Constructing a new dish today

Talked about this is another thread but I?ve had an Italian, southern fusion dish in my head. Essentially cacio e pepe and buttermilk fried chicken. I?m using fettuccini for my noodle, bought good quality cheeses, and boneless chicken thighs (because they have the most flavor).

This morning I soaked the thighs in buttermilk, salt, and a little granulated salt. The idea is for the milk to tenderize the chicken and add more flavor. It will also lighten up the appearance of those thighs just a bit (which isn?t a big deal to me).


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This afternoon I did a little bit of prep. Fresh crushed peppercorns


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I cubed some premium butter. Some say Irish or Euro butter is only for baking... My opinion is that is 100% nonsense. That extra fat content and creaminess can be great in cooking

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Next did a real fine grade pecorino romano. About a cup and a half. That?s for the sauce. Did about a quarter cup of parmigiano reggiano for finishing the top of the dish. Tasted both and they?re incredible

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All for now. I?ll uodate later.

It?s 6:44AM and now I?m hungry for a real meal...

I poured off a little milk off the chicken and added some flour making a slurry. After the chicken was fully coated in the wet batter slurry, move to season flour. I season my ap flour with Cajun seasoning, any brand will work.

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Next I heat a skillet over low heat with a few tablespoons of olive oil and my cracked pepper to toast the pepper a bit while the chicken and pasta are cooking. At this point, everything will be coming together in 5 mins.

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Added my cubed butter to the oil and pepper over low heat to melt the butter but not break it. Once your butter is melted, add a few tablespoons of the starchy water from the top of your pasta. It emulsifies with the butter/oil/pepper and will help everything come together. At this point you add the al dente pasta, not strained because you want a little water, and toss in the sauce. The al dente pasta will help absorb the butter/oil.

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Then when the pasta is evenly coated and not oily, add the pecorino romano. Toss until melted. Now when I did this it dried up quickly so I snapped a pic. If it looks like this, just add a little more pasta water and toss. That will help the cheese melt and make for a smoother finished product.

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My chicken is done and has been moved to a pan.

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Plate the cacio e pepe linguine and top with the southern fried boneless thigh. Then sprinkle some of your fresh grated parmigiano reggiano. A little parsley on top

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The verdict: It’s such a crazy good dish because the pecorino romano is rich and creamy and that parmigiano reggiano gives it just enough bite and funk at the end. The toasted peppercorns are just another layer and a tiny bit of warmth. Adding the chicken was more of a texture thing than anything. That crunch gave the dish a whole new complexity but make no mistake, the cheeses totally overpower the chicken. Don’t give me wrong, adding the chicken was a good idea but the star of the show is still the romano and parmigiano.

Pair it with a low tannin red and it goes beautifully with that cheese and pepper.

Now to what it’s missing: If I do it again I have to add an acidity component. Haven’t decided exactly what but a few ideas have rolled in my head. You could continue to play up the southern end of the fusion and further garnish the dish with a couple fried green tomatoes. You could garnish the edge of the plate with some compari tomato slices or you could throw some diced tomato on top. I just hate to get too far off the base of the dish so I think the perfect accompaniment would be an heirloom tomato salad on the side. My only other thing, and this is because I’m a good bizz guy, is presentation. It’s all yellow and brown. It needs color. I think a couple thin sliced scallions as well as the parsley would help. If you did fried green tomatoes, you could do a zig zag roasted red bell pepper sauce on the fgt’s which lets you get a red in there as well.

Was good for a first try but I think I can really improve the idea.

DAYUM!