Tag Archives: tomatoes

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

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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.

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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!

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Fresh Pasta

Beet Greens & Two-Cheese Ravioli in Light Tomato Sauce

We eat a lot of beets at home. My husband loves them roasted, and he is happiest when I serve them with just a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper as a salad. Sometimes I add walnuts, Feta cheese, a scattering of fresh herbs (dill or tarragon work best), thinly sliced onions, and a splash of sherry vinegar. Other times, I stir in grated garlic, chili flakes, cilantro, toasted sunflower seeds, toasted pumpkin seeds, and a hint of red wine vinegar.

Since we eat so many beets, that leaves us with a lot of beet greens and beet stems. They never get discarded, and serve as inspiration for many meals. I boil the greens, then serve them with olive oil, lemon juice, and slivered garlic, or top focaccia dough with them before baking under a veil of Pecorino. As for the stems, they are delicious roasted: I boil them just a few minutes, then roast them with olive oil and grated Parmigiano, covered snugly under a sheet of parchment paper, for 10 minutes at 325 degrees. And I often prepare colorful beet greens and cheese ravioli, as below, napped in a light tomato sauce.

Even though the ingredient list looks daunting, the preparation is actually quite easy, so try this the next time you have beet greens at home. And if you have spinach but no beet greens, that works too!


Serves 6

For the dough:

  • 2 and ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for the counter and trays
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 3 large eggs

For the filling:

  • ½ pound fresh beet greens (or spinach leaves), washed and finely chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • ¾ pound fresh whole-milk Ricotta
  • 1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

For the egg wash:

  • 1 large egg, beaten to blend

For the sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 12 basil leaves
  • 8 large ripe plum tomatoes or 4 large beefsteak tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced (about 3 cups diced)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To cook the ravioli and serve:

  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
  • 1/2 cup basil leaves, cut into fine strips

Make the dough: Mix the 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.

Meanwhile, make the filling: Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil. Add the beet greens (or spinach) and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl of cool water and drain. Squeeze dry and chop. Reserve the pot of boiling water to cook the ravioli later.

Combine all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl, stir in the chopped boiled beet greens, and adjust the salt to taste if needed. Set aside.

Assemble the ravioli: Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Working with 1 sheet at a time and keeping the others covered, roll each piece out into a thin sheet using a pasta machine; the sheets should be nearly transparent after rolling. Be sure to lightly dust the sheets of pasta with flour every time you roll them through the pasta machine or they may stick or tear.

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Brush 2 of the lasagna sheets lightly with the egg wash. Arrange the filling in small mounds about 1 inch apart on the 2 lasagna sheets you just brushed with the egg wash. Top with the remaining 2 lasagna sheets. Use your hands to press out any air pockets around the filling and seal the edges well. Cut into squares using a fluted pastry wheel. Spread the ravioli out on a lightly floured tray in a single layer and refrigerate until needed, covered with a clean, dry towel. (The ravioli can be shaped up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated, covered with a clean kitchen towel, or they can be frozen for up to 1 month; if you freeze the ravioli, do not defrost them before dropping them into the boiling water, but allow 1 extra minute for cooking.)

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Make the sauce: Place the olive oil and basil in a 10-inch saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute, or until the basil releases its aroma, then add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil. Cover and simmer 25 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. If the suace is soupy, cook it, uncovered, for a few minutes. If it is too dry, add a bit of cool water to loosen it.

Cook the ravioli: Return the reserved beet greens cooking water to a boil. Drop in the ravioli and the 2 tablespoons of salt and cook until al dente, about 4 minutes. Remove to a heated platter with a slotted spoon (reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water). Gently toss the ravioli with the tomato sauce, add the olive oil, sprinkle with the Pecorino, and stir very gently since the ravioli are delicate. If needed, thin out the sauce with some of the reserved pasta cooking water.

Serve immediately, sprinkled with the basil.

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Main Course: Vegetarian

Ricotta-Quinoa Cakes with Summery Tomato-Corn Salsa

I don’t eat quinoa because it is healthy.   I eat it because I like it, and because it is versatile, and has a fun, popping texture. The fact that it is healthy is a plus. I would never eat something that was good for me if I didn’t truly enjoy it; I think most good food is healthy anyway, and becomes even better for you if you draw pleasure from eating it.

I usually start off any quinoa recipe by rinsing my quinoa thoroughly to get rid of the bitter saponins that coat it (I prefer the red for its nuttier taste, my husband the white for its lighter flavor) . Then I drain it, plop it in a saucepan with double the amount of water, throw in a  crushed garlic clove, a bay leaf, a sprinkle of salt, and a bit of freshly ground black pepper. When the water comes to a boil, I cover the pan and simmer the quinoa until the grains are swollen and all the water is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Then the quinoa can be eaten hot, instead of rice or potatoes or any other starch; cooled and transformed into a salad with bits of feta cheese, diced tomatoes, charred peppers, and olive oil; flavored with plenty of herbs and folded into lettuce leaves for a refreshing bite; or bound with a bit of egg as below and pan-fried into delectable little cakes, so good with a fresh salsa of summer corn and ripe tomatoes.

Since I especially love quinoa with peas (they add such a sweet note and vibrant color), I often add about 1 cup of thawed petite peas to the quinoa in the last 3 minutes of simmering, as I did for the recipe below. The recipe here yields enough quinoa for several dishes; you only need one-quarter of the total amount for the quinoa cakes, so experiment with the rest.

Try swapping these quinoa cakes for the meat patties in your burgers at your next barbecue. I think even the carnivores would enjoy them; my husband did!

Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as an appetizer

For the quinoa:

  • 1 cup red quinoa, rinsed several times and drained
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 crushed garlic clove
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus extra if needed
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup thawed petite peas

For the cakes:

  • one-quarter of the cooked quinoa (see above)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/3 cup fresh whole-milk Ricotta
  • 1 teaspoon minced marjoram, mint, or sage (I prefer marjoram)
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus extra to taste
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the salsa:

  • 1 ear fresh corn, shucked, silk removed
  • 1 ripe tomato, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus extra to taste
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To cook and serve:

  • 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Make the quinoa: Place the rinsed and drained quinoa, the water, bay leaf, garlic, salt, and pepper in a 1-quart pot. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cover, lower the heat to simmer, and cook 15 minutes, then add the peas and cover again. Cook another 3 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender and the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and keep covered for 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and adjust the salt if needed.

Transfer one-quarter of the cooked quinoa to a bowl. Reserve the rest for another use (see introductory notes for additional ideas).

Make the cakes: Add the egg, Ricotta, marjoram, salt, and pepper to the measured quinoa. Stir well.

Make the salsa: Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Drop in the corn. Cook 3 minutes, then drain, cool, and cut the kernels off the cob. Toss with the tomato, salt, and pepper, and taste for seasoning; adjust as needed.

Cook the cakes: Warm a 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until hot but not smoking. Brush with 2 teaspoons of the olive oil.

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Divide the quinoa cake mixture into 4 equal parts and drop into the hot skillet, shaping it into 4 even pancakes. Cook 3 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom and starting to set on the top. Brush the tops with the remaining 2 teaspoons of the olive oil. Flip and cook until golden brown on the other side.

Place on a platter. Sprinkle with the salt. Serve hot, topped with the salsa.

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Fresh Pasta

Maccheroni alla Chitarra with Mussels in Tomato Sauce

The sweetness of mussels partners beautifully with the fresh scent of parsley in a simple tomato and white wine sauce. I love this seafood sauce with long pasta, preferably spaghettini, spaghetti, or, my absolute favorite, the square, long noodles known as spaghetti alla chitarra typical of  Abruzzo and Molise.

Be careful of any mussels (or clams, cockles, and other bivalves) that are open before cooking. If they appear open, tap them on the inside of a bowl to see if they close; if they close, they are alive and can safely be cooked, but if they do not close, discard them. Also be sure to discard any mussels that are still closed after cooking.

Serves 4

For the sauce:

  • 3 pounds mussels, scrubbed, beards removed
  • 2 tablespoons plus ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cups chopped San Marzano canned tomatoes

For the pasta and to serve:

  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 1 pound spaghetti alla chitarra
  • 1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

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Make the sauce: Rinse the mussels several times to get rid of any surface grit, pull off any beards, then place in a deep bowl and cover with cool water. Add 2 tablespoons of the salt and swirl with your hands to dissolve the salt in the water. Set aside to purge any sediment and grit for 30 minutes at room temperature. Remove the mussels from their soaking water by scooping them out with your hands, thereby avoiding disturbing the sediment at the bottom of the bowl. Rinse the mussels several times in cool water.

Place the mussels in a saucepan large enough to accommodate the pasta later. Add the wine and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook over medium-high heat, shaking the pan once in a while, until the mussels yawn open, about 8 minutes. Uncover and cool 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.

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Shell the mussels, reserving a few in the shell, and discard any mussels that have not opened. Strain the mussel cooking liquid through a sieve lined with a paper towel (or through a coffee filter) to get rid of any sediment. Set the strained liquid and the mussels aside. Rinse out and dry the saucepan.

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Place the olive oil with the garlic, parsley, and chili in the clean saucepan  and warm gently over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and season with the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt and the pepper. Cook, covered, for 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes take on an orange hue. Stir in the mussels and the strained mussel cooking liquid, and bring to a gentle boil; cook 5 minutes.  Adjust the seasoning and keep warm.

When you are ready to serve, cook the pasta: Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Add the salt and the pasta. Cook until al dente, then drain, reserving 2 cups of the pasta cooking water.

Toss the drained pasta and the parsley into the sauce. Sauté 1 minute over high heat to meld the flavors, thinning out the sauce as needed with some of the reserved pasta cooking water. Serve hot, drizzled with the olive oil.

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Fresh Pasta

Garganelli with Red Wine and Two-Meat Ragu

This simple, savory ragu combines my favorite elements of a classic Bolognese ragu (the milk and red wine) with my favorite elements of a southern Italian-style ragu (the spicy sausage and garlic).

If you have a rind from a hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano on hand, throw it into the ragu pot to lend additional richness, then remove it before tossing with the pasta.

See our recipe for handmade garganelli

Serves 4

For the sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, minced  (1/4 cup)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 12 basil leaves or 2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
  • ¾ pound spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
  • ¾ pound ground beef chuck
  • 1 cup dry red wine
  • 2 cups chopped canned Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
  • 1 cup whole or 2% milk
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Rind from Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano (optional)

For the pasta and to serve:

  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 1 pound garganelli (see recipe below)
  • ¼ pound freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano

Make the ragù: Place the olive oil, onion, garlic, and basil in a 10-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the sausage and beef, and cook until browned all over, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Be sure to let the meat develop a deep brown color at this stage, or the ragu will taste flabby instead of rich.

Add the wine and then, after 5 minutes, the broth, tomatoes, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. If you have a cheese rind, add it at this point and make sure it is fully submerged in the liquid.

Cover and cook over medium-low heat 1 and ½ hours, making sure the sauce never scorches and adding a bit of water as needed to the pan. Discard the bay leaf and the cheese rind. Adjust the seasoning and keep the sauce warm. (The sauce can be made up to this point 2 days in advance; refrigerate until needed, then warm gently before proceeding.)

Make the pasta: Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Add the salt and the pasta, and  cook until al dente; drain, reserving 2 cups of the pasta cooking water.

Add the pasta to the sauce and sauté over high heat for 1 minute. Stir in the Parmigiano, and add some of the reserved pasta cooking water if needed to thin out the sauce. Adjust the seasoning and serve hot.