Healthy Hollywood: Fab Food Friday – The Dish On Julia Roberts’ ‘Eat Pray Love’ Meals!

By now, most of you have heard about Julia Roberts’ soul-searching, globe-trotting journey in “Eat Pray Love.” First mission: Julia’s character stops worrying about calories, wheat allergies, and food guilt and happily re-discovers the joy of eating in Italy. On-screen, Roberts indulges in pasta, blanched asparagus, goat cheese, smoked salmon — the menu goes on and on. Even Julia admitted she gained over 7 lbs. shooting in Rome. Behind every dish presented and eaten on camera was Susan Spungen, a food stylist, who also worked on “Julie & Julia.”’ It’s her job to make every morsel eaten onscreen – sometimes having to prepare the same item over and over during the 8 takes it can require to nail one scene.

But Susan reveals there’s nothing like Italian food: “It’s full of things we all crave – pasta, cheese, gelato, pizza – so there’s a lot of joy associated with eating it. Like any cuisine, it all comes down to the ingredients. When a cuisine is as simple as Italian can be, you have to start with the very best ingredients.”

Susan shares tips to whipping up your own Italian-style “Eat Pray Love” feast.

1. The Perfect Pasta:

“Timing is key – always start your sauce before boiling the pasta. It’s essential to cook the pasta, drain it, and put it directly into the sauté pan where you’ve made your sauce, for a final heating, and to coat the pasta with the sauce. Never rinse the pasta, or put oil in the water, which will only keep the sauce from clinging to the pasta. Always generously salt the pasta water, and always save a cup or so of the starchy pasta water before draining to thin out your sauce if needed. Finally, serve pasta in warmed bowls, so it stays piping hot for as long as possible.”

2. Healthy Italian:

“It’s all about portion size – serve pasta as small first course (primi), like they do in Italy, followed by a lean protein (secondie). Load up on vegetables and salads, eat fruit for dessert, and you’ll be fine!”

3. Simple Pasta Pomodoro:

“It has all the classic Italian flavors. It’s pretty simple, though. Cook some sliced garlic in a sauté pan over low heat in olive oil, until it’s toasted ad golden brown. Remove the garlic and set aside, keeping the oil in the pan. Add peeled, seeded, and chopped fresh tomatoes and cook over medium heat until tomatoes begin to break down and look saucy, about 5 minutes. Add salt, crushed red pepper, and some torn basil leaves. Add the cooked pasta to pan and cook over high heat, tossing to coat the pasta. Serve in shallow bowls, garnished with the toasted garlic and more basil.

4. A Favorite Pasta Recipe:

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara: (Serves 4 to 6)

Authentic carbonara has no cream; it’s the eggs that make it creamy. It’s a very simple dish that’s all in the execution and the quality of the ingredients. Black pepper is an important seasoning here – and is should be visible when you present the dish.

Ingredients:

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1.5 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

4 ounces pancetta (cured Italian Bacon), cubed

1 tablespoon salt

1 pound dried spaghetti

To Make:

*Whisk the eggs in a small bowl until just combined. Whisk in the cheeses. Set aside.

*Place the pancetta in a large sauté pan and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the bacon is crisp on the outside and much of the fat has rendered out. 12 to 15 minutes.

*Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil and add the salt. Cook the spaghetti until “al dente.” Before draining the pasta, reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water.

*Drain the pasta and add to the pan with pancetta. Over medium heat, toss the pasta well, making sure it’s piping hot. Remove from the heat, and stir in the egg mixture quickly, tossing to coat the pasta evenly. Season with plenty of black pepper, and toss again. Add a little of the reserved pasta water (start with .25 cup) to thin out to the desired cream consistency. Add salt to taste.

*Divide among heated bowls, top each serving with a few grinds of pepper, and serve immediately. Pass more grated cheese on the side.

Food stylist Susan Spungen also penned the cookbook Recipes: A Collection For The Modern Cook. For more cooking tips, check out www.susanspungen.com.