Spaghetti Recipes: Pasta Alla Caruso!

This week I thought I would make another one of my favorite spaghetti recipes, Pasta Alla Caruso or Pasta Con Fegatini Di Pollo, Aglio, Cipille E Funghi! This is one of the great spaghetti recipes: Spaghetti with chicken livers, garlic, onions and mushrooms! Of the many spaghetti recipes that I do this one is named after one of my favorite opera tenors, Enrico Caruso was born on February 25, 1873 in Naples, Italy and he died on August 2, 1921 in Naples, Italy, his homeland!

Enrico Caruso was a foodie at heart long before the word foodie ever came to be and he loved to cook and this dish was one of his favorite spaghetti recipes just as it is one of my favorite spaghetti recipes! Enrico Caruso dominated the opera scene of the day at the Metropolitan Opera house in New York City for eighteen years. Caruso, As an early foodie we come to find that Caruso loved chicken livers and incorporated them into this dishes whenever he could and as he did with San Marzano tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and garlic to create one of his favorite spaghetti dishes which we now call Pasta Con Fegatini Di Pollo, Aglio, Cipolle E Funghi or Pasta Alla Caruso!

Enrico Caruso loved to use pale yellow chicken livers if they could be found as they are usually fatter and have a sweeter taste than the usual dark red chicken livers that you find in supermarkets today. So if you plan to make this dish you should check with your local butcher or supermarket to make sure you get the fatter yellow chicken livers. As with so many spaghetti recipes it is best to saute the chicken livers separately from the spaghetti sauce and then reincorporate them later in the sauces development. You will get a hint of the livers flavor in the sauce when you remove the livers from the saute pan and sweat down the garlic and onions. Then once reincorporated into the sauce you will have all the flavors of the dish together making for a lovely pasta dish experience.

Many folks don't know that chicken livers are widely used in Italy for both spaghetti recipes and other recipes as well. One example would be chicken livers being used for Tuscan chicken liver crostini. Also there are times when the chicken livers are just sauteed in olive oil with garlic and onions and served on a plate. This is done in so many cultures that this is why I love food so much because many peoples from all over the world so many times do the same things with food! Food is one of the glues that bind us all together as human beings and I think the similarities in how we prepare foods is one of the things that bring us together.

It really has been awhile since I have made any of the spaghetti recipes that I enjoy and in my house I rarely go more than three days without eating some kind of pasta dish or I go through PWT's(Pasta Withdrawl Tremors) if I don't have my pasta hit! So when I thought about what I wanted to cook this week I was listening to a Caruso CD and viola! Here it is! Pasta Alla Caruso! As far as I am concerned Enrico Caruso could have been a famous chef with his knowledge of spaghetti recipes that he developed for himself and his knowledge of the food of his native home of Naples, Italy. Many people don't know this but during the time that Caruso was singing opera at the Metropolitan in New York City he out of his own pocket sponsored the immigration and citizenship of over a dozen chefs from his home in Naples, Italy and he helped them to open restaurants in what is now known as "Little Italy" in New York City! There you will find some of the best Italian food anywhere in the world and that includes Italy herself! I consider this to be a great benefit for the Italian food community in New York City that has lasted all these years and has made New York one of the finest cities for foods of the world! As an early foodie a neat little factoid is that when Enrico Caruso was not singing at the Metropolitan he would be working in the kitchens of some of the restaurants that he helped to open! For all we know Enrico Caruso could have been the Jaques Pepin of the Italian food world!

Now in the anals of food history there is some conjecture as to the origins of Pasta Alla Caruso. Some historians think Caruso invented the dish and named it after himself and this is or course the story that I ascribe to! Other historians believe that one of Enrico Caruso's chef friends created the dish and named it after the great tenor. Well, the only one that will ever know for sure is Enrico Caruso! Either way Pasta Alla Caruso is still one of my favorite spaghetti recipes!

My friends look at me like I am crazy at times. "Your adding chicken livers to tomato sauce?" You bet I do! Chicken livers add a creamy and pungent richness to the sauce and in unison with the earthiness of the mushrooms, garlic and onions this dish makes for an excellent primo piatto(first course) or a lovely main course!

Enrico Caruso had a distinguished 25yrs career in opera that spanned from 1895 to 1920 and he performed at the Metropolitan opera house in New York over 800 times before he passed away leaving us without his great talent as both a great tenor and a great chef! I would like to think that if Enrico Caruso was alive today that he would have his own cooking show and he would be teaching us how to make great spaghetti recipes!

I think back to the days when I hated music classe in high school and college and how I couldn't stand classical music or opera. Now here I am almost 50yrs and I find it hard to listen to most of the new music out there and I find myself drawn to listening to the opera! I LOVE Maria Kallas Callas the greatest soprano operetta to ever grace a stage, and I LOVE Luciano Pavarotti who as Caruso is one of the greatest tenors of the modern era! But as far as classics go I Love the sound of Enrico Caruso and one of his favorite spaghetti recipes which is now one of my favorite spaghetti recipes, Pasta Alla Caruso! Enjoy the video!



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