Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites (14 page)

Add the basil, capers, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the spaghetti and toss to combine. Set out 4 serving plates or shallow bowls. Place ½ cup spinach in each bowl. Top with one quarter of the pasta. Top each mound of pasta with a piece of salmon. Serve immediately.

Pastina refers to any tiny pasta shape, whether it’s stars, little squares, tiny shells, or
riso
. When you boil the pasta, undercook it just a tiny bit so it can cook together with the mussels and the clams for a few minutes, absorbing all that delicious liquid without getting mushy. In that way it’s almost like a risotto, but much easier to make.

4 to 6 servings

In a large pot, combine the chicken broth, 3 cups of water, and 1 tablespoon of salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain.

While the pasta is cooking, heat ¼ cup of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the Marsala and grape tomatoes and cook for 1 minute, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the clams and mussels to the pan, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and cook until all the shellfish have opened, 5 to 8 minutes. Discard any shellfish that do not open.

Using tongs, remove the clams and mussels from the pan and reserve. Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl. Pour the shellfish cooking liquid and vegetables over the pasta, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle with ¼ cup of the parsley, and toss. Arrange the clams and mussels on top of the pasta and sprinkle with the remaining parsley.

If you find regular lasagna with a tomato sauce too heavy for summer meals, this is a great alternative, and it’s a real stunner on the plate. A sun-dried tomato pesto is layered between the pasta and vegetables, adding a bit of sweetness to the dish.

6 to 8 servings

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the teaspoon of olive oil. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes for dried pasta or 2 to 3 minutes for fresh pasta. Drain the pasta.

In a food processor, combine the sun-dried tomatoes and basil. Pulse until the mixture is combined. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

In a large skillet, brown the pancetta until crisp. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon. Add the tablespoon of olive oil, the onion, and garlic to the same skillet and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook until tender, about 4 minutes, then transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the ricotta, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Sprinkle some of the sun-dried tomato mixture over the bottom of a 9 × 13-inch baking dish. Place a layer of lasagna sheets on top of the sun-dried tomato mixture and spread the noodles with half of the asparagus mixture. Sprinkle with a third of the mozzarella cheese and a third of the remaining ¾ cup Parmesan cheese. Make another layer in the same fashion. Top with a third layer of lasagna sheets, some sun-dried tomato mixture, and the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Dot the top with the butter. Bake until the lasagna is heated through and the cheese is melted, about 25 minutes.

When my family and I made trips back to Italy to visit my grandfather’s family in Naples, his sisters often made one of these impressive timbales. It looked a bit plain on the outside, but when you cut into it, it was always filled with a delicious mixture, and as a kid I thought it was just
so
cool. I still do.

4 to 6 servings

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the eggplant slices with ⅓ cup of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the eggplant on both sides until tender and colored with grill marks, about 4 minutes per side. Set aside.

While the eggplant cooks, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the ground beef and sausage to the pan and brown the meat, breaking it into bite-size pieces with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Pour off any excess fat. Add the Marsala and cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the peas and marinara sauce and stir to combine. Add the mozzarella, ¾ cup of the Pecorino, the basil, and the cooked pasta. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch springform pan with the grilled eggplant, making sure that the slices overlap and hang over the edge of the pan; reserve a few slices. Fill the pan with the pasta mixture, pressing down to make sure the filling is evenly distributed. Fold the eggplant slices up over the top of the pasta and top with the reserved slices to enclose the timbale completely. Bake the timbale until the filling is warmed through and the cheese has melted, about 30 minutes. Let the timbale cool for 10 minutes.

Invert the timbale onto a serving plate and remove the pan. Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup grated Pecorino, slice, and serve.