Posted by Adam Kuban, April 19, 2008 at 5:00 PM
Each Saturday evening we bring you a Sunday Supper recipe. Why on Saturday? So you have time to shop and prepare for tomorrow.
It's finally starting to get up into the 70s in my neck of the woods, and this weekend looks like it'll be the first truly nice and warm one we've had this spring. It's the kind of weather that draws me out of the kitchen and out to the park or for a bike ride—basically anywhere but the kitchen.
But, a person's gotta eat, and this pasta is good in many ways for a Sunday when you don't want to spend much time at the stove. First, it takes advantage of asparagus, which is in season now; second, it's quick, so you can take advantage of the lengthening days; and third, it's moderately light, so you won't feel like a lead weight afterward.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, April 16, 2008 at 4:30 PM
I recently stumbled upon Saveur’s 10 favorite pastas and figured I had it made. I love pasta. Saveur loves pasta. We’d meet somewhere and have one hell of a dinner. And this is the one I fell for. I was immediately drawn to this dish because of how robust and filling it all sounded, even though there wasn’t an ounce of meat present. It exceeded my expectations. I was amazed at the full flavor and enormous body of this dish. I suppose the wonderful mushrooms had something to do with it, but I’m going to thank all that salt I dumped into the pasta water before the noodles ever went in. This dish didn’t need an ounce of seasoning beyond the obligatory sprinkling of Parmesan. It tasted as if some reduced stock had been thrown in.
The most expensive item in the meal—the sherry—is also the one that can most easily be substituted. A dry white wine would work perfectly fine. But it would slightly change the nature and aroma of the dish. And splurging for that Spanish beverage wouldn't be a complete waste. A good bottle of sherry is also worth drinking, and paired so well that I'm really glad I bit the bullet and bought the bottle.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, March 25, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Today's recipe from Nigella Express is for a super easy pappardelle with escarole dish. I've always liked the mixture of a sharp green like escarole along with pasta, and this recipe couldn't be any easier to make than boiling water and doing a little sautéing.
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As is always the case with our Cook the Books, we're giving away a number of them this week. Enter to win Nigella Express »
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Posted by Gina DePalma, March 4, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Spring vegetables arrive shockingly early in Rome to the eyes of this American. As the availability of puntarelle has waned, artichokes have burst onto the scene as the first harbingers of primavera.
Nobody celebrates the artichoke like Romans, and at the produce market, artichokes harvested from the countryside surrounding Rome are always the first choice of shoppers; they are a specific variety that thrives in the volcanic soil from the valleys surrounding Monte Cimino, Lake Bracciano, and Lake Vico.
Huge, purple-green globes have taken over the town, piled high in the open-air markets and artfully arranged at the entrance of Roman restaurants and trattorie. A bouquet of artichokes in the window means there may be carciofi alla guidea (crisp and deep-fried), alla Romana (braised in olive oil, with red onion, garlic and fresh mint), or any number of other artichoke delights on the menu tonight.
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Posted by Ed Levine, February 24, 2008 at 12:00 PM
This week's Cartoon Kitchen features Serious Eats' cartoonist in residence Larry Gonick's spin on pasta. —Ed Levine
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, February 20, 2008 at 4:15 PM
It began its life as a pizza sauce, nothing more than some canned tomatoes, a slug of red wine and olive oil, and some salt. After all the dough was used, I poured the bright red liquid into a plastic container and moved it to the back of the fridge. In the old days (probably a year ago) I would have forgotten about it until a week later when I’d open it up, give it smell, and then wash it down the drain.
But no longer. Ever since I discovered eggs in purgatory, I’ve never had a problem with getting rid of leftover tomato sauce. The recipe is dead simple (sauce and eggs), but tastes far more complex. It is my go-to recipe whenever I have the chance. But for the sake of shaking things up, I decided to see what other simple recipes awaited some leftover tomato sauce.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, February 13, 2008 at 4:15 PM
Most of my experience with tossing raw eggs on pasta revolves around pasta carbonara, one of my very favorite meals. I eat it a lot. Because it requires only some eggs, bacon, and pasta, it is my go-to meal when the fridge is running low. What makes it great is not just the ingredients, but how they are added. When tossed in at the last minute that raw egg yolk lovingly coats every strand of pasta in a perfect, luscious sauce. When I saw this recipe I got very excited—here was another recipe that added the egg at the end. What kind of wonders would it hold?
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Posted by Mario Batali, February 12, 2008 at 1:30 PM
- serves 4 -
Ingredients
1 pound fresh crab meat
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus 4 scallions
1/4 cup basic tomato sauce
1 recipe basic pasta, rolled out to thinnest setting
6 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Procedure
1. Bring 6 quarts water to boil; add 2 tablespoons salt.
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together crab, scallions, and basic tomato sauce until well blended. Cut pasta into 4-inch squares; place 1 tablespoon filling in center. Fold into triangles, exude air and seal edges. Bring points of long side together to form a ring (or a hat!) and seal with pressure between fingers. Place tortelloni in water; boil 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt butter with poppy seeds. Drain cooked tortelloni carefully; place gently in pan. Add remaining scallions; toss to coat. Serve immediately.
Posted by Mario Batali, February 12, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Ingredients
3 or 4 large eggs
10 ounces all-purpose flour
Procedure
1. Make a mound of flour, create a well in middle, add the eggs, and mix with a fork, slowly incorporating the flour. (Or mix all together in a KitchenAid mixer.) If too dry, add a fourth egg yolk. If still too dry, add the white. Once dough forms a ball, knead 15 to 20 minutes. Wrap in plastic; let rest for at least 30 minutes.
2. You can now cut off a portion (about a quarter) and roll it out with a pasta machine. You can also roll it out by hand, on a floured wooden board with a wooden rolling pin. Roll dough out in one direction. Flip and roll out in the other direction. Flip, turn 90 degrees, and so on. The idea is to stretch the dough until it’s very thin—thin enough that you should be able to see the grains of the wooden board through the sheet.
Posted by Gina DePalma, February 12, 2008 at 9:00 AM
I went on a little shopping spree at the Mercato Rionale in Prati last week. The covered market is a beautiful example of the graceful, Liberty-style architecture found in this Roman neighborhood, not far from the Vatican. Inside, the aisles are lined with colorful stalls selling gorgeous produce, fresh and cured meats, seafood and handmade pasta. My bee-line led straight to a modest little stand trumpeting "Produtti Tipici di Calabria," including honey, olive oil, candies, savory biscuits, and wine, all from traditional Calabrian producers. Very nice, but I came in search of 'nduja. The good stuff, please.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, February 9, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Each Saturday evening we bring you a Sunday Supper recipe. Why Saturday? So you have time to shop and prepare for tomorrow, of course!
I only discovered the Silver Palate Cookbook after joining Ed Levine here at Serious Eats. He recommended it early on as indispensible. But it wasn't until the 25th Anniversary Edition came out that I actually picked up a copy. And now, whenever I'm at a loss for dinner or want to beef up my recipe repertoire, I turn to it.
One of my favorite quick and easy recipes from it is this one for Tortellini with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce. I actually haven't made it in quite a while, but Jamie Forrest's recent blue cheese dip post—and the fact that he stopped by Serious Eats HQ with samples of it (thanks, Jamie!)—has me hankerin' for this pasta dish again.
The book's authors recommend it as either a first course or light main, and I generally make it as a main, accompanied by a simple salad and some good oven-warmed crusty bread. It makes enough for six servings, which is too much for one or two, so if you find yourself with leftovers after making it tomorrow night, you'll have a couple lunches or dinners for next week.
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Posted by Ed Levine, December 31, 2007 at 8:09 AM
We knew it's easy to get stressed out trying to figure out what to do and eat and drink on New Year's Eve (the pressure to have a spectacularly great time is enormous). So check in with Serious Eats throughout the day. We're gonna have a bunch of stress-busting New Year's Eve posts. Stick with Serious Eats. We'll get you through.
Let's start with a terrific Mario Batali recipe perfect for a New Year's Eve gathering. Mario calls for making fresh pasta for this dish, which is taken from the very useful Holiday Food (let's face it, we celebrate a lot of holidays), but I have made it with a wide, dried pasta, and it's just as good. This pasta with rock shrimp and zuccchini would become a festive addition to a New Year's Eve buffet. In fact, sometimes we do sort of a pot luck New Year's Eve buffet where everyone brings a dish or two. If you bring this pasta dish, or the Pasta with Walnuts (which is particularly suitable for a buffet because it can be eaten either hot or at room temperature), your hosts would be very happy indeed.
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Posted by Jenn Sit, December 26, 2007 at 1:30 PM
Every time I come home on a college break, the first thing that always happens is either my Mom, Dad, or Grandma asks me if I’m hungry. Before I can give an answer or even if I say no, there’s something delicious sitting in front of me just waiting to be devoured. My Dad always asks me if I ever get fed at school since I scarf down everything with such ravenous hunger and can be found eating cold leftovers out of the open fridge with my fingers. How can they blame me when I’m deprived of such home-cooked Chinese food at school? This winter break, I came home exhausted from a week of finals and my Mom handed me a bowl of hot noodles with Chinese broccoli—the bowl was emptied in just a few enormous bites and I promptly took a very much needed nap.
For your very own bowl of home-cooked Chinese goodness, try the rice noodles with Chinese broccoli and shiitake mushrooms recipe from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics. I’ve loved shiitake mushrooms since I was a kid, even before my Grandma told me that I’d be smarter if I ate more (one of many old wives’ tales I was told back then). The recipe suggests choy sum as an alternative to Chinese broccoli, which is another childhood favorite of mine due to the novelty of eating yellow flowers on my veggies. Along with the red pepper flakes, I always squiggle on some Sriracha for good measure. Ingredient lists for Asian dishes can be intimidating sometimes, but I’ve found that once you accumulate the various bottles of sauces in your pantry and become familiar with the ratios that produce the flavors you like best, it’s really not all that daunting.
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Posted by Ed Levine, December 24, 2007 at 4:05 PM
- serves 4 as a main pasta course -
Ingredients
1 pound linguine
1/2 medium red onion, finely minced
1/4 pound pancetta, cut into 1/8th inch dice (or mole salame)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed red chiles
1 pound Manila clams, scrubbed and rinsed
2 cups dry white wine
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped, to yield 1/4 cup
Procedure
1. Bring six quarts of water to boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.
2. In a large sauté pan, sauté red onion, pancetta, and garlic over medium heat until onion is very soft and pancetta is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add hot chiles, clams, white wine, and butter and bring to a boil. Cook until all clams have opened, and then set aside.
3. Boil linguine according to package instructions. While softened but still firm, drain in colander over sink and toss into plan with clams and stir gently to mix. This should still be a little brothlike. Add chopped parsley, pour into warm serving bowl and serve.
Posted by Jenn Sit, December 22, 2007 at 2:00 PM
Every Thursday night back at my Williams College abode, everyone in my house clears their busy schedules to get together and cook a potluck feast. We hardly get to eat with everyone together during the week so we like to go all out and make an epic mess of the kitchen. Almost every week, someone always concocts a massive pasta dish and I can't wait to go back and try the wild mushroom and spinach lasagna recipe from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics . It's a dish big enough to stuff a ravenous crowd of college students like us and even meat-free for our resident vegetarian. It's also chock full of spinach to stave off that Scary Scurvy we all learned about in middle school (not just for pirates! but actually a real problem for college students who survive solely on beer and pizza!). As my housemates will tell you, I consume more spinach than Popeye could ever handle. Although I might lack the bulging biceps of our spinach-scarfing cartoon sailor, I always hope that these bouts of nutritious eating will happily counterbalance the pizza and french fry fests on the weekends. Surely this lasagna will help us out on that front and plus, it sounds mighty tasty.
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Posted by Jenn Sit, December 21, 2007 at 1:30 PM
The Holiday Countdown is upon us and with only one weekend of shopping left, no one wants to spend the day battling the hoards of frenzied shoppers over that last Wii to then go home and cook a big dinner. But instead of settling on the same ol' take-out, try the short ribs ragu with pappardelle recipe from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics. If you prepare it before you head out, while you’re waiting in those long lines you can think of how tender the ribs are getting with each hour you’re away. By the time you max out your credit card and make your way home, the meat is ready to fall off the bone and into your mouth. Most of the work is done already, so you can rest your aching feet and have a hearty meal that’ll warm your insides and fill with you the holiday cheer that you may have lost amidst the Macy’s crowds.
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Posted by Jenn Sit, December 18, 2007 at 2:00 PM
Vampires beware: I love garlic in its many wondrous forms—roasted, toasted, sautéed, puréed—you name it, I'll snarf it down. Having never eaten it in its sweet caramelized form, when I saw the recipe for caramelized garlic and shallot pasta from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics, I knew I had to conquer this final frontier of Garlic Paradise. The recipe calls for about three heads of the stuff, but if the idea of that much garlic scares you off, have no fear—as the recipe says, "caramelizing the garlic tends to mellow and sweeten its flavor, so you can use more than you might expect." The cookbook lists the recipe under its "Late-Night Supper for Four" menu, and although I'll happily reek of garlic wherever I go, you may want to make sure whomever you're snuggling up with gets a couple of bites, too—just to level the smelling field.
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Posted by Blake Royer, December 13, 2007 at 4:15 PM
I'm on a bit of a pine nut and golden raisin kick—this is the second time this week (here's the first). The combination of sweet and tangy with fancy nuttiness is irresistible. So when I was flipping through Tyler Florence's Tyler's Ultimate
and saw this, a Sicilian-style spaghetti turned on its head, everything was decided: A quickly steamed-then-browned head of cauliflower is brightened with parsley and lemon juice (those seem to be pasta-brightening standbys), made airy by crisp panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), and richened with a little anchovy that reflects that nuttiness from the pine nuts. Although if anchovies scare you, they could be skipped. And the raisins are just there for fun.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, December 12, 2007 at 4:30 PM
Since frozen peas are delicious and pasta lasts nicely in my pantry for months, the two are always around my kitchen. But rarely do I think of combining the two. I had to cross that line when I stared blankly into my fridge and realized I essentially had nothing else left after a long weekend away. With hunger heavy upon the fiancée and me, something had to be done.
With neither of us daring leave the house, we searched a few dozen books until we came to Diane Seed's The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces. (We like her a lot!)
She had four interesting combinations of the two and one that would require no additional purchases at all—truly a pantry meal. She recommend tagliolini as the pasta shape, but all I had were shells. I felt a little like a kid, but they were actually the ideal candidate. Sometimes peas get lost in pasta, drifting to the plate instead of clinging to the noodles. But these little guys swallowed up the peas, providing the perfect carrying case to my mouth. The basil was a little blackened from the weekend but still tasty and a perfect foil for all that butter.
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Posted by Blake Royer, December 4, 2007 at 4:30 PM
Editor's note: Starting today, Dinner Tonight will also appear on Tuesdays and Thursdays, rounding things out so you've got a quick and easy recipe to make every weeknight. Today also marks the Dinner Tonight debut of Blake Royer, who will be handling these Tuesday/Thursday recipes. Blake has written for us before, as part of the Paupered Chef team with Nick Kindelsperger—our MWF Dinner Tonight contributor. OK. Enough. You're hungry. Without further ado, here's your recipe... —Adam
I'm especially fond of pasta recipes so simple, they leave you twiddling your thumbs waiting for the water to boil. Pasta might be my favorite thing to cook for a weekday dinner: It adapts easily to cooking for one, it’s cheap, and it’s a serious comfort food that leaves you far happier with yourself than if you’d ordered pizza. So when I was flipping through Cucina Rustica by Viana La Place and Evan Kleiman, this title caught my eye: Spaghetti With Oil and Garlic. Talk about out-of-the-pantry dinner.
This recipe takes pasta minimalism to an extreme: There will be no complaints about oversaucing. Yet the result is greater than the sum of its parts—a combination so carefully simple it makes you wonder if life itself is too complicated. And, as if the grand total of seven ingredients (including salt) wasn't already spare enough, the authors say that the addition of lemon juice, "strictly speaking, isn’t necessary." I wouldn't agree—it provides a nice acidic foil to the garlicky olive oil and, along with chopped parsley, brightens the dish. But I suppose if your pantry is especially sad and lacking, you could still pull this off without the lemon. Just make sure you cook your pasta perfectly al dente.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, November 23, 2007 at 4:00 PM
Sure, I’ve got enough turkey leftovers to feed me for a week. But what I’m usually looking for on the day after is some kind of reprieve from all the madness. While I truly love the All-American meal, I usually like something that is nice and light with an acidic kick. Turns out, all I had to do was look a little farther back in the fridge.
I hope by now everyone has heard of Batali’s Chicken With Green Sauce. If not, then please check it out. You’ll get some moist and full-flavored chicken, but you’ll also be left with some fantastic green sauce. I had so much I decided to save it and see what else it could do. I found this idea in the “riff” section of Rick Bayless’s Mexican Everyday. He called for a roasted tomatillo salsa, but Batali’s chicken with green sauce works, too. Turns out it makes a nice sauce for some pasta. Who knew?
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Posted by Adam Kuban, November 1, 2007 at 1:30 PM
For some, making stuffed pasta from scratch is rich, rewarding work. It's also labor-intensive and takes hours. With this ravioli nudi recipe, Mark Bittman cuts out the most time-consuming part—making and stuffing the shells. Here, the ravioli filling is tossed "naked" into a pot of water to boil, creating dumplings you can eat on their own as a starter or, as Bittman suggests, with some pasta and a light dressing of tomato sauce.
The recipe comes from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, October 26, 2007 at 4:30 PM
I’ve done this before. Not with the same ingredients, or procedure, but with the unlikely combo of pasta and seemingly inappropriate vegetable. It would seem to be too much starch for any one human to take on. But cooked correctly, the vegetable makes a creamy sauce without all the, well, cream. In other words: It works.
My experience has been with what the Silver Spoon calls linguine al pesto genovese, or potatoes and linguine with pesto. It must be some kind of a classic dish. But this one isn’t, which comes from the Real Simple and replaces the potato with squash. It also adds some bacon—always a welcome addition—and goat cheese. The effect is the same. After cooking with the chicken stock, the squash breaks apart and becomes part of the pasta instead of its own separate entity. Every noodle is coated with this fall-appropriate dish. Oh, and did I mention the bacon?
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, October 12, 2007 at 4:15 PM
Sure, it’s a classic. So, why have I been getting it so wrong? Because of my misadventures with the dish, the fiancée had sworn off broccoli rabe as disgusting, and I was left to try to get my fill any way I could.
That usually meant in its cold incarnation at buffet lines. It wasn’t working out. That’s when I saw it in a wicker basket at the farmers' market. It was going quickly. An employee would grab a big armful, plop it on the basket, and immediately someone would buy it. I watched as two different people walked off with huge bags of the stuff. It was time.
My quest was how to do this classic correctly. I’d been led wrong before, so I searched through my massive stacks to find one that seemed perfect. It had to be simple—dead simple—with nothing much besides the sausage and broccoli rabe. Surprisingly, the version that looked the best was the Joy of Cooking version. I used a different pasta and decided to leave out the oil—my sausage was fatty enough. But for those without fear, a couple tablespoons of olive oil would make this a heartier dish. We didn’t need it.
The fiancée finished her plate.
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Posted by Mario Batali, October 5, 2007 at 11:00 AM
My take on marinara sauce (actually the sauce of the seafarers) is a basic tomato sauce. In some places it just means garlic oil and parsley, and in others it is as elaborate as tomatoes, peppers, and lots of herbs.
I use it as a building block in lots of dishes as well as just a simple quick pasta sauce that can be transformed in a thousand ways. If you add chile flakes, you have arrabbiata; if you add anchovies, chile flakes, olives, and capers, you have puttanesca—both only for pasta and so on and so forth.
I have seen places in the States serve fish or meat with the preceding two Italian phrases and am embarrassed for the chefs who have not traveled to Italy. Anyway, this is my recipe, and it is as simple as opening a can. The key here is San Marzano tomatoes from Italy—not from Chile and not from California.
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Posted by Mario Batali, September 20, 2007 at 3:00 PM
Pesto has always seemed perfect in September. The kind we eat in the U.S. is traditionally pesto Genovese, but stop the press! There are more kinds. Yes, more uncooked herb-based pasta condiments, from all over the fucking place.
Here is Pesto Pantesco. They make it on the island of Pantelleria, 70 kilometers due south of the Aegadian Islands just west of Trapani in Sicilia. No surprise they harvest the Rolls-Royce of capers in Pantelleria, and it is a groovy place for all good food and great water color.
Put this in your pipe and smoke it.
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Posted by Mario Batali, September 11, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Editor's note: We're thrilled to introduce our bureau chief of all things Italian on Serious Eats, Mario Batali. Mario will be weighing in regularly on, well, anything he cares to weigh in on. We're excited to have Mario on the site, mostly because he loves to eat and cook as much as we do, and because he adheres to the Serious Eats bywords—Passionate, Inclusive, Discerning—in all of his far-flung endeavors. —Ed Levine
Nothing, nothing, sounds better than a plate of spaghetti al pomodoro in the month of September.
Did I say nothing? I meant nothing!
The myth of summer tomatoes will continue, but real cooks know that the maximum flavor raver for the golden love apples' peak of perfection is in fact September and even October. A walk through nearly any farmers' market in the northern hemisphere will prove me correct, as one jaunt this last weekend through the Union Square Greenmarket did. There are literally three dozen different types of magnificent tomatoes available in assorted hues, with fantasy names from Green Zebras and Brandywines to Black Russians, Wrinkly Ligurians, Ox Hearts and Cherokee Purples.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, August 10, 2007 at 4:15 PM
The last items I scored from the farmers' market were little globe-shape zucchini and squash. They looked cute enough to carve, and too precious to pass up. Though they were probably ideal candidates for a stuffing, I had no intention on turning the oven on. It’s hot—at least in the Midwest—so everything had to happen on top of the stove.
I scored this little recipe from Diane Seed’s The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces, and it seemed like the perfect platform for these oddly shaped items. It’s just veggies, pasta, olive oil, salt, and pepper. She even scorns cheese. Ultimately, the squash and zucchini would have nowhere to hide. If they were as good as they looked, I’d be a happy man. It is hard to believe the veggies could carry a dish like this, but it turned out fresh, oddly sweet, and completely satisfying. Though a little sprinkle of Parmesan wouldn't hurt anything.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, August 8, 2007 at 1:45 PM
As the week winds on, Eric Gower, the author of The Breakaway Cook, keeps impressing me with the simple but delicious-sounding recipes in this book. I haven't cooked his Pasta with Peas, Sausage, and Mint yet, but rest assured, I'm adding it to my recipe collection and will probably use mango sausage, as Gower recommends, when I cook it (which will probably be for dinner tonight).
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Posted by Ed Levine, July 30, 2007 at 1:30 PM
The first recipe that caught our eye in Cucina Del Sole is a simple pesto made with fresh tomatoes (it is after all vine-ripened tomato season) and toasted almonds. As Jenkins herself writes: "For those who think pesto comes only from Liguria and always includes masses of basil and pine nuts, this delicious alternative may come as a surprise." She also opines that although this pesto can be made in a food processor, she prefers to make it with a mortar and pestle.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, July 23, 2007 at 4:00 PM
It is kind of odd to pull a recipe from a book called Sauces that has, well, no sauce. While nearly every other recipe in this thick, exhaustive volume takes a long time, this one uses only what it takes to sauté some garlic and greens. No butter, no flour, no reducing.
Which is probably why I picked the recipe in the first place. A traditional Italian recipe, it can be whipped up quick. And thanks to some well-placed garlic and red pepper flakes, it tastes like it should take a lot longer.
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Posted by Ed Levine, July 9, 2007 at 3:00 PM
After writing The Young Man and the Sea, I had a keen appreciation for Dave Pasternack's ability to combine fish or shellfish with pasta in ingeniously simple fashion.
This recipe for Tagliatelle with Shrimp and Peas is easy, delicious, and takes less than half an hour from start to finish. Frozen peas work just as well as fresh ones, and, of course, they are a lot less work. If you can find rock shrimp easily where you live, by all means use them instead of the medium shrimp.
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Posted by Ed Levine, April 16, 2007 at 1:30 PM
The recipe that follows has been adapted from Nancy Silverton's A Twist of the Wrist. Frozen peas are so tender and sweet that I use them all year round. If you can't find orecchiette, use rigatoni or bow-tie pasta.
Cook the Book: Orecchiette with Peas, Prosciutto, and Crème Fraîche
Ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for the pasta water
8 ounces orecchiette
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, grated or minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 cup frozen petite peas (about 4 ounces)
1 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)
6 thin slices prosciutto (about 3 ounces), torn in half
12 small basil leaves
Procedure
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and add a generous amount of kosher salt. Stir in the orecchiette, return the water to a boil, and cook the pasta, stirring occcasionally too prevent it from sticking together, until it's al dente. (Since cooking times vary depending on the thickness of the pasta, refer to the package instructions for the recommended time and taste the pasta for doneness frequently while it cooks.)
2. While the water is coming to a boil and the pasta is cooking, heat the oil, garlic, and a pinch of kosher salt in a large skillet over medium-high heat and saute until the garlic is soft and fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes. stirring constantly so the garlic doesn't brown. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the peas, creme fraiche, and the 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute, until the sauce is warmed through.
3. Reserve 1/3 cup of the pasta water, drain the pasta and transfer it quickly, while it's still dripping with water, to the skillet with the sauce. Add the reserved pasta water, stir to coat the pasta with the sauce and cook the pasta and sauce together over high heat for about 2 minutes, until the ingredients are combined.
4. Spoon the pasta out of the skillet and pile it into high mounds on four plates, dividing it evenly. Spoon the sauce left in the skillet over the pasta. Rumple 3 pieces of prosciutto and lay 3 basil leaves over each serving.
Photograph from iStockPhoto.com
Posted by Ed Levine, April 13, 2007 at 1:15 PM
The fifth and final featured recipe from On Top of Spaghetti takes a bit longer than the other dishes highlighted earlier this week. That's why I've saved it for Friday. That way, you have time to shop for and prepare it on a lazy Sunday, which might explain its title. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. Pork and pasta is, for me, an unparalleled combination.
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Posted by Ed Levine, April 12, 2007 at 1:00 PM
Today's recipe from On Top of Spaghetti is a baked-pasta dish that's ridiculously good. And ridiculously rich, too—so eat slowly, savor each magnificent bite, and, if it helps, eat less.
Pasta Baked with Radicchio, Gorgonzola, and Pancetta
- serves 6 as a main course -
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 cups finely shredded radicchio or Belgian endive
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
1/2 cup freshly grated Fontina cheese
1/4 cup finely crumbled Gorgonzola
1/2 teaspoon or more kosher or sea salt
1 pound dried pasta shells or rotini
1/4 cup finely chopped pancetta
Procedure
1. Heat the oven to 500 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream, stock, radicchio, all the cheeses, and salt. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Set the sauce mixture aside.
3. Generously salt the boiling water and drop in the pasta. Cook, stirring often, for 4 to 5 minutes. The pasta will be parboiled and too hard to eat; it cooks further in the oven. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup water. Transfer the macaroni to the mixing bowl and combine thoroughly with the sauce mixture. If the sauce seems too thick, add some of the reserved water, a tablespoon at a time, until the pasta moves freely and is surrounded by liquid.
4. Transfer to individual shallow baking dishes or to 1 or 2 large shallow baking dishes. Evenly distribute the pancetta over the surface and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the pasta is bubbly hot, with bits of browned pancetta and pasta poking out on top. Serve right away.
Posted by Ed Levine, April 11, 2007 at 1:15 PM
A few months ago, when I asked Johanne Killeen, coauthor of On Top of Spaghetti, to name the best pasta meal she had eaten within the last year, she mentioned this dish. She had it in Salina, an island off the northeast coast of Sicily. Since we're cooking from this book and this dish comes so highly recommended, I thought I'd make it our Serious Recipe of the day.
Salina-Style Spaghettini with Cherry Tomatoes
- serves 6 to 8 as a first course or 4 to 6 as a main course -
Ingredients
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 dozen small (8 to 10 ounces) ripe cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Pinch or up to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 pound dried spaghettini
1 plump garlic clove, peeled and minced
1/2 cup heaping and loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1 1/4 cups (about 2 1/4 ounces) freshly grated ricotta infornata or ricotta salata
Procedure
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Put the olive oil and cherry tomatoes in a large straight-sided sauté pan. Sprinkle with cayenne. Warm over medium heat until the tomatoes begin to give off some of their juice, shaking the pan every so often.
3. Meanwhile, generously salt the boiling water in the pot and add the spaghettini. Cook, stirring often, until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Transfer the pasta to the sauté pan, add the garlic, and toss with the tomatoes. Add 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss over medium heat until the water and oil emulsify. Add more water as necessary, a tablespoon at a time, until you have a nice creamy consistency and all the strands of spaghettini are well coated with sauce. Rip the mint leaves into small pieces and toss with the spaghettini. Transfer to heated bowls and top with the cheese. Serve immediately.
Posted by Ed Levine, April 10, 2007 at 1:00 PM
Mostaccioli with Tomato 'Pesto'
- serves 6 as a main course -
This recipe is from Johanne Killeen and George Germon's On Top of Spaghetti. I've actually had this at the couple's restaurant, Al Forno, and it is seriously delicious.
Ingredients
1/4 cup (one 6-ounce can) tomato paste, preferably organic
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon pine nuts
1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato juice
2 plump garlic cloves, trimmed, peeled, and roughly chopped
1 pound dried mostaccioli, penne, or rigatoni
Freshly grated pecorino Romano
Procedure
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Combine the tomato paste, olive oil, pine nuts, salt, cayenne, tomato juice, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Run the motor until you have a smooth purée. Set aside at room temperature while you cook the pasta. (You can cover and refrigerate the pesto, but be sure to bring it to room temperature before boiling the pasta.)
3. Generously salt boiling water; drop in dried pasta. Cook, according to package instructions, until al dente. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of pasta water. Transfer pasta to a serving bowl. Add enough of the pesto to coat noodles generously. Add a little pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if pesto seems too thick. Sprinkle with Romano, and pass more cheese and any remaining pesto at the table.
More recipes adapted from this book: Linguine with Gorgonzola and Fresh Spinach
Posted by Ed Levine, April 9, 2007 at 12:30 PM
On Top of Spaghetti is the second cookbook by Johanne Killeen and George Germon, the owners of Al Forno in Providence, Rhode Island. I've eaten at Al Forno many times over the years, and the pastas, grilled pizza, and desserts (most are made to order, which means you have to order them before the end of the meal) are the must-haves on the menu.
So I for one eagerly awaited the publication of On Top of Spaghetti. In what is not an uncommon story in cookbook publishing, the editor who bought the book, Susan Friedland, left Morrow right before it came out. On Top of Spaghetti was left without a champion, a surefire death knell for any title—and that might be why you've never heard of it.
Continue reading »
Posted by SaraBir, September 12, 2006 at 1:19 PM
My friend Bryan asked me for suggestions for utilizing the abundant crop of tomatoes in his backyard (he lives in California, where tomatoes lazily ripen into the early fall). I told him to can them, but not everyone has the energy or equipment to do that. In the meantime, you can always eat lots of fresh tomatoes. It’s your last summer fling.
This pasta dish came about from my last visit to my parents’ house. They had corn on the cob, beautiful beefsteak tomatoes, and fresh basil in dire need of use, so I threw them all together for a simple but flavorful pasta dish. Juicy tomatoes help make the sauce for the pasta, so don’t use plum tomatoes for this. If you don’t have fresh corn, use frozen, which is often superior to out-of-season fresh corn.
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
1/2 pound uncooked pasta (spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccini)
3 to 4 large, ripe tomatoes, cored (the more tomatoes the better)
2 to 3 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (thawed if frozen)
2 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced crosswise
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 bunch (three cups loosely packed) basil, thinly sliced
4 to 6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Procedure
1. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil and cook the pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, chop the tomatoes. Place in a large bowl and set aside.
Toast the corn in a heavy, dry medium skillet over medium-high, stirring occasionally, heat until you see charred spots on the corn, 2 to 3 minutes. Add toasted corn to tomatoes.
3. In a small skillet, heat the garlic and olive oil over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is a light golden-brown (do not allow to burn). Pour over corn-tomato mixture. Stir in the basil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. When the pasta is al dente, drain it quickly, allowing some of the cooking water to cling. Add pasta to tomato-corn mixture, toss with the feta cheese, and season to taste with more salt and pepper.
Note: You can substitute Parmesan cheese for the feta, if you wish.
