From Antica Osteria Nonna Rosa, he enhances fine semolina and uses very little fat: this is the secret of the starred chef from Campania
Life is a combination of magic and pasta. Federico Fellini was absolutely sure. Pasta is the symbol of Italy in the world. Someone likes “al dente” pasta, someone prefers overcooked, but the ultimate goal is always the same: being happy, and it doesn’t matter whether alone or in company. Pasta in recent years has also crossed the boundaries of fashions and trends, putting itself at the centre of careful scientific research aimed at achieving consumer well-being. Chefs and professionals took the grain and turn it into creations full of heart. This is the case of Peppe Guida, chef of Antica Osteria Nonna Rosa, a small jewel in Vico Equense.
Is pasta a universal food?
“Pasta has always been a symbol of Made in Italy in the world. Unfortunately, it is often seen as a side dish; we want people to understand that pasta is a main course. It is high-nutritional and tasty, and satisfies the palate like few other foods”.
What is the role of pasta in your cuisine?
“It has a role of primary importance: the whole menu revolves around it since we started the format Guess who’s coming to dinner with Giuseppe di Martino, which makes the world haute cuisine understand what pasta means for us Italians but, above all, for us from Campania”.
Where does Nonna Rosa’s pasta come from?
“Exclusively from the Martino group that has always worked 100% Italian grains. In particular, I use Pastificio dei campi, flagship of Martino’s group: the semolina is produced in the plains of Puglia, precisely in the Foggia area, where the wheat is produced in a three-year cycle making sure to nourish the ground with all its natural needs to get the best pasta ever”.
Trends and new frontiers of pasta. What’s in store for the future of your creativity?
“The new frontier, perhaps already old, of pasta is the low cost and high nutritional value. For this reason, it could feed entire generations as it usually happens in the South of Italy. Moreover, the haute cuisine, especially abroad, gave it the place it deserves and, ultimately, pasta is a product that could be mixed with every type of global ingredient: with few simple measures, it can satisfy every corner of the world! In my kitchen I continuously study the lightness of the dish to enhance fine semolina using very few ingredients and above all very few fats”.
What is the pasta dish that still excites you?
“The Devotion. But with my Spaghettino with lemon water, oil and provolone, customers from the other side of the world were moved”.
Do you disdain the research?
“Definitely, I don’t refute it. Once a colleague cooked it in Champagne … I prefer to drink it “.
