Jarett Appell refined his mastery of Italian cuisine traveling between kitchens in Italy and New York City throughout his career. Ten years of education and experience drove the dishes Appell developed for Stella 34 Trattoria into a menu of authentic Neapolitan cuisine and pizza.

At ALMA, La Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana in Colorno, Italy, Appell earned his diploma of Mastery of Italian Cuisine. Over the years, he has traveled the country, working with renowned chefs in Rome, Parma, Cattolica and Naples, Italy.

At the Hostaria dell’Orso, the oldest restaurant in Rome, Appell worked with Gualtiero Marchesi, considered to be the father of modern Italian cuisine and a founder of ALMA. Appell then returned to New York as sous chef at Union Square Café for five years.

Appell ventured back to Italy, this time to Naples, to work with Enzo Coccia at Pizzeria La Notizia—the first (and at the time, only) pizzeria in the Michelin guide – where Appell became a Master Pizzaiolo Napoletano. Following, Appell opened Donatella in New York as executive chef before arriving at Stella 34 in 2013.

Creste di Gallo all’Amatriciana

Download printable .pdf here.

Ingredients - Creste di Gallo Pasta
300 g. Durum flour
100 g. ‘00’ flour
130 g. Escarole puree

Directions
Blanch escarole in boiling unsalted water and cool rapidly in an ice bath. Puree blanched escarole in a blender until smooth. Using a mixer, combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix with a dough hook. Roll out your pasta. If you don’t have a pasta extruder, make your favorite tube shaped pasta.

Ingredients - Roasted Pork Butt
1 ea. 8-9 lb. Fossil Farms Berkshire Boston Butt
1⁄2 cup salt
4 tbsp. black pepper
2 tbsp. oregano
2 tbsp. Aleppo pepper
2 tbsp. ground chili flakes
2 tbsp. fennel pollen
2 qt. white wine
2 qt. chicken stock

Directions
On a large roasting pan, butterfly pork butt, press down meat and season with all spices thoroughly. Allow seasoned pork to sit for 24 hours. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Add wine and chicken stock to the pork in the pan, cover with parchment paper and foil, and roast in the oven for approximately 3 hours, until fork tender. Remove from oven, pull meat apart and set aside.

Ingredients - Amatriciana Sauce
8 oz. pulled pork from Fossil Farms Berkshire Boston Butt
16 oz. crushed whole peeled tomato
3 tbsp. Calabrian chili paste
8 oz. Fossil Farms Mangalitsa pancetta
8 oz. rendered fat from Fossil Farms Mangalitsa pancetta
2 cup red onion, sliced thin
8 oz. Pecorino cheese, grated
Salt and chili flake to taste

Directions
Slice and cut pancetta into half inch slices and begin to render in a sauté pan on low heat. Once pancetta is rendered and crispy, remove and set aside. Using the same sauté pan with the remaining fat, turn the heat up high until it begins to smoke lightly. Add the pulled pork and cook until caramelized. Add onion and toss until blistered, but not caramelized. Mix in the chili paste, rendered pancetta fat and crushed tomato. Slowly simmer sauce as you cook the pasta. Add pasta to a pan with sauce and fold in pecorino cheese, reserving enough for garnish. Season with salt and chili pepper to taste.