Giada at Home: Family Recipes From Italy and California (13 page)

COOK’S NOTE:
You are looking for steaks that are 1 inch thick. If you don’t want to turn on the oven, the steaks can be grilled over medium-high heat in a preheated grill pan or on a gas or charcoal grill for about 5 minutes on each side.

Fusilli with Spicy Pesto

I don’t cook with jalapeño peppers often because I’m not a huge fan of spicy food, but when I was served grilled fish topped with a spicy pesto at a beach-side restaurant near San Diego, I loved the way the heat woke up the flavor of the fish. I thought it could do the same for pasta, and sure enough, it’s a great combo. Packed with spinach and arugula, this pesto is more condiment and less sauce than the typical basil pesto, and a bit lighter thanks to the substitution of walnuts for oily pine nuts. Fusilli is the perfect partner for any kind of pesto because the sauce gets trapped in the ridges so you get flavor in every bite. Serve leftovers of the dressed pasta with roasted chicken, fish, or beef.

In a food processor, combine the walnuts, garlic, jalapeño, grated cheese, salt, and pepper. Process until the mixture is smooth. Add the spinach and arugula and process until blended. With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Transfer the cooked pasta to a large serving bowl and add the pesto. Toss well. If needed, thin out the sauce with a little pasta water and season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with the Asiago cheese shavings and serve.

COOK’S NOTE:
If you prefer a milder pesto, remove the seeds from the jalapeño pepper before you chop it.

Here’s a dish that is so much more than the sum of its parts, which are all simple pantry ingredients that you probably have on hand right now. Bread crumbs were traditionally a thrifty way for Italian housewives to use up leftover crusts of bread, but they really make the dish; sautéed in olive oil, the bread crumbs get crispy and make a crunchy crust on each strand of pasta. I use black and green olives to get both the fruity and the salty flavors, but if you have only one or the other the dish will still be great. It really doesn’t get much easier than this—or more appealing.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. Stirring constantly, cook the bread crumbs until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water. Stir the pasta into the bread crumb mixture. Remove the pan from the heat and add the black and green olives. Add the Parmesan cheese and 3 tablespoons of the parsley. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, if needed. Gently toss to coat, adding reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Transfer to a large serving bowl and garnish with the remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.

Cheesy Baked Farro

We think of mac and cheese as a true-blue American invention, but this homey dish, made with nutty farro, is actually very traditional. Farro is one of the first cultivated grains and was ground to make bread, cereals, and pasta in ancient Italy. It’s becoming more popular in this country, but you still may need to visit an Italian specialty store to find it. Use it in salads, pilafs, and soups as you would use barley, which is also a good substitute for farro.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 9 × 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

For the sauce: In a 2-quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Gradually add the warm milk, whisking
constantly to prevent lumps. Simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thick and smooth, about 8 minutes (do not allow the mixture to boil). Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.

For the farro: In an 8-quart stockpot, bring the chicken broth to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the farro, lower the heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain if necessary.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes or until tender. Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender.

In a large bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese, Gruyère cheese, Fontina cheese, and thyme. Remove ½ cup of the mixture and set aside. Add the cooked farro, sauce, and mushroom mixture to the cheeses. Stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the ½ cup reserved cheese mixture. Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake until the top is golden brown and forms a crust, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Nonna Luna’s Rice