Pasta Modern (16 page)

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil and the garlic over medium heat until the garlic is light golden. Add the wine, fregula, tomatoes, and chile pepper to taste and simmer until most of the wine is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add the clam liquid and boil, uncovered, stirring once or twice, until the fregola is al dente, 14 to 17 minutes or according to the package directions. It should not be too dry at the end, so if needed, add a little water or fish stock.

Season to taste with salt, stir in the cooked clams, and serve topped with parsley to taste, a drizzle of oil, and the reserved clams in their shells.

“WORMS” & EELS

{
Vermicelli con I’anguilla
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Campania, Molise, Puglia, and other southern regions

The “worms” here are really ultra-thin vermicelli pasta, but the eels are real!

Eels have sweet, naturally smoky-tasting meat that’s oh-so-tender—it’s always the first piece I snag on any sushi platter. Eel goes especially well with whole-grain pasta, such as those made with nutty-tasting farro or kamut flour.

If you’ve never cooked with eel, this is a great first recipe to try. You can find eel in Asian fish markets or order it from your fishmonger. They will even gut and clean it for you and remove the head and tail. I’ve made this pasta dozens of times. When I have fussy eaters over to dinner, I don’t mention that the sauce they’re scarfing down—and raving about!—has eel. Since the meat is flaked, they can’t tell, and think they’re eating the world’s best-tasting fish. I confess at dessert.

1 pound (455 g) eel, cleaned

Salt

Olive oil

1 bay leaf

1 ½ cups (360 ml) dry white wine

1 small onion, chopped

⅓ cup (30 g) minced fresh parsley

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 small fresh red chile pepper, thinly sliced

1 (28-ounce/800-g) can diced tomatoes

1 pound (455 g) whole-wheat or farro vermicelli

Rub the eel with salt to remove any viscous film on the skin, but do not peel off the skin itself. Rinse and cut the eel into bite-sized chunks.

In a large pan, heat 3 tablespoons oil and the bay leaf. Add the eel and cook over high heat until it is golden on both sides, then pour in ½ cup (120 ml) of the wine and scrape up any browned bits. Once the wine has burned off, remove the eel from the pan and set it aside.

Add the onion, half of the parsley, the garlic, and chile pepper to taste to the pan. When the onion is softened, add another ½ cup (120 ml) of the wine and cook on high until it is reduced by half. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes, then add the remaining ½ cup (120 ml) of the wine and simmer until it is again reduced by half. Return the eel to the skillet and cook for 15 minutes, turning the pieces over now and then. Remove the eel from the sauce, peel off the skin, flake the meat, and discard the skin and bones. Return the meat to the sauce and season with salt.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss into the sauce. Discard the bay leaf. Serve topped with remaining minced parsley.

BUCATINI WITH BACCALÀ & CRUNCHY WALNUTS

{
Sughetto di baccalà
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Basilicata

Dried codfish,
baccalà
—more intensely flavorful and with a firmer texture than fresh cod—pairs magnificently with pasta. I love the fantastic mix of savory and sweet in this recipe. The dense tomato sauce, rich with raisins, caramelized onion, tangy olives, and oregano, mingles well with the toothsome cod and crunchy walnuts.

12 ounces (340 g)
baccalà

Olive oil

1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced

1 (14-ounce/400-g) can tomato puree

14 pitted oil-cured black olives

Fresh parsley

¼ cup (40 g) raisins or currants

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Freshly ground black pepper

⅓ cup (37 g) homemade coarsely ground breadcrumbs, toasted

¼ cup (30 g) chopped walnuts

1 pound (455 g)
bucatini
or any pasta

Submerge the
baccalà
in a bowl of water, cover, and let soak in the refrigerator for 2 days, changing the water twice daily. Thinly slice or flake the
baccalà
, reserving ½ cup (120 ml) of the soaking liquid.

In a large skillet, combine ¼ cup (60 ml) oil and the onion and cook over medium-high heat until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Add the
baccalà
, the reserved ½ cup liquid, the tomato puree, olives, ⅓ cup (30 g) of minced parsley, raisins, oregano, and pepper to taste. Simmer on very low heat for 1 hour, until the flavors have fully melded.

Meanwhile, in a dry nonstick pan, re-toast the breadcrumbs until they are light golden. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and add the walnuts. Cook, tossing often, until the crumbs are dark golden.

Boil the pasta in salted water until it is almost al dente. Drain and toss into the sauce with a little of the cooking liquid to finish cooking. Serve topped with the walnut breadcrumbs.

NOTE:
Baccalà can sit in your pantry for months, but it does need to rehydrate in water for two days before you can cook with it
.

{
Pasta nera e frutta di mare
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Calabria and southern Italy

Squid ink pasta is hands-down one of the prettiest pastas ever! Glistening black, it’s a glamorous canvas whose delicately briny flavor enhances any seafood. It is especially gorgeous against the lovely orange color of mussels.

In the photograph, the pasta is laid out straight, a style of plating popularized by Gualtiero Marchese, the Milan-born chef considered the founder of modern Italian cuisine. I’ve also seen modern Italian chefs arrange this pasta in a flat round spiral to look like the shiny black vinyl LPs of the past. Of course, you can serve it the conventional way too. It’s delicious no matter how it’s put on the plate!

3 garlic cloves, sliced

Olive oil

4 pounds (1.8 kg) mussels, scrubbed

1 (14-ounce/400-g) can diced tomatoes

½ cup (90 g) cooked small white beans like
cicerchie
or cannellini, optional

½ cup (60 ml) dry white wine

1 pound (455 g) squid ink pasta, preferably Felicetti or Rustichella d’Abruzzo brand

Salt

1 small fresh red chile pepper, thinly sliced, or red pepper flakes

Fresh parsley

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, cook the garlic in 3 tablespoons oil until it is aromatic. Add the mussels, tomatoes, beans, if using, and wine and cover. Cook until the mussel shells open, about 5 minutes, then remove almost all the mussels from their shells, reserving a few in the shell for garnish. Discard the shells and put the mussel meat back into the sauce.

To serve the pasta laid out straight, bring about 3 inches of salted water to a boil in two separate sauté pans, each wide enough to hold the pasta horizontally. Divide the pasta between the pans and boil until it is al dente. Using two tongs or a wide spatula, remove the pasta from the pans and, keeping it straight, lay it out onto a serving platter. (Alternatively, you can cook the pasta in a tall pot of boiling water and serve it in the conventional way.) Top with the sauce and reserved mussels in the shells. Season with salt and chile peppers. Serve topped with parsley.

SLOW-SIMMERED TUNA, CARAMELIZED ONIONS & “CANDLES”

{
Genovese di tonno
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Campania, especially Naples

A bushel of onions simmer slowly for hours creating caramel-sweetness that’s accented with succulent, soft morsels of buttery tuna. This dish is traditionally served with
candele
, a long, thick candle-shaped pasta that’s cut into pieces before cooking. But any thick pasta is perfect with this fantastic sauce.

Even people who think they don’t like fish love this dish. The tuna transforms in the cooking process into something celestial.

Olive oil

2 ½ pounds (1.2 kg) yellow onions, sliced

1 celery stalk, minced

1 carrot, minced

2 cups (480 ml) dry white wine

1 cup (240 ml) vegetable or fish broth

1 pound (455 g) fresh tuna, cut into bite-sized cubes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound (455 g)
candele
, cut into bite-sized pieces, or any thick tube pasta

In a large saucepan, heat ¼ cup (60 ml) oil over high heat. Cook the onions, celery, and carrots until they are caramelized, about 20 minutes. Add the wine, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours, stirring every half hour. Mix in the broth and tuna and cook, covered, for another hour, until the flavors have melded. Season with salt and pepper.

Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss into the sauce, stirring until well combined. Serve hot, but note that it is generally not served topped with cheese or parsley.

{
Pasta al sugo di lumache
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Abruzzo

The French don’t have a monopoly on escargots! Snails have been enjoyed in Italy since ancient Roman times, especially in southern Italy and Sicily. This recipe for snails in a spicy herb-infused tomato sauce comes from Abruzzo.

Olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

24 snails, either fresh or canned

6 fresh medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

Red pepper flakes

1 to 2 small sprigs fresh rosemary

Salt

1 pound (455 g)
spaghetti alla chitarra
or other long pasta

A few small leaves each of fresh parsley, mint, sage, and marjoram

In a small sauté pan, heat 5 tablespoons olive oil and the garlic until the garlic is light golden. Add the snails, tomatoes, red pepper flakes to taste, and rosemary and simmer over very low heat for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss into the sauce; season to taste with salt. Serve sprinkled with the fresh herbs.