Handmade Pasta - Charcoal Trenette

Fiore Moletz, chef and proprietor of Della Terra and Burgh’ers.

Fiore Moletz, founder of Della Terra and Bur’ghers, brings a ton of personality and flavor to everything he does. He can’t help it. It’s who he is. And thank heavens: when you sit down to a meal he’s prepared, you can just relax and let the bravura flavors play out on your palate. He’s already taken care of everything. You’re in good hands. Especially if you try his take on traditional Carbonara sauce. The name refers to coal mining culture, and Fiore puts a literal spin on this classic Italian dish by adding a but of charcoal to the pasta recipe.

What is Charcoal Trenette Pasta?

The trenette pasta shape is a staple of the northern Italian regions of Genoa and Liguria, and you may recognize a similarity to better known linguine and fettuccine.

Trenette pasta calls for eggs, which differentiates this recipe from Fiore’s southern Italian Orecchiette Recipe , which only calls for flour, semolina, and water.

While trenette is traditionally served with a Pesto sauce, or with potatoes and beans, Della Terras’s updated interpretation includes the addition of charcoal powder and is dressed with a traditional Carbonara sauce, a staple of Roman cuisine.

The meaning behind Carbonara

There are many theories on the origin of this world famous pasta sauce. If you were to ask 3 different Italians, you would most definitely receive 3 different answers. However, there is one thing that is universal: never use cream or milk in this sauce! As in never, ever! Instead the creaminess comes from the combination of egg yolk, rendered pork fat and grated cheese, tempered by gentle.

The name itself means “the charcoal burner,” and some believe this filling dish was made to satiate the hardworking coal miners after a arduous day’s work. Fiore’s modern interpretation brings the charcoal into the trenette pasta for an exciting twist on a legendary Italian pasta dish.

Try this updated take on traditional Roman carbonara sauce at home.

How to make homemade Charcoal Egg Pasta Dough - Trenette

340 gram ’00’ flour or bread flour
4 whole eggs
1/2 tablespoon activated charcoal powder

*charcoal powder will darken everything it touches*

Mix flour with charcoal powder. Place flour on work surface and make a well in it. Add the eggs to the well, and begin mixing eggs into flour with a fork. Once egg has mixed into flour slightly, begin kneading the dough until has become a cohesive ball. Cover and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Either through a roller or by rolling pin, begin rolling out dough in to thin sheets, until the thickness of a piece of spaghetti. Cut by hand or by machine into long, thin strands, and dust strand with flour to prevent sticking. Let strands sit for 10-15 minutes before cooking.

Carbonara With Charcoal Trenette - Single Serving

1/4 lb. Charcoal Trenette
2 ounces pancetta, cut into lardons
1 ounce julienned white onion
1 whole egg plus whites of one egg
1 egg yolk
Canola Oil for cooking
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, plus more to garnish
Fresh black pepper
Salt to taste
Reserved pasta cooking water

Bring cooking water to a boil in large pot and season with salt. It should taste like the sea!

Place pancetta in saute pan over medium-low heat. Once the fat from pancetta begins to render off, add onions to pan. Continue to cook until pancetta is brown and onions have softened and begin to develop color. The pan should have some color on it as well.

Add 3 ounces of pasta water to pan to deglaze pan and set aside.

Whisk 1 whole egg and egg white together with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, and black pepper

Cook 1/4 pound of pasta in boiling salted water, around 3-4 minutes.

Once pasta is cooked, add pasta to pancetta pan and return to medium-high heat. Add egg mixture to pan before it gets too hot and continue to toss pasta together over medium high heat. Make sure to keep pan moving the entire time, otherwise eggs will begin to cook, which you don’t want. Continue to cook and toss pasta until egg mixture begins to thicken slightly. Add in 1 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil while tossing pasta. Keep tossing over medium high heat until egg mixture has attained silky texture and has coated the pasta.

Twirl pasta onto plate, making a small well in the top. Grate parmesan cheese over top of pasta to cover the top. Place the egg yolk in the center of the cheese to make it look like an “egg”. Garnish with black pepper and the best olive oil you can find.

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