Pasta Pasta Pasta
I can’t think of another food that has as many different and varied recipes as pasta. Every region in Italy has it’s own signature dish . The classic pastas of Italy never go out of fashion. Whether you are introduced to a pasta dish for the first time or have enjoyed eating it over the years, it’s always going to be a satisfying experience.
I can’t think of another food that has as many different and varied recipes as pasta. Every region in Italy has it’s own signature dish . The classic pastas of Italy never go out of fashion. Whether you are introduced to a pasta dish for the first time or have enjoyed eating it over the years, it’s always going to be a satisfying experience.
There is fresh pasta and dry pasta.
On a recent trip to Tuscany we visited Banfi Vintners . We had a fabulous dinner in the castle dining room and ate pasta freshly made by their in-house pasta lady. Here are photos I took of her making the pasta. And photos of the breathtaking landscape.
There are so many wonderful little Italian shops that sell freshly made pasta.I have a few around the town where I live. Yesterday, I had friends for lunch and I served pumpkin stuffed ravioli in sage butter sauce. I bought the ravioli at The Pasta Gallery in Oakville, Ct. www.thepastagallery.com A perfect Fall dish, matching the color of the changing leaves and the pumpkins you see in front of every store and house. We started with a ceasar salad made from a recipe in "The Oyster Bar Cookbook" ( the one in Grand Central Station). www.oysterbarny.com
I In my kitchen with a view that takes me back to Tuscany, chopping sage for the butter sauce.
 |
| The table is set for lunch of ceasar salad and pumpkin ravioli. A Fall Lunch. |
I prefer the convenience of buying someone else’s fresh pasta. It’s enough satisfaction for me to cook the sauce and the rest of the meal.
Cooking pasta al dente is one of the first things to learn about cooking pasta. Texture is important! Al dente pasta translates "to the tooth, firm to the bite". Follow the cooking time on the pasta package and remove one minute before. Pour enough water- 4 quarts of water for every pound of pasta. Add salt when water comes to a boil, 1 ½ tablespoons for every 4 quarts of water. Put the pasta into the boiling water, and cook according to the time. Never break long pasta in half . Drain immediately.
A repartoire of pasta dishes- Some of the pastas I make: Linguine with Clam Sauce, Farfalle con Pesto ( I make mine with walnuts, instead of pine nuts), Pasta Puttanesca, Paglia e Fieno, Bucatini all’Amatriciana, Spaghetti alla Carbonara,Tortellini alla Panna and many more.
If you didn’t grow up Italian, you didn’t have the experience of eating different pastas every week. But if you were lucky enough to have a few Italian friends, that could change. My luck was knowing some very good Italian restauranteurs. Back in the early ‘70’s, before Puttenesca appeared on restaurant menus, my friend Tony May showed me how to make Pasta Puttenesca in my kitchen in New York. I’ve been making it ever since. Tony and his daughter Marisa, own the restaurant SD26 in NYC. It's so fab and you must go. http://sd26ny.com I continue to make puttensca at home for my family and for guests with complete confidence I am serving authentic Italian.
Originated in Naples, Pasta Puttenesca, I was told was Harlot’s style. The ladies of the night would cook this dish because it was quick and they could get right back to work.
Pasta Puttenesca
Recipe adapted from Tony May
1 lb spaghetti or spaghettini
3 ounces extra virgin olive oil
1 clove crushed garlic
1 peperoncino seeded and finely chopped
3 ounces anchovies
1 lb of imported plum tomatoes, drained and chopped ( or fresh)
3 ounces pitted Nicoise or Gaeta olives
1 ½ ounces capers in brine, drained. If salted capers are used, rinse first.
Heat a skillet and pour in the oil, add the garlic and peperoncino. Saute until garlic is golden brown. Remove garlic and discard. Stir in anchovies and let them melt down, stirring to break them up. Add the tomatoes, olives and capers.
Lift out the al dente spaghetti and toss in the skillet with the sauce.
 |
Journal page circa 1983 |
I serve pasta as a first course or a main course. Sometimes, I even serve two pastas, one after the other.
Another favorite pasta is paglia e fieno- which means straw and hay for the egg and spinach ( green and white) pasta that’s used. I can’t remember where this recipe came from, but I’ve been making it since the 70’s.
 |
| journal page circa 1975 |
Paglia e Fieno recipe
½ lb spinach fettucini or tagliatelle*
½ lb egg fettucini or tagliatelle*
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter
¼ lb of prosciutto di Palma or San Danielle cut into julienne
¼ lb of prosciutto di Palma or San Danielle cut into julienne
1 cup heavy cream
1 package of frozen peas, thawed
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
pinch of ground nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
In a skillet, melt the butter and saute the onion until soft and lightly golden. Add the prosciutto and sauté for 3 minutes. Pour in the cream and heat until it comes to a simmer. Add the peas and stir. Add the Parmesan cheese. Mix gently .
When the pasta is cooked al dente, lift it out into the skillet and toss together in the sauce, until the ingredients blend with the strands of pasta.
Sprinkle with additional cheese if desired.
My friend Maria Marchetti and her family own several wonderful Italian restaurants in Ct. Check them out!
 |
Maria making cavatelli in my kitchen for a dinner I gave for the Glebe House Museum in Ct. |
The finished cavatelli.
 |
| Friends watching Maria making the pasta. |
 |
| Friends at my table enjoying dessert of caramelized lemon tart, after a wonderful dinner of cavatelli and rack of pork. |
Recipe for Cavatelli Marchetti from Maria Marchetti 6 baby artichokes. Fresh blanched ones are best but canned ones in water will do also. Quartered 4 slices of speck cut into 1/4 inch strips 1 garlic clove 2 pints of cherry tomatoes cut in half 1/4 cup Italian flat parsley chopped 1 cup dry white wine Salt Extra virgin olive oil Basil In a large sauce pan heat olive oil and garlic when garlic is brown add the artichokes and speck. Stir for a few minutes. Add a 1/4 cup of chopped parsley and 1 cup of white wine. Season with salt. Let the wine cook down for 4 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and cover the pot with the heat off. While the pasta is cooking the steam in the pot will cook the tomatoes. Drain the cavatelli adding then to the artichoke sauce. Add some basil and drizzle some olive oil to the pasta while it simmers with the sauce. |
I've had two recipe requests . One was for my pumpkin risotto and the other, the deviled cornish hens. I will be emailing them directly to their addresses.
 |
| Pumpkin Risotto that I made for the Bon Appetit article. photo taken by Elizabeth Zeschin. |
 |
| The Deviled Cornish Hens sitting on a bed of fried shredded sweet potatoes. Photograph taken by me. |
As always, xxoo Sheila
