It's no secret that Italians love their pasta. According to Andrea Taccone, chef and owner of in Newtown, Sydney: "Italians have it for lunch 90 per cent of the time".
Growing up, the self-proclaimed fussy kid preferred his pasta plain with a drizzle of olive oil or a sprinkle of cheese. The one exception to this rule was his grandma Alba's fusilli dorati (golden fusilli pasta), which he ate on special occasions.
The first time Taccone recalls eating his grandma Alba's famous pasta was on his 10th birthday when she was visiting the family in their hometown of Lecce in Salento, the southeast region of Puglia in Italy.
"Fusilli is the kind of pasta and golden is the translation for 'dorati' because the pasta is baked and the crust on top has a golden colour," he explains.
"When grandma was cooking, I was always trying to understand more and obviously eat," he laughs. "I haven't always been a great chef, but I've always been a great eater."
When Taccone got a summer hospitality job at age 14, he began to appreciate cheffing.
"Even though my tasks were being a kitchen porter and cleaning down, I was closer to the action and the kitchen environment," he reflects. "I started seeing new ways of cooking and how ingredients can change throughout the cooking process."
Taccone's passion for hospitality skyrocketed from there and he spent the next decade working as a chef across Europe. It was during this time that Taccone wanted to understand what made his grandma's cooking so delicious.
"I started to ask her questions and to show me things," he explains. "That's why she thought the best thing was to give me the recipes that she has cooked throughout her life, written in detail with the methods, preparation, instructions and amounts."
Grandma Alba's handwritten recipe books now live at Alba Salentinian Restaurant, which Taccone opened shortly after moving to Australia in 2019. From day one, his goal was to have local people taste and discover the homely cuisine of Salento.
"When people go out, they should be able to eat the real thing," he says. "We try to show people that Italian food is so wide and nice, but our job is to educate customers as well. Customers should be informed about what we do, how we do it and why?"
When people go out, they should be able to eat the real thing.
The menu is a mix of authentic dishes from 19th-century Salento cookbooks and, of course, his grandma's handwritten recipes.
"Nothing makes me prouder than cooking recipes either of my family or where I'm from," he says.
His 90-year-old grandmother flew to Australia for his restaurant's opening in 2019 and spent three weeks in the kitchen, sharing her knowledge and experience with the chefs.
"The family recipes that I have on the menu are the ones that we normally do at home," Taccone says. "Whereas most of grandma Alba's recipes are saved for special occasions and the specials board."
A dish that Taccone says epitomises traditional Salento cuisine is fusilli dorati, which he describes as "rewarding and uncomplicated".
"Simple things are easier to understand and appreciate," he says. "If you go to a fine dining restaurant and eat an amazing dish, you can't really feel everything that's behind it, all the time that the chef spent to research the ingredients and experiment. Whereas simple food, everyone can relate to that."
Fusilli dorati was one of the first dishes that Taccone made after his grandmother gifted him a trio of handwritten cookbooks. He has been cooking it for friends and family ever since.
Andrea Taccone and Grandma Alba experimenting in the kitchen. Source: Andrea Taccone/Alba Salentinian Restaurant
"It gives me a taste of home because it's the exact same as it was years ago; for instance, when I last saw my parents," Taccone explains.
Grandma Alba's secrets are using Asiago cheese from northern Italy and making sure the pasta is al dente.
"If you like a bit of crunchiness, you can put some breadcrumbs on top," Taccone adds. "My grandmother wouldn't do that, but I always put a little because it adds a bit of crunch and texture."
Home away from home can always be found in a golden bowl of grandma Alba's pasta, and Taccone looks forward to cooking it for her again someday soon.
Fusilli dorati
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 4 artichokes
- 1 red capsicum
- 1 eggplant
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 small bunch parsley
- 1 tbsp EVOO
- 250 g asiago cheese
- Juice from 1-2 lemons
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Breadcrumbs (optional)
Method
- Clean and cut the artichokes, ideally into strips, but any shape is fine. Place them in a bowl with water and lemon.
- Dice the eggplant and capsicum into little squares. Dice the garlic together with the parsley and make it "jump" in a pan with the olive oil over very low heat. Get 1.5 of the artichokes and put them in the pan with the capsicum and the eggplant. After 45 seconds, add the remaining artichokes, toss the pan and cook for 15 min over high heat.
- In the meantime, bring a deep pot of water to a boil. Once boiled, cook the pasta with a pinch of salt until al dente (it's important not to overcook the pasta, otherwise it will break later).
- Once the pasta is ready, strain it, pour it into the pan with the other condiments, and add a bit of oil and half the cheese. Toss it vigorously until the cheese has melted.
- Grease a terrine that's suitable for the oven. Place the pasta into the terrine. Distribute the rest of the cheese evenly on top of the pasta. You can also add breadcrumbs and parsley.
- Cook in the oven for 20 min at 180°C.
ITALIAN CUISINE
Enrica's potato and artichoke bake
