Salt for the pasta water
½ pound linguine or spaghetti
3 tablespoons olive oil (plus a little extra for the hot pasta)
½ cup minced onion
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 good-sized cloves)
Big pinch of red pepper flakes (plus extra to pass at the table)
¾ cup dry white wine
2 pounds fresh littleneck or Manila clams (in the shell)
1 tablespoon butter
A handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Put a large pot of cold water to boil over high heat, and add a tablespoon of salt. Place a large colander in the sink. When the water boils, add the linguine, keeping the heat high. Cook for the amount of time recommended on the package, tasting the pasta toward the end of the suggested time to be sure it is not getting overcooked. When it is just tender enough to bite into comfortably but not yet mushy, dump the water-plus-pasta into the colander. Shake to mostly drain (it’s okay to leave some water clinging), and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Leave it in place—you’ll need it in just a few minutes.
2. While the pasta is cooking, place a soup pot or a Dutch oven (something large and deep with a lid at the ready) over medium heat. Let this pot heat for a minute, then add the 3 tablespoons oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pot. Add the onion and salt, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion softens.
3. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes, then pour in the white wine, and cook, uncovered, over medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until the wine cooks down to about half of its original volume. (This allows some of the wine, plus some of its alcohol, to evaporate, concentrating the flavors.)
4. Add the clams, cover, and cook, shaking the pot occasionally, for 3 minutes without opening the lid. After this amount of time, take a look to see if the clams have opened. If some are still unopened, give the pot a shake, cover the pot again, and cook for another minute or so, until all of the clams open. (Discard any that fail to open.) With the pot still over the heat, add the cooked linguine and toss for about 30 seconds to mix well.
5. Remove the pot from the heat. Add the butter, sprinkle in the parsley, grind in some black pepper, and toss again.
6. Serve right away, using tongs to put some linguine in each bowl, and then topping with some of the clams. Be sure to include some of the liquid at the bottom of the pot in each serving. Pass the pepper mill and a shaker of red pepper flakes.
KEEPING CLAMS
Buy your clams (or any shellfish) from a store with a high turnover so you can be sure they’re as fresh as possible. Don’t leave them in a closed plastic bag once you get them home. Instead, pour them into a bowl, cover them with a damp cloth, and put them in the refrigerator, where they’ll keep for a day or two. Just before cooking, rinse the clams and scrub them with a vegetable brush under cold running water to clean them.
* * *
GET CREATIVE
Drizzle each serving with a bit of high-quality olive oil at the table.
Add about a dozen cherry tomatoes along with the onion. They’ll burst during cooking, creating a light tomato-clam sauce. Or add a few squirts from a tube of tomato paste along with the onion.
Add a tablespoon of minced fresh oregano or thyme (or a teaspoon of dried oregano or thyme) along with the onion.
Sauté some breadcrumbs in a skillet with a little olive oil, minced garlic, and minced parsley; sprinkle over each serving as a garnish.
* * *
spaghetti alla carbonara
Makes 3 to 4 servings
Kind of like having bacon and eggs for dinner. And spaghetti. What could be bad? This classic Italian pasta will make a great addition to your cooking repertoire. Once you master it, as long as you’ve got bacon (keep some in the freezer), eggs, Parmesan, and spaghetti, you can turn out a luxury dish for yourself and your friends on very short notice. The heat of the pasta cooks the eggs just enough to turn them into a creamy sauce. Just how creamy depends on how quickly you work and how much reserved pasta water you add. It sounds tricky, but you’ll discover you really can’t go wrong, and you’ll see how simple the whole process really is. This is definitely a “make just before serving” kind of dish. Leftovers can be reheated in a microwave or skillet, but the egg will go from silky to scrambled. Still tasty, just less texturally amazing.
3 large eggs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra to pass at the table)
¼ teaspoon minced garlic (about half a small clove)
A handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces (about 6 strips) bacon
Salt for the pasta water
¾ pound spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil
1. Crack the eggs into a large bowl and beat them lightly with a whisk until you no longer see bits of egg white. Add the Parmesan, garlic, parsley, and black pepper, and continue whisking to combine everything. Set aside.
2. Cook the bacon in a skillet or in the microwave (see Chapter 8: Party Snacks) until it is crisp; then let it cool and break it into ¼-inch pieces.
3. While the bacon is browning, put a large pot of cold water to boil over high heat, and add a tablespoon of salt. Place a large colander in the sink. When the water boils, add the spaghetti, keeping the heat high. Cook for the amount of time recommended on the package, tasting a strand toward the end of the suggested time to be sure it is not getting overcooked. When the pasta is just tender enough to bite into comfortably but not yet mushy, ladle out and save a generous cup of the pasta water, then dump the remaining water-and-pasta into the colander. Shake to mostly drain (it’s okay to leave some water clinging).
4. Working quickly, add the hot pasta to the bowl containing the egg mixture and stir it immediately with tongs or a fork to coat the pasta thoroughly. Add the olive oil, the bacon, and 2 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water and stir to combine. The sauce should have a thick, creamy consistency. If the pasta looks dry or sticky, add another tablespoon or two of the pasta water. Serve right away, passing around additional Parmesan, plus a pepper mill.
* * *
GET CREATIVE
Use a good, thick-cut bacon or Italian-style pancetta, which is not smoked and has a sweeter, more delicate flavor than bacon.
You can also make this with turkey bacon or "veggie" bacon.
Pass a shaker of red pepper flakes at the table.
Sauté some sliced mushrooms in olive oil, and add them to the pasta along with the bacon.
Stir a few tablespoons of heavy cream into the pasta just before serving (and add a little less reserved pasta water).
* * *
rigatoni al forno with roasted asparagus and onions
Makes 3 to 4 servings
Baked pasta dishes are great for bringing to someone else’s place. This one is especially suited for that purpose because it tastes as good warm or at room temperature as it does hot. This recipe uses a single pan to first roast the vegetables in olive oil (which gives them amazingly deep, sweet, complex flavor) and then to bake the pasta. The other big flavor secret here is a generous amount of balsamic vinegar, which reduces and intensifies in the oven. If you like, cut one of the onions into smaller chunks (½-inch or smaller) and the other into larger (¾-inch) pieces. The smaller ones will become part of the sauce, and the larger ones will add a slightly (and delightfully) crunchy texture.
Salt for the pasta water
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 pound asparagus (about ½-inch diameter), trimmed and cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces (see Chapter 7: Sides)
½ pound rigatoni or penne pasta (or any kind of tube shape)
1 teaspoon minced garlic (1 good-sized clove)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup balsamic vinegar
&n
bsp; ½ teaspoon salt
2 slices whole wheat bread, toasted and crumbled (see “Toasted Breadcrumbs," opposite)
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Adjust the oven rack to the center position, and preheat the oven to 425°F (375°F if you’ll be using a glass pan). Put a large pot of cold water to boil over high heat, and add a tablespoon of salt. Place a large colander in the sink.
2. Pour 3 tablespoons of the olive oil into a 9-by 13-inch baking pan, and add the onions and asparagus. Shake and tilt the pan to get all the vegetables coated with the oil. Roast in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are fork-tender and the onion edges are beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and set aside. Turn the oven down to 300°F.
3. When the pasta water boils, add the rigatoni, keeping the heat high. Cook for the amount of time recommended on the package, tasting the pasta toward the end of the suggested time to be sure it is not getting overcooked. When it is just tender enough to bite into comfortably but not yet mushy, ladle out and save 1 cup of the pasta water, then dump the rest of the water-plus-pasta into the colander. Shake to mostly drain (it’s okay to leave some water clinging). Then transfer the pasta to the pan containing the roasted onions and asparagus.
4. Toss in the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus the garlic and a heaping ¼ cup (a little more than half) of the Parmesan. Pour in the vinegar and the reserved cup of pasta cooking water, sprinkle in the salt, and stir to combine.
5. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and the remaining Parmesan over the top, put the pan in the oven, and bake, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly golden on top. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, topped with a good amount of freshly ground black pepper.
TOASTED BREADCRUMBS
These work just about anywhere, and you’ll find them suggested as a finishing touch in recipes throughout this book. To make them, toast some really good whole wheat or rustic artisan-style bread until it is crisp but not too dark. Let the toast cool completely, so it’s quite hard. Then put it in a bowl and crumble it with your fingers, or put it in a plastic bag and roll with a bottle or a rolling pin. For more flavor, toss the crumbs in a skillet over medium heat with just enough good-quality olive oil to moisten them, stirring frequently, until the crumbs are golden and crisp. Toasted without oil, breadcrumbs keep for a long time and are multipurpose; toasted with oil, they are best used quickly and are incomparably delicious.
* * *
GET CREATIVE
Sprinkle some chopped toasted walnuts on top just before serving.
Add up to 1 cup of extra cheese when stirring in the Parmesan. You can use diced fresh mozzarella or other soft white cheeses, including jack or fontina. You could also add some crumbled Gorgonzola, but use a light hand (say, about ½ cup) to accommodate its very strong flavor.
Make this vegan by using eggless pasta and omitting the cheese.
* * *
linguine with spinach and peas
Makes 3 to 4 servings
Culinary secret: A great dish, even a great pasta, doesn’t have to involve a lot of actual cooking. In this one, the heat of the pasta does most of the work, wilting the spinach, melting the cheese, warming the peas, and bringing all the flavors together beautifully. It’s an easy weeknight supper that could also double as an elegant little dish to serve to friends. Use the baby spinach that comes prewashed in bags or boxes—no stemming necessary. Of all the get creative suggestions in the list that follows, I strongly recommend throwing on a few toasted pine nuts. (Put them in a dry skillet over low heat and shake them often until they are lightly browned, watching them like a hawk so they don’t burn.) Very worthwhile.
Salt for the pasta water
About ½ bag (about 5 ounces) fresh baby spinach leaves
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 good-sized cloves)
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (plus extra to pass at the table)
¾ pound linguine
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra to pass at the table)
One 10-ounce package frozen peas, defrosted and at room temperature
1. Put a large pot of cold water to boil over high heat, and add a tablespoon of salt. Place a large colander in the sink.
2. While the water is coming to a boil, tear the spinach into large bite-sized pieces (this pretty much means just tearing the leaves in half, since they’re already small) and drop them into a large bowl. Pour the olive oil over the spinach, then sprinkle in the garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes. Use tongs or a long-handled fork to mix, and set aside.
3. When the water boils, add the linguine, keeping the heat high. Cook for the amount of time recommended on the package, tasting the pasta toward the end of the suggested time to be sure it is not getting overcooked. When the linguine is just tender enough to bite into comfortably but not yet mushy, dump the water-plus-pasta into the colander. Shake to mostly drain (it’s okay to leave some water clinging). Then transfer the pasta to the bowl containing the spinach mixture, mixing it in with the tongs or the fork until all the pasta is coated with olive oil. The spinach will wilt on contact with the hot pasta.
4. Immediately sprinkle in the Parmesan and toss well, so the cheese gets evenly distributed and melts nicely. Add the peas, mixing them in very gently so you don’t break them. (Just shake the bowl a few times, and they’ll mix themselves in.)
5. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, passing extra Parmesan and red pepper flakes for people to add at the table.
DEFROSTING PEAS
To defrost frozen peas, remove them from the box or bag, put them in a microwave-safe dish, and microwave them until they are thawed. You can also simply put them in a strainer and run cool water over them. Or even easier, just put the box or bag in a bowl and thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
* * *
GET CREATIVE
Use a high-quality olive oil for more flavor.
Sprinkle the finished pasta with a few lightly toasted pine nuts.
Increase the garlic to 1 tablespoon for more intense flavor.
Add a few teaspoons of Roasted Garlic Paste (Chapter 1: Soups) along with the fresh garlic, mashing it into the olive oil.
Use arugula in place of some or all of the spinach to add a more peppery flavor.
Add ¼ cup crumbled feta or goat cheese when you add the peas.
Stir a teaspoon or two of freshly grated lemon zest into the finished pasta.
Make this vegan by using eggless pasta and omitting the cheese.
* * *
penne with broccoli and pesto
Makes 3 to 4 servings
Convenience squared: You toss chopped broccoli into the pot right along with the pasta, and then drain and sauce everything with pesto (which, if it’s store-bought, makes things even easier). If you do go with purchased pesto, you’ll have better results with the fresh kind (sold in plastic tubs in the refrigerator case), rather than the kind that comes in a jar (which is cooked in the packaging process and has much less flavor). Or even better (and much cheaper), make your own (see Chapter 8: Party Snacks). The pesto needs to be at room temperature, so take it out of the refrigerator shortly before you need it. Leftovers? Chill. You’ll have a perfect cold pasta salad for tomorrow’s lunch.
¼ cup olive oil
Get Cooking Page 11