The Pope’s Fettuccine – Fettuccine Alla Papalina

Citizens, Vatican City is the smallest country in the world by both size and population with only 842 residents and a size of 110 acres!

TFD had the tremendous honor of visiting the Vatican twice, meeting both His Holiness John Paul The Great and His Eminence Walter Cardinal Kasper.

These were truly memorable meetings and I hope one day to have the equally great honor of shaking the hand of His Holiness Pope Francis I, who has brought the giving and humble spirit of Christ back to the Vatican!

This particular fettuccine dish was created for Pope Pius XII (pictured below) in the early 20th century and is basically a much richer version of the classic Carbonara recipe.

Pius XII, original name Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli, (born March 2, 1876, Rome, Italy—died October 9, 1958, Castel Gandolfo), pope, bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church, had a long, tumultuous, and controversial pontificate (1939–58).

During his reign as pope, the papacy confronted the ravages of World War II (1939–45), the abuses of the Nazi, fascist, and Soviet regimes, the horror of the Holocaust, the challenge of postwar reconstruction, and the threat of communism and the Cold War.

Deemed an ascetic and “saint of God” by his admirers, Pius was criticized by others for his alleged “public silence” in the face of genocide and his apparently contradictory policies of impartiality during World War II but fervent anticommunism during the postwar period.

For a dish worthy of a Pope, use only the finest versions of each ingredient, as noted in the recipe, to make it truly deserving of a Pontiff’s palate! I prefer to use water buffalo butter with this recipe for its supreme richness, worthy of the dish – details here.

Should you so desire, consider accompanying this dish with a palate-clearing sorbet for dessert.

Battle on – The Generalissimo

The Pope’s Fettuccine – Fettuccine Alla Papalina

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 3 tablespoons butter (TFD prefers water buffalo butter for this recipe!)
• 1 onion, diced small
• 6 ounces top-quality prosciutto, cut into a single thick slice and diced (TFD prefers the finest artisinal Italian brands of course!)
• 3 large eggs, beaten - they should be as fresh as possible, preferably organic and from an heirloom breed
• 2 tablespoons double (heavy) cream
• 1 1/2 cups freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (TFD prefers 3 year aged, from the famed red cows of Parma)
• Fresh fettuccine noodles
• LOTS of freshly-cracked blacked pepper

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Instructions

1. Mix together the eggs, milk and parmesan. Set aside for later.
2. Sauté the chopped onion in the butter.
3. Add the prosciutto and continue to sauté until it’s cooked through.
4. Cook the fettuccine in boiling water to your preferred level of al denté.
5. Drain the fettuccine and immediately stir in the Parmesan mix.
6. Stir it very well, which is tricky because while you’ve been doing everything else, the cheese mix has probably almost solidified! The heat of the pasta will soon make it easier to mix through.
7. Next add the butter, onion and prosciutto and stir that in as well.
8. Lastly, grind LOTS of black pepper all over the fettuccine and serve at once.

• Prep Time: 0 hours
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• Category: Recipes

Nutrition

• Calories: 468.09 kcal
• Sugar: 1.8 g
• Sodium: 1971.67 mg
• Fat: 32.96 g
• Saturated Fat: 18.72 g
• Trans Fat: 0.36 g
• Carbohydrates: 4.94 g
• Fiber: 0.53 g
• Protein: 37.03 g
• Cholesterol: 240.36 mg