight it would be to walk into a little Italian home as a guest, with a large bowl of these delicious fried treats just waiting to be consumed.  After my Nona passed, my Uncle David continued to make suppli every Christmas Eve; it is still one of my favorite things to eat during a traditional Italian feast.

Ingredients

• 1½ lb ground chuck
• 4½ cups cooked white rice (short grain)
• 6 eggs
• 4 cups pecorino romano cheese, grated
• 2 cups seasoned Italian-style breadcrumbs
• 6 oz tomato paste, double concentrate

Directions

1. Cook rice before preparing recipe, or use leftover cooked rice (rice must be completely cooled).
2. In wide sauté pan, brown ground beef and break apart with wooden spoon while cooking.
3. Add tomato paste to cooked meat along with ¼ cup water.
4. Stir mixture until all ingredients are well incorporated and tomato paste has fully coated ground beef.
5. Set mixture aside to cool.
6. Add eggs into cooked, cooled rice.
7. Stir to incorporate, add meat mix into rice and egg mixture.
8. Add cheese and breadcrumbs, stir and mix to combine all ingredients.
9. Form mixture into small, egg-shaped balls and place onto parchment-lined tray.
10. Cool suppli in refrigerator for approx. 30 minutes to firm.
11. Roll suppli in egg wash mixture (6 beaten eggs + 1 tbsp water).
12. After egg mixture, roll suppli in Italian breadcrumbs until well coated.
13. Fill thick stockpot or large sauce pot with vegetable oil and bring to 325 °F over medium high heat.
14. Fry suppli in oil until brown and crispy, approx. 3–4 minutes.
15. Remove suppli onto baking sheet lined with cooling rack, or plate lined with paper towels.
16. Suppli may be served hot, warm, room temperature or chilled. (I always suggest serving them with a side of your favorite marinara, pomodoro or vodka sauce.)

Bucatini Carbonara 

During my first year of culinary school, I was lucky enough to attend a school-sponsored trip to the Tuscany Region of Italy.  I had been to Italy before. However, this would be the first trip of my life that was purely centered around the culinary arts.  We stayed in a small town outside of Florence; on our final day before returning home, we had a free day with no culinary classes or group trips scheduled.  As I had traveled through the town in my free time during the previous 10 days, I had always noticed a small handwritten sign on the small café that we would grab coffee and pastries from each morning for breakfast.  The sign stated that they served Bucatini Carbonara on Sundays, all day; our last day happened to be a Sunday.  That morning, I woke up, took a walk around town, observed a local service at the town church, and then stopped into the café.  I enjoyed an ice-cold Peroni, the delicious Bucatini Carbonara, and watched a group of young kids play soccer in the town square… joining them shortly after finishing my meal.  It was an experience that you see in movies about people visiting Italy; it was a dream come true, and a dream that was centered around an unforgettable dish.

Ingredients

• 12 oz dry bucatini Pasta
• 7 oz guanciale (pancetta or bacon could be used as replacement in a pinch)
• 1 large egg yolk
• 5 large eggs
• 9 oz pecorino romano cheese, grated
• ground black pepper

Directions

1. In thick-sided rondeau pan, sauté diced Guanciale over medium heat until guanciale begins to render out fat and starts to crisp.
2. With slotted spoon, remove guanciale from pan and set aside,  reserving cooking fat rendered out from meat.
3. In mixing bowl, mix egg and 5 egg yolks along with grated pecorino cheese. Using fork or whisk, beat all ingredients together until very well incorporated. Sauce should be thick, like loose paste.
4. Bring large stock pot with water to rolling boil. Heavily salt water and cook bucatini until al dente, 9-11 minutes.
5. Bring sauté pan back up to heat, then add cooked pasta straight from water into pan with reserved guanciale fat.
6. Remove from heat, and while constantly tossing bucatini, add egg and cheese mix and toss into bucatini. Make sure heat is off; if heat is on, eggs will scramble. Residual heat from the pan will slowly thicken eggs into rich, creamy sauce.
7. Crack fresh black pepper, toss one more time and swirl into pasta mound, making sure residual sauce is spooned onto bucatini, with any leftover guanciale placed on top.
8. Finish dish with more freshly cracked black pepper and sprinkle of more pecorino romano cheese. (Guanciale and pecorino both contain salinity, along with pasta water; dish will not need extra salt).

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