(April 21, 2016) Last month, Barilla and culinary website Chef’s Roll invited cooks across the county to “represent your region” in the 2016 Barilla Pasta Perfect competition.
Locally, chef Paul Suplee has taken up the charge and was one of just 188 chefs in the United States selected as a finalist.
“The competition rates a chef’s ability to take a pasta dish and make it ‘scream’ a region,” Suplee said. “Of course, mine is a salute to The Eastern Shore.”
Suplee created a “Casarecce alla ‘crab’onara” for the contest, which used Barilla casarecce pasta, tossed in carbonara, with a regional twist – the dish is dressed with blue crab and Virginia ham, fried in duck fat and garnished with Old Bay-cured egg yolks.
“In developing this dish, it was a no-brainer to include the blue crab, since it is freshly in-season,” he said. “Virginia ham was a close second, and frying it in duck fat renders a delicious, rich taste to replace the pancetta with which this dish is traditionally prepared. Finishing it off with Old Bay-cured egg yolks was a whimsical way to add a unique layer of flavor to make this dish really stand out.”
Voting takes place online through April 26. As of press time, Suplee said he was sitting in second place.
“First place has a commanding lead, so obviously I would love to drum up local support!” he said.
One winner of the competition will earn a coveted spot in Barilla’s annual Modern Casual Retreat at Farmer Lee Jones’ Culinary Vegetable Institute in Cleveland, along with a $2,500 grand prize.
Ten runners-up will win a $250 leather Jende knife roll.
To vote, visit www.woobox.com/ stgrge/vote/for/14814546, and click on the “vote” button.
Suplee is an assistant professor of culinary arts at Wor-Wic Community College, and a regular contributor to the Bayside Gazette.
Locally, chef Paul Suplee has taken up the charge and was one of just 188 chefs in the United States selected as a finalist.
“The competition rates a chef’s ability to take a pasta dish and make it ‘scream’ a region,” Suplee said. “Of course, mine is a salute to The Eastern Shore.”
Suplee created a “Casarecce alla ‘crab’onara” for the contest, which used Barilla casarecce pasta, tossed in carbonara, with a regional twist – the dish is dressed with blue crab and Virginia ham, fried in duck fat and garnished with Old Bay-cured egg yolks.
“In developing this dish, it was a no-brainer to include the blue crab, since it is freshly in-season,” he said. “Virginia ham was a close second, and frying it in duck fat renders a delicious, rich taste to replace the pancetta with which this dish is traditionally prepared. Finishing it off with Old Bay-cured egg yolks was a whimsical way to add a unique layer of flavor to make this dish really stand out.”
Voting takes place online through April 26. As of press time, Suplee said he was sitting in second place.
“First place has a commanding lead, so obviously I would love to drum up local support!” he said.
One winner of the competition will earn a coveted spot in Barilla’s annual Modern Casual Retreat at Farmer Lee Jones’ Culinary Vegetable Institute in Cleveland, along with a $2,500 grand prize.
Ten runners-up will win a $250 leather Jende knife roll.
To vote, visit www.woobox.com/ stgrge/vote/for/14814546, and click on the “vote” button.
Suplee is an assistant professor of culinary arts at Wor-Wic Community College, and a regular contributor to the Bayside Gazette.