Pasta with “magic sauce” looks like classic spaghetti with tomato sauce, but upon first bite, you’ll experience a rich, meatiness, followed by unctuous notes of pork fat that’s been emulsified right into the sauce. On-trend and fun, it’s an exciting, approachable way to turn traditional flavors upside-down with the use of a full fat ingredient.
This recipe is featured in the Flavorful Fats Trend of the Flavor Forecast 23rd Edition. Explore more Flavor Forecast recipes here.
Ingredients
Procedure
Prep
- Cook spaghetti (or bucatini if using) in lightly salted water just until al dente. Drain and reserve pasta cooking water. Briefly rinse noodles and toss with a small amount of olive oil. Portion into 4 equal 4-ounce portions and hold refrigerated for service.
- Melt lard in skillet on medium-high heat. Add tomato paste, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper and whisk to combine. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until tomato paste has darkened in color. Turn off heat and stir in tomato puree. Reserve for service.
Service
- For each serving, heat 1/4 of the lard mixture on medium heat. Whisk in 3 tbsp pasta cooking water. Bring to simmer.
- Mix 1 tbsp of the reserved cooking water and 6 tbsp Parmesan, mixing well to create a loose paste. Add Parmesan mixture to lard mixture; stir well to combine.
- Transfer one portion of pasta to pan with lard sauce, add 1 1/2 tsp parsley, toss to blend with sauce. Add additional pasta water, a little at a time, to loosen sauce if necessary. Serve immediately, sprinkle with additional Parmesan.
- Recipe type: Pasta and Rice
