Tag Archives: garlic

Appetizer, Vegetable

Potato, Three-Cheese, & Swiss Chard Cakes

These colorful potato patties are reminiscent of panfried gnocchi with lots of greens and cheese added. Much easier to shape than gnocchi, and completely flour-free, they are an ideal side dish to meat or poultry, or a satisfying appetizer served atop arugula dressed with lemon juice and  olive oil or, as in the picture below, shredded green cabbage cooked with mustard seeds and garlic until browned at the edges and limp.

Feel free to use spinach or beet greens or Tuscan kale instead of the Swiss chard, and to swap out goat cheese for the Feta, or Pecorino for the Parmigiano; you really can’t go wrong with potatoes, greens, and cheese cooked in a bit of olive oil until golden on the outside and creamy on the inside!

Serves 2 as a side dish or appetizer

  • 1/2 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed
  • 2 ounces whole-milk Ricotta
  • 1 ounce French Feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1 ounce freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 bunch Swiss chard, washed thoroughly
  • 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili pepper
  • 2 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced

Place the potatoes in a saucepan. Cover with cool water  and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook until just tender when pierced with a knife, about 20 minutes. Reserve the cooking water, but remove the potatoes from the saucepan, drain, and cool.

Peel the potatoes and place in a bowl. Crush with a fork, leaving some small chunks for  a more interesting texture. Stir in the Ricotta, Feta, and Parmigiano. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and all the pepper. Set aside.

rainbow-chard

cutting

Return the potato cooking water to a boil. Remove the stems from the Swiss chard (reserve it for another use; I love the stems boiled, then tossed with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper). Drop in the Swiss chard leaves  and cook 3 minutes, or until floppy. Drain, cool, and squeeze dry. Chop the leaves finely.

Place 1 teaspoon of the olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet. Add the chili flakes, scallions, and garlic.  Cook over medium heat until the scallions are soft, about 3 minutes.

Add the Swiss chard leaves  and cook until they are wilted and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Season with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir into the potato mixture and allow to cool thoroughly.

potatopancakesrawclose

potatopancakesraw

Compact the mixture with your hands and shape into 4 patties, each about 1 -inch thick.

Wipe out the nonstick skillet. Place it on medium heat. Brush it with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil.

Place the potato patties in the skillet and cook until golden and crisp on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Brush the tops of the potato patties with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil.

Flip the potato patties carefully. Cook until the other side is also golden and crisp, about 5 more minutes. Serve hot.

potatopancakeclose

potatocakescooked

Pasta

Romanesco Cauliflower & Bacon Reginette

The first time I saw Romanesco cauliflower, I was not in Rome. I was at a farmer’s market in New York City, and the subtle green vegetable made me stop in my tracks: it looked like an alien from a science fiction film, or something out of an Arcimboldo painting. It had a striking shape, with conical florets spiraling towards a pointed top.

When I asked the vendor about it, she said it was Roman broccoli (another name for it).  Needless to say, that day I bought and cooked my first Romanesco cauliflower;  and every time I have spotted any at the farmers’ markets, I never passed up a chance to pick one up. The flavor of Romanesco is a bit nuttier, sweeter, and more subtle than that of regular cauliflower, so I tend to like it best in simple preparations that don’t mask its nuanced flavor or its unusual shape.

The recipe below can certainly be made with regular cauliflower if Romanesco is not available.

romanesco-raw

romaenesco-steamed

Serves 2 as a main course, 3 to 4 as an appetizer depending on what else you are serving following the pasta

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 12 sage leaves, thinly sliced
  • 2 thick slices bacon, fat removed, minced
  • 1/2 pound Romanesco cauliflower florets, trimmed and cut as needed (they should be about 2 inches long at most)
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • water as needed
  • 1/2 pound reginette or other long, fresh pasta
  • 2 ounces freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

reginetteromanescosoffritto

Make the sauce: Place 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the shallot, garlic, sage, and bacon  in a skillet large enough to accommodate the pasta later. Set the skillet over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes, stirring often, or until the shallots are fragrant and the bacon has lost its raw smell.

Add the cauliflower florets, season with 1/2 teaspoon of  the salt, and cook, stirring often, until the cauliflower is limp and lightly browned in spots, about 10 minutes, adding a bit of water by the 1/4 cup as needed to prevent the cauliflower from burning or drying out.

Meanwhile, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. When the sauce is ready, add the pasta and the remaining 2 tablespoons of salt to the boiling water, and cook until al dente, about 1 minute. Drain, reserving 1 and 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water.

Transfer the pasta to the skillet and saute over high heat to combine the flavors.  Stir in 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water,  the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the Parmigiano, and the pepper. Adjust the salt if necessary, and add a little more of the reserved cooking water if the pasta seems too dry. Serve hot.

reginetteromanesco1

Main Course: Fish

Lemony Octopus Salad

Octopus scares most cooks. Not because of its tentacles, or its slipperiness, or its often unwieldy size. It scares most cooks because  preparing it successfully (until it’s tender rather than rubbery) seems unlikely.

Why this should be the case is a mystery. Think of octopus as you would a tough cut of meat meant for braising: beef chuck, oxtail, pork shoulder, lamb shanks… You get the idea. All it needs is slow, gentle cooking to render it tender and soft, rather than chewy and tough. Forget all you have read about triple-dunking in boiling liquid, beating against the side of a rock (or the inside of your sink), whacking it with a meat mallet, or adding a cork to the boiling liquid. Just cook the octopus for hours, until a fork easily punctures it, and you’re done.

The recipe below is for poached octopus, which certainly doesn’t sound very sexy, but it is succulent, the ideal starter for a holiday seafood dinner. The first step is making what the French call court bouillon, which means short stock: a flavorful, often wine-spiked cooking liquid in which to poach fish and seafood (or anything else you wish to cook). Making a  court bouillon takes minutes of work, and you can add whatever aromatics you want to the pot: below are my favorites, but improvise as you like.

Once the court bouillon is strained, lower the octopus into it and cook it at a happy simmer for 2 or 3 hours, then serve it straight away, as below, or cool it in a bit of its cooking liquid and grill it later (a simple smoked paprika, parsley, and garlic dressing is my favorite post-grilling). You can also press the cooked octopus into a terrine mold (or loaf pan) lined with plastic wrap overnight, refrigerate it under the weight of a few cans, and when you take it out, you can slice it into a most impressive-looking octopus soppressata:  the gelatin in the octopus sets the layers so it looks like a gorgeous octopus mosaic.

Keep in mind that octopus shrinks tremendously when it is cooked, so even if it seems like a 3-pound octopus is overkill, it will be about one-third of its original weight after cooking.

Serves 2 as a main course, 4 to 6 as an appetizer

For the court bouillon:

  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • tops and fronds from 1 bunch fennel
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • cool water to cover

For the octopus and to serve:

  • 1 large octopus (ideally about 3 pounds)
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • juice of 1 large lemon
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 1 garlic clove, grated on a microplane
  • 2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley

Make the court bouillon: Combine all the ingredients except the water  in a deep pot (preferably one with a built-in strainer). Add enough water to come as high as you think is safe, considering that you will later be adding the octopus to the pot.

Bring to a  boil and simmer 30 minutes. Strain to discard the solids and return to a  boil.

Lower the octopus into the simmering liquid. Cover and cook until the octopus is very tender over medium-low heat, about 2 to 3 hours. Don’t rush the process; octopus takes time to become tender. Add more water as needed to keep the octopus submerged throughout the cooking.

Remove the octopus from the liquid and place on a large platter. Cool until you can handle it easily with your hands. Slip off the slimy purple skin (but leave the suction cups attached to the tentacles). Discard the head (I find it tough, although you might want to try it in case you disagree).  Cut the tentacles into bite-size chunks.

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, chili flakes, garlic, and parsley. Pour over the octopus and toss well; taste the seasoning and adjust as needed. Serve warm or at room temperature. We enjoy octopus with steamed baby potatoes, green beans, and kale sprouts (as pictured below) dressed simply with olive oil, salt, and pepper, but you can serve it atop baby greens, peppery arugula, or a shaved fennel salad.

 

octopus

octopusclose

Main Course: Fish

End-of-Summer Squid Salad with Potatoes & Green Beans

My mom usually served her seafood salads with a side of boiled potatoes: the brininess of the lemony dressing from the seafood gave the potatoes a delicious flavor. So when I make a seafood salad, I usually boil a few potatoes to drag through the lemony dressing. The salad I made last week is much simpler than my mother’s (no mussels, shrimp, or octopus), and comes together in minutes.

If you can find small squid, it will be much more tender than larger squid. Most seafood salads call for cooking the seafood in white wine; my trick is to boil the squid in the water from the potatoes after I pull out the potatoes. It not only saves a pot, it gives the squid a sweeter flavor and helps it emerge extra-moist. Remember that with squid, you can either flash-cook it until it just curls and turns opaque, or you can slow-cook it for about 45 minutes until it becomes super-soft. Anything in between yields tough, rubbery squid. This recipe is of the flash-cook variety.


Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as an appetizer

  • 1/2 pound young boiling potatoes, scrubbed (a variety of colors is fine)
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 pound green beans, ends trimmed
  • 1 pound baby squid, tubes cut into thin rings
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley

Place the potatoes in a 3-quart pot. Cover with cool water and add 1 tablespoon of the salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender when pierced with a knife, about 20 minutes for small potatoes and 40 minutes for larger potatoes. Remove from the pot and reserve the boiling water. Slice the potatoes in half and place on a platter, cut side facing up.

Return the potato boiling water to a boil. Add the beans to the boiling water and cook 5 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Remove from the pot and reserve the boiling water. Shock the beans under cool water and drain; blot dry and place next to the potatoes on the platter.

Return the potato boiling water to a boil. Add the squid and cook 1 minute, or until the tentacles curl and the squid rings turn opaque. Drain and place on the platter next to the potatoes and green beans.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, pepper, chili flakes, garlic, and parsley. Stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Pour over the potatoes, green beans, and squid. Toss gently and serve warm, cutting the potatoes and beans on your plate into bite-size pieces as you eat.

squid-salad-far-1200

squid-salad-1200

squid-salad-chopped-1200

Fresh Pasta

Stringozzi with Roasted Poblanos, Corn, & Chorizo

The ingredients for this pasta sauce are hardly Italian, but the concept (clean, bright flavors) is very much Italian in spirit. As often happens in summer, there are so many vegetables to use up, and a pasta sauce is a great way to transform summer’s bounty into a memorable meal in relatively little time. Poblanos mellow when roasted, their smoky heat perfectly offset by corn’s sweetness and chorizo’s bold, porky taste. We love the Palacios brand of chorizo imported from Spain, and a little goes a very long way.

Stringozzi are a thick cousin of tagliatelle, made in Umbria and sauced with grated black truffles, fresh tomatoes, or whatever inspires the cook at the moment. To make stringozzi, we roll out our all-purpose semolina flour and egg pasta into sheets, stopping at the third setting on the pasta machine so the sheets are nice and thick, then cut the sheets into noodles with the linguine attachment; the result is a resilient, toothsome noodle very much like stringozzi. If you don’t have fresh pasta on hand, or don’t feel like making your own, opt for a chewy, ridged noodle like rigatoni or penne rigate instead.

Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as an appetizer

  • 2 poblano peppers, halved and seeded
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 ounce chorizo imported from Spain, casings removed, minced
  • 1 ear fresh corn, shucked, kernels scraped off
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 pound stringozzi or other pasta
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

Make the sauce: Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the pepper halves, cut side down, on the foil. Slip under the broiler and broil 5 to 8 minutes, or just until starting to blacken; don’t overdo it or you will have a really tough time peeling off the skins, as poblanos are very thin-skinned. Wrap in the foil and set aside until cooled. Unwrap, slip off the skins, and cut into fine dice.

Place 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a deep, wide skillet large enough to accommodate the pasta later. Add the garlic, chorizo, corn, and poblanos. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring once in a while, until the corn is soft and the chorizo has rendered its fat and turned the sauce orange, about 5 minutes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and all the pepper, and splash in 1/2 cup of water; cook another 3 minutes, or until the water has reduced by half. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of salt. Drop in the pasta and cook until al dente, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.

Add the pasta to the skillet. Saute over high heat for 1 minute, stirring in the Pecorino and thinning out the sauce as needed with some of the reserved pasta cooking water. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, adjust the seasoning, and serve hot.

strangozzicorn1200-2

Fresh Pasta

Rigatoni with Sicilian Summer Squash, Tomatoes, & Basil

I wish I had thought to take a photo of the Sicilian summer squash I found at the farmer’s market before I got inspired to cook it! Long, slender, with a crooked neck and pale, smooth skin, cucuzze (as these light green squash are known in Italy) are a summer delicacy in Sicily and Calabria. They have a more compact texture than most varieties of squash and a sweet, delicate flavor. Many Sicilian-Americans grow these squash in their home gardens, and if you are lucky, so might one of the farmers at the green market you frequent.

In the summer, Sicilians slow-cook the squash with potatoes, tomatoes, and onions, making a delectable minestrone of sorts, finishing it with broken spaghetti to thicken up the broth in the last few minutes of cooking. But pastas made with cucuzze abound; some feature the tender green squash leaves (known as tenerumi); others, like mine below, are flavored simply with tomatoes, onions, and basil. If you can get your hands on Caciocavallo cheese, a sharp, melting cheese akin to Provolone, use it instead of the Pecorino for a more authentically Sicilian flavor. And of course, if you can’t find cucuzze, simply use taut, small green zucchini instead in this recipe; it will still be delicious!

Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as an appetizer

For the rigatoni:

  • 3 and 1/2 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 3 and 1/2 ounces semolina flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 large eggs

For the sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/8 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
  • 1/4 cup water, plus extra as needed
  • 1/2 pound Sicilian summer squash (cucuzza), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 1/2 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

To cook and serve:

  • 2 tablespoons sea salt
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 ounces (1/2 cup) freshly grated Pecorino Romano
  • 12 basil leaves, torn

penne-sbs--001

penne-sbs--5

Make the rigatoni: Combine the all-purpose flour, semolina flour, and salt on a counter. Make a well in the center and add the eggs to the well. Using a fork at first, draw the flour into the eggs. When all of the flour has been incorporated, begin kneading the dough by hand; knead until it is smooth and firm, about 10 minutes.

If the dough is dry, add a touch of water; if it is moist, add a touch of flour. Shape into a ball, dust with flour, and place under an inverted bowl on the counter; let rest 30 minutes to relax the gluten.

rigatoni1200

rigatoniclose1200

Using a pasta machine, shape the dough into rigatoni. We used a pasta extruder for this purpose. If you don’t have a pasta extruder, but you have a regular pasta machine, or a rolling pin, or a bottle, roll out into thin sheets and cut into tagliatelle, pappardelle, or whatever shape you prefer.

Set the cut pasta aside on several sheets of parchment paper, spread out and dusted with semolina flour so it does not stick, while you prepare the sauce. (You can also substitute 1/2 pound of dried pasta if time is short or you don’t feel like making fresh pasta.)

Make the sauce: Place the olive oil, garlic, chili, and onion in a deep, wide skillet large enough to accommodate the pasta later. Cook over medium heat until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the water and stir. Cover and cook 5 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the onion is soft.

Uncover, add the squash, and saute 5 minutes, or until the squash is just starting to soften. Add the tomatoes, season with the salt, and cook, covered, 10 minutes, or until the squash is soft and the tomatoes have broken down into a rich sauce, adding water as needed if the sauce dries out. There should always be about 1/4 cup of liquid in the skillet.

To cook the pasta: Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add the salt and the rigatoni. Cook until shy of al dente. Drain, reserving at least 2 cups of the pasta cooking water.

Add the pasta and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water to the simmering sauce. Raise the heat to medium-high and saute until the pasta is al dente, adding more reserved pasta cooking water as needed to thin out the sauce and allow the pasta to cook through. Depending on how far from al dente the pasta was when you drained it, the sauteing step may take anywhere from 1 minute to as long as 5 minutes.

To serve: Stir in the olive oil, pepper, Pecorino, and basil, and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot, warm, or even at room temperature; this pasta is delicious even after it cools off!

rigatonicucuzza1200

rigatonicucuzzaplated1200

Appetizer

Spicy Beef-Stuffed Potato Pancakes with Minty Yogurt

Pugliese cooks make delicious “pizze” using boiled potatoes and flour for the crust; similar to gnocchi dough, the potato dough is moist and supple and lends itself beautifully to various toppings, most commonly tomatoes, Mozzarella, and herbs.

A few weeks ago, I found myself with some leftover boiled potatoes and raw beef chuck, so I decided to try the Pugliese potato dough to encase a spicy beef filling. I shaped the mixture into small pancakes, and after a brief bake in a hot oven, the pancakes were golden and lightly crisp on the outside, moist and flavorful on the inside. At first glance, my husband thought the pancakes looked like chocolate chip cookies, so he was quite surprised when they appeared on his plate for lunch!

Don’t be put off by the long ingredient list; the recipe comes together easily and quickly, and the pancakes can be shaped up to 12 hours ahead and refrigerated until ready to pop in the oven.

Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as an appetizer


For the potato dough:

  • 3/4 pound Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed
  • 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, coarsely ground

For the beef filling:

  • 1/4 pound ground beef chuck (80% lean)
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated on a microplane
  • 1 small yellow onion, grated on the coarse side of a box grater
  • 2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, coarsely ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

For the yogurt sauce:

  • 1/2 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

To cook:

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Make the potato dough: Place the potatoes in a 4-quart pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain, peel, pass through a ricer onto a counter, and cool to room temperature. Add the flour, salt, pepper, and fennel seeds, and gather the ingredients until they come together into a dough. Do not overwork the dough or it will get sticky and require additional flour. Shape into a ball, roll into a log, and cut into 16 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Set on a lightly floured counter, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside. (The dough will start to stick it is left on the counter too long, so it is essential that you flour the counter under the balls of dough.)

Make the beef filling: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Mash well with your hands to combine; cook a tiny bit of filling to check for seasoning, and adjust as needed. Divide the filling into 16 equal mounds on a plate.

Make the yogurt sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl; refrigerate until needed.

To cook: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Oil the parchment with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.

beef-potato-patties-whole-1200

Take one ball of dough and cup it in one hand. Place a mound of beef filling in the middle of the dough. Press down with your free hand and then gather the dough up and over the filling to enclose. Flatten gently between the palms of your hands and place on the oiled parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Brush the tops of the pancakes with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (preferably set on convection bake). Bake the pancakes 12 minutes; remove from the oven and flip them over. Return them to the oven and bake another 12 minutes, or until golden on top and just starting to get a bit crisp. Serve hot, with the yogurt sauce.

beef-potato-patties-garnished-1200

beef-potato-patties-1200

Pasta

Spaghetti al Cartoccio with Arugula, Tomatoes, & Garlic

Cooking ‘al cartoccio’ in Italian usually refers to baking in parchment or foil packets, but grilling al cartoccio is a great technique, as long as you use foil and not parchment. It opens up so many possibilities for outdoor cooking, including pasta on the grill.

Grilling pasta in aluminum foil packets allows you to forgo last-minute boiling and saucing of pasta; this is a great advantage when entertaining, since you can boil and sauce the pasta, and prepare the packets up to 3 hours ahead, then just pop them onto a hot grill (or in the cooler months, into a hot oven) a few minutes before you are ready to serve. It’s also a fabulous way to enjoy outdoor cooking when the craving for pasta strikes.

Since the pasta will cook further once it is on the grill, remember to cook it slightly under al dente so it is not overcooked by the time you pull the packets off the grill. And be sure to allow guests to open their own steaming packets at the table: the aroma exuded upon opening the packets will enthrall even the most jaded guest.

Serves 4

For the sauce:

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/8 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 2 pints grape tomatoes, quartered
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 bunches arugula, leaves only, washed, dried, and cut into fine, thin strips
  • 1/2 cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Pecorino Romano

For the pasta:

  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 1 pound spaghetti

garlic1200

chili-garlic-in-pan

Make the sauce: Place the olive oil, garlic, and chili in a large pan. Set over medium heat and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, season with the salt and pepper, and cook 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes start to break down and release their juices. Stir in the arugula until wilted and transfer to a large bowl; stir in the Pecorino and set aside.

arugulaclose1200

chitarra

Make the pasta: Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Add the salt and the spaghetti, and cook until the spaghetti are almost, but not quite, al dente, about 7 minutes (if using fresh spaghetti, cook less long, just until barely tender). Drain, reserving ½ cup of the pasta cooking water.

Toss the spaghetti with the sauce in the bowl and adjust the seasoning if needed. Stir in the 1/2 cup of reserved pasta cooking water; the spaghetti will dry quite a bit as it cooks later.

Cut heavy-duty aluminum foil into four large squares. Place the aluminum foil on the counter, shiny side up. Mound the spaghetti, along with its sauce and any liquid that has collected in the bowl, on one side of each piece of aluminum foil (if you don’t include the liquid in the packets, the spaghetti will come out dry after cooking).

Fold the short sides of the aluminum foil over first, then seal the long side of the aluminum foil tightly as well, rolling the foil over itself a few times so that the cooking juices cannot run out once the packets are placed on the grill. (The recipe can be made up to this point 3 hours ahead; do not refrigerate or the spaghetti will become tough in the refrigerator.)

Heat a grill on high for 10 minutes (or preheat the oven to 400 degrees).

Arrange the packages seam side up on the grill and grill for 5 minutes (or if baking, place the packets on a baking sheet, and bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes), or until the spaghetti inside feels hot to the touch.

Place each aluminum foil packet on a dinner plate and serve immediately, letting guests open the packets at the table.

spaghetticartoccio1200

Fresh Pasta

Reginette with Pine Nut & Marjoram Pesto

One of our favorite summer dishes is fresh pasta (either round corzetti or the long, curly ribbons known as reginette, pictured here) tossed with a highly fragrant pine nut pesto. We look forward to this Ligurian specialty in the cold of winter, when fresh marjoram is not an option, and make it almost weekly when the marjoram on our deck starts to grow in. For a lighter (but no less delicious) version of the sauce, you can omit the heavy cream and double the milk, as we often do at home.

This recipe is adapted from my latest cookbook, The Best Pasta Sauces.

Serves 2

For the pesto:

  • 3 tablespoons marjoram leaves
  • 1 plump garlic clove, peeled
  • ½ cup pine nuts
  • ¼ cup whole milk, plus extra as needed
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup (1 ounce) freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

For the reginette:

  • 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup semolina flour, plus extra for dusting
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs

To cook:

  • 2 tablespoons salt

marjoram-pesto1200

Make the pesto: Combine all the ingredients except the Parmigiano in a food processor and process until smooth. Place in a bowl large enough to accommodate the pasta later, and stir in the Parmigiano. If the sauce seems too thick, dilute with additional milk; the pesto should have the texture of heavy cream, but it won’t be perfectly smooth due to the nuts.

(The pesto keeps in the refrigerator up to 1 week as long as it is topped with a thin layer of olive oil; it can also be frozen for up to 1 month if the Parmigiano has not been stirred in.)

sbsravioli9

Make the reginette: Mix the flour, semolina flour, and salt on a counter and shape into a mound. Make a well in the center and add the eggs to the well. Using your fingertips, work the flour into the eggs, then gather into a dough and knead by hand; add a little water if the dough is too dry or a little flour if it is too moist. Knead for 10 minutes, or until smooth, then shape into a ball, wrap in plastic, and let rest 30 minutes.

Cut the pasta dough into 4 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time and keeping the others covered, roll out each piece using a pasta machine into a thin sheet. Sprinkle each sheet generously with semolina flour and roll up loosely jelly roll-style. Cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips with curly edges using a reginette attachment. Toss with semolina flour to prevent sticking. Spread out in a single layer on a few semolina-dusted trays. (If you don’t have a reginette attachment, you can order one from Fantes or simply cut into tagliatelle or pappardelle, or whatever shape you fancy.)

To cook: Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Add the salt and the reginette and cook until al dente; drain, reserving 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking water.

Stir 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water into the pesto in the serving bowl. Add the drained pasta, and stir to coat. Adjust the salt if necessary and stir in additional reserved pasta cooking water if the sauce seems too thick to properly coat the pasta. Serve hot.

reginettepesto1200

Soup

Cream of Fennel Soup with Basil & Parmigiano

This soup is one of my favorite ways to enjoy fennel: creamy in texture, gentle in flavor, and delicately colored, it owes its surprising depth to the enriching action of the Parmigiano rind that simmers along with the fennel. If you don’t have a Parmigiano rind on hand, add a splash of heavy cream after pureeing the soup.

Serves 2

  • 1 large head fennel
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup whole or 2% milk
  • 1 Parmigiano rind
  • 6 basil leaves, cut into fine strips

Trim the fennel. Cut the fennel into 4 wedges, discard the tough core from each wedge, and slice very thinly. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the leafy, wispy fronds for the garnish.

Place the olive oil in a heavy saucepan and add the shallot, garlic, and fennel seeds. Set over medium-low heat; cover. Cook until the shallot is lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes, stirring once in a while. Add the thinly sliced fennel, season with the salt and pepper, and cover again.

Cook 15 minutes, or until the fennel is soft, stirring once in a while. Add the water and milk, and drop in the Parmigiano rind, making sure the rind is fully submerged in the liquid. Bring to a gentle boil and lower the heat to a simmer; cook, covered, 30 minutes, or until the flavors have melded and the fennel is very tender. Watch that the soup does not boil, or the milk will curdle. Discard the rind.

Transfer carefully to a food processor and puree until perfectly smooth. Return to the pot and warm to just below a boil. Cook, uncovered, until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon; if the soup is too thick, add a little more milk or water as needed. Adjust the seasoning and serve hot, garnished with the basil and the fennel fronds.

fennelsoup1200