Margarita Fores's Spaghettini Al Telefono

It takes time to build a relationship. While I revel at every new food find, there are a few that I return to like an old love. Cibo’s penne al telefono is one of them. At the tail end of summer, I joined Margarita Fores at Casa Artusi’s first Divertimento in Fattoria where she showed participants how to cook the spaghettini version of this Cibo favorite. You’ll read all about my Casa Artusi experience in Mabuhay magazine’s September issue. In the meantime, here’s the recipe to Gaita’s spaghettini al telefono:



Spaghettini Al Telefono

1 pack De Cecco spaghettini
½ kilo blanched and deseeded red tomatoes
1 tbsps. Olive oil
1 tbsp. chopped garlic
250 grams butter
1 liter cream
100 grams cubed mozzarella
3 to 4 grates of fresh nutmeg
100 grams Laguna cheese (white cheese)
A bunch of fresh sweet basil chiffonade
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Cook spaghettini according to package direction in boiling, well salted water.
2. In a heavy pan, sauté tomatoes in garlic and olive oil.
3. Add cream, butter and nutmeg.
4. Put pasta in the sauce. Allow some of the salted water to drip into the pan so that the sauce would adhere better into the pasta.
5. Add the mozzarella and mix until the cheese starts to melt.
6. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Transfer to a platter. Garnish with Laguna cheese and basil. Serve.