Pasta alla Papalina (Holy See Pope's Fettuccine)

Before I knew about Papalina-style noodles, I thought Carbonara was the bee's knees. But it turns out that Papalina is the richer version of carbonara. It uses cream, Parmesan, and prosciutto instead of the pancetta or guanciale (pig jowl) from in carbonara.

One peppery bite in, and mac and cheese is a bland, happily forgotten memory.

Papalina means skullcap, not pope. But I dubbed this recipe the Pope's Fettuccine because it was literally created for Pope Pius XII in the late 1930's.

And guess what he wore? A skullcap.

Anyway, there are many versions of how the recipe was invented. The most common, is that the pope wanted to enjoy a very typical Roman meal. The chef in charge decided that carbonara was very Roman… but he decided that he wanted to make a special version, just for the pope. So Papalina was born. Beautiful, peppery papalina.

3 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, finely chopped
4 oz prosciutto, diced
3 large eggs
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1½ cups Parmesan Reggiano cheese, grated
1 lb fettuccine noodles
black pepper, freshly ground

Whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese. Set the mixture aside. Boil your noodles, drain, and toss them with a bit of oil or butter to keep them from sticking.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, fry the onion in butter until totally soft. Typically, the onion in this pasta dish doesn't take on colour. Be sure to adjust the heat lower so that the onion doesn't take on colour as it cooks. Add in the prosciutto and heat it for a few moments until fragrant. Toss hot, drained noodles and turn off the heat.

Dump the egg mixture onto the hot noodles and toss thoroughly with fresh cracked pepper (or you can let your guests add their own). As you stir the ingredients together, the eggs will thicken and the cheese will melt, all thanks to the residual heat of the pasta. Be sure to add a lot of pepper. That's half the fun of papalina.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Cook's Notes: Tip: use the best quality cheese you can afford: it will melt better and make for a creamier pasta dish.