KITCHEN-SINK PASTA

Sometimes cooking is precision, measuring set amounts or cooking at exact temperatures.  Cooking is also a mercurial art.  It's the jazz of dinner made without a recipe's restrictions.  It's the alchemy of mingling what's left in your pantry. This dinner was  born from want -- basically, I had no desire to walk to the food store.

Looking around the kitchen, I eyed a bunch of parsley and a few cloves of garlic.  Rummaging through the pantry, I came across a bag of breadcrumbs, a tin of anchovies and some spaghetti.  I decided to do a greener take on aglio, olio e peperoncino.  A satisfying mix of browned garlic, spicy peperoncino and tons of clean-tasting parsley dresses the pasta.  The anchovy adds a savory -- but not fishy -- under note.

INGREDIENTS

* 8 oz spaghetti, cooked

* 4-5 anchovy filets 

* 3 cloves of garlic (or more)

* 1/2 bunch of flat-leaf parsley 

* 1-2 chopped peperoncini or 1/2 tsp. of red chile flakes

* 3 tbs of extra virgin olive oil

* 1/2 cup of panko, toasted 

Cook the pasta for 8-10 minutes or until al dente. While the water is boiling, roughly chop the parsley leaves and slice the garlic cloves into thin slivers. Then, heat 2 tbs. of the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the anchovies to the warmed oil and let them cook for 1 minute.  With a wooden spoon, stir the anchovies around the skillet. They should begin to break down and dissolve in the oil.  

At this point, add the peperoncino and the garlic slices to the oil.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  The garlic will become aromatic and then begin to brown.  Be careful not to burn the garlic.  Light-brown is good.  Dark brown is bitter.  Once the garlic has started to brown, turn off the heat.

 

In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining 1 tbs. of oil oil.  Stir with a fork to ensure that the oil is evenly coating the crumbs.  Heat a different skillet over medium-low heat.  Add the breadcrumbs and toast for 2 minutes.  They should sizzle and turn a golden-brown.

Remove the pasta from the boiling water with a pasta spoon.  Put it straight into the pan with the garlic-anchovy-oil mix.  Toss the pasta, making sure that the flavored oil coats all of it.  At this point, add the rough-chopped parsley and the breadcrumbs.  Toss once or twice more to evenly distribute all of the ingredients.  Serve immediately.

AGLIO, OLIO, PEPERONCINO

Photo credit

Italian food is a normally a slow cuisine. Hand-shaped pastas. Stove-top braises. Day-long sauces.  But, when I was studying in Florence, my friend Antonio introduced me to one of Italy's easier recipes: aglio, olio e peperoncino. Garlic (aglio) and chili (peperoncino) get sauteed until fragrant in olive oil (olio).  This trinity is then tossed with a heap of hot spaghetti.

Purists will make this sauce with just those three ingredients. To jazz it up, you can also dress the oil-slicked spaghetti with a handful of chopped parsley or pan toasted breadcrumbs.  This is flavorful food for the kitchen clueless.

INGREDIENTS:

* 4 cloves of garlic (or more to taste), roughly chopped

* 3 dried peperoncini or 1/2 tsp. or red chili flakes

* 1/4 cup - 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil

* 16 oz of dried spaghetti

OPTIONAL ADDITIONS:

* 1/2 cup of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

*1/3 cup of grated parmigiano reggiano 

OR

* 1/3 cup of  pan-toasted breadcrumbs

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Pour in the spaghetti once the water boils,  cooking for 9-10 minutes until al dente.  Meanwhile, roughly chop the peeled garlic and peperoncini.  While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium.  After 2 minutes of heating, add garlic to the oil. Stir frequently, sizzling the garlic until it starts to brown.  This will take around 2 minutes.

Mix in the peperoncini or red pepper flakes into the oil.  Cook the garlic and chili for another 30 seconds -- no stirring.  Before straining the pasta, pour 1 ladle-ful of starchy pasta water into the garlic-chili-oil slurry.  Turn the heat to medium-high and bring this liquid to a boil. When it begins to bubble, lower the heat to a simmer. Cook the liquid for 5 minutes, allowing the browned garlic and chili to hydrate and soften in the water.  Remove the liquid from the heat after 5 minutes

Strain the spaghetti and then pour it into the skillet with the garlicky water.  Toss the pasta and the liquid, coating all of the spaghetti.  If you'd like, you can add the chopped parsley or grated cheese at this point.  Be sure to re-toss the pasta if you add herbs or parmigiano. Let the pasta sit at room temperature for 3-5 minutes; this will give the pasta time absorb some of the flavored liquid. (If you'd prefer to add a bit of crunch, dress each bowl of pasta with a tablespoon or two of toasted breadcrumbs; you can read about making pant-toasted breadcrumbs here).

SPAGHETTI & CLAMS

     

Photo from: http://cosacucino.myblog.it

Italy is touched on most sides by the sea.  Unlike more landlocked countries, no one region lays claim to seafood preeminence; all prize fish, squid and shrimp.  It's not the presence of seafood that sets these regions' cuisines apart.  It's how that seafood gets prepped.     

While Venetians steep sardines in vinegar and onions, Sicilians stew them with raisins.  Neapolitans slow-cook octopus in tomatoes but, moving north to Liguria, you find the eight-legged critter boiled with potatoes and a squirt of lemon.

In Naples, spaghetti with clams is a classic dish - clams, olive oil and garlic.  Fresh clams are the key to a tasty sauce.  Once cooked, the clams open and release their juice; this liquid adds an "oceany" complexity to the final sughetto.  Spicy red pepper compliments the mollusks' briny taste.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1.5 - 2lbs of live manilla clams, in their shells

* 8 oz spaghetti, cooked al dente

* 6 tablespoons of olive oil

* 2 garlic cloves (or less; depends how "garlicky" you want it), sliced thin

* Red pepper flakes, to taste 

* 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, rough chopped

Scrub the clams, removing any sand still on the shells. Place the clams in a bowl and cover with water.  Let the clams sit in the water for 20 min.  The clams will expel whatever sand is inside, guaranteeing your meal is not a gritty mess.  

Heat a dutch oven over medium.  Do not add any oil yet.  Put the clams in the hot pan and cover for 3-4 minutes.  During this time, the clams should open up and begin releasing their juice.

Clams with shells open after cooking. Photo from: http://savourbcn.files.wordpress.com

When they've opened, you can either keep the clams in their shells or toss out the shells.  Remove the clams / juice from heat and set aside.  If you choose to pull the meat from the shells, do not pour out the liquid they have emitted. Pour 6 tablespoons of olive oil into a separate skillet and heat over low.  Toast the garlic / red pepper flakes the skillet until aromatic.  

Photo from www.buttalapasta.it

Once the garlic sizzles, add the conserved clams / juice to the pan with the garlicky oil.  Cover and cook the clams for 15 minutes. Cook on very low heat.  As a final step, toss the al dente pasta in the skillet with the clams, sprinkling with the chopped parsley.   

PASTA ALLA CARBONARA

Pecorino and pepper is well and good most days.  But, sometimes, you want pig with your pasta.  Spaghetti alla carbonara is fail-safe answer to such suine-y cravings. 

Mixing pan-crisped pancetta, nutty parmigiano and creamy yolks, carbonara is everyday fare in Rome.  This quick pasta can be prepped at home in little time and with just a few ingredients.

Although many U.S. restaurants use smoked bacon or cream in this dish, the Roman version is made only with cheese, yolk and cured pork.  Unlike American bacon, pancetta is not smoked.  Instead, the pork is air-dried for months, wrapped in a coat of salt and spices.  It's still satisfyingly unctuous but won't make your whole meal taste like mesquite.

The key to carbonara is good  ingredients -- sun-yellow yolks, real parmigiano reggiano and salt-cured pig.  Avoid pre-grated "parmesan" sold in the store, as the cheese tends to lose its taste not long after grating.  Instead, buy a hunk of parmigiano and grate the cheese just before you prep the dish.

Once the spaghetti has cooked, toss the still-steaming pasta with the slurry of cheese, pepper and  yolks.  The hot pasta will cook the egg mixture and melt the cheese, thickening into a sauce.  Be sure to toss the pasta and egg and cheese in the same pan where you fried the pancetta. Rendered pork fat adds a smooth texture to your finished sauce and gives the dish its signature creaminess.      

 INGREDIENTS:
    •    8 oz of spaghetti or tonnarelli
    •    4 or 5 oz of pancetta, cubed
    •    3/4 to 1 cup of freshly grated parmigiano
    •    3 or 4 egg yolks
    •    Black pepper, fresh ground 

Lightly beat the yolks together with a fork.  Add the grated cheese to the egg mixture, stirring until you have a thick slurry.   Grind a healthy heaping of black pepper into the eggy/cheesy mix -- 5-7 twists on the pepper mill.  Cook the spaghetti meanwhile in 3 quarts of salted water.

Photo from: http://4.bp.blogspot.com

While the pasta is cooking, render the pancetta. Crisp the cured pork cubes over medium-low heat, waiting until the fat has rendered. You may need to pour 1 teaspoon of olive oil in the pan before browning to avoid sticking.  If the heat is too high, the pork will burn and not render. KEEP THE RENDERED FAT IN THE PAN. Pancetta, remember, is not American bacon. We want that grease. Once crisped, turn off the heat but leave pancetta in the frying pan.
                                                       

 

Remove the pasta from the hot water with a slotted spoon, reserving at least 1/2 cup of starchy pasta water in the spaghetti pot.  DO NOT RUN THE PASTA UNDER COLD WATER.  It needs to be steaming hot.  Toss the hot spaghetti in the frying pan that holds the crisped pancetta.  If the rendered fat has begun to solidify again, the hot pasta should re-melt it.  When the cubes are evenly mixed throughout the pasta, pour the cheesy/yolky mix over the pasta and vigorously toss.

 The hot pasta will cook the yolks and form a sauce.  If sauce seems lumpy, add 1/4 a ladle of steaming pasta water and shake the pan to make sure the egg has coated all the pasta. Serve hot.

CACIO E PEPE - CHEESY BLACK PEPPER PASTA

If you go to any trattoria in Rome -- whether expensive, touristy or a hole-in-the-wall -- you'll face the same choice: which pasta dish to get?  In a typical Roman joint, pasta gets served one of four (at most five) ways:  alla carbonara (eggs, grated cheese and pancetta), all'amatriciana (tomato, red pepper flakes, guanciale -- like pancetta), all'arrabbiata (spicy tomato sauce) or al cacio e pepe.

In Roman dialect, cacio means cheese.  Pepe is Italian for black pepper. Traditionally served with spaghetti or tonarelli (a fresh pasta thicker than spaghetti), cacio e pepe is Roman food at its most minimal and delicious.  To prepare this recipe, you simply mix the freshly-cooked pasta (still hot) with grated pecorino romano and a few hefty twists of black pepper.  In order make sure the cheese evenly melts over the pasta, add a ladle of hot pasta water before tossing it all together.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 - 1.5 cups of finely grated pecorino romano

* 8 oz. of spaghetti cooked

* 1-2 tbs of fresh-ground black pepper

       

          WATCH:   CHEF MARK LADNER DEMOS "CACIO E PEPE"

  
Cook the spaghetti al dente in 3 quarts of salted water.  Once cooked, remove with a slotted spoon, leaving the pasta water still in the pan.  Do not pour the water down the drain.   Transfer the spaghetti to a large sautee / frying pan.  Coat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and ladle in about 1/2 cup to 3/4 of a cup of the hot and starchy pasta water.  Warm the pan with pasta, water and oil over very low heat.

 Now, add both the fresh ground black pepper and grated pecorino to the still-hot pasta.  *Grate the pecorino when the water is coming to a boil -- so you have all of it ready to mix in.*  Quickly, toss the pasta, cheese, water and pepper.  Briefly heat this trio over a low flame until all the cheese has melted.  The starchy water, when mixed with melting cheese, will form a creamy glaze that coats the pasta.  Serve immediately. 

TOMATO SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

* Extra virgin olive oil
* 2-3 cloves of garlic
* 3 cans (28 oz) of whole plum tomatoes -- I like Trader Joe's or Muir Glen Fire-Roasted
* A handful of fresh basil and fresh parsley
* 1/2 cup - 1 cup of red wine
* Salt / pepper to taste

Sautee 2-3 whole cloves of garlic in 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil; when they start to brown, you can remove them from the oil or leave them in for a "garlickier" sauce.  Add the 3 cans of plum tomatoes to the oil that's been flavored with garlic.  Bring to a boil over medium / high heat, stirring to keep the tomatoes from burning.

Simmer plum tomatoes, olive oil and garlic over medium high heat for 10 minutes. Stir, stir, stir.

Once the sauce has started to thicken, crush any remaining whole tomatoes with a potato masher or
the bottom of a wooden / slotted spoon.  Continue simmering over medium heat while squashing the 'maters.  Crushing the tomatoes will temporarily make the sauce a bit soupy.  Simmer for another 15-20 minutes but now over low heat.  The lower heat helps develop the tomatoes natural sweetness.

If desired, add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of red wine and increase heat to medium.  The sauce should bubble and steam until most of the wine burns off.  For a lighter sauce, keep simmering but don't add any wine. Depending how "wet" you want your sauce, stir-n-simmer for another 5 minutes.  Adjust for salt and pepper.

Remove the sauce from the heat.   Pour half into a food processor and puree.  (DO NOT BLEND BAY LEAVES). Leave the rest of the sauce unblended in the covered pan.  While the sugo is blending, pour in a steady stream of olive oil -- about a quarter cup in total.  The olive oil will help the sauce to emulsify, adding a creaminess and velvety texture to your final sugo.  If you like your sauce with chunks of tomato, skip this step.  You can also add fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley to the puree.  

Combine the pureed sauce with what's in the pan.   The blended sauce will be much "wetter" than the mixture that you don't blend.  For a thicker sauce, simmer once more over medium heat for 5-10 minutes.  For a thinner sauce (good for serving tons of people), mix together and ladle out as is.