Pasta Modern (10 page)

{
Trofie con salsa di cicoria
}

SERVE
4
|
REGION:
Northern and central Italy

I love this concept. The Italians take a flavorful leafy green, usually eaten in salad, and blanch and puree it to become the base of the pasta sauce. Chicory’s pleasant bitterness is mellowed by creamy ricotta with a pop of lemony tang and the sweet touch of almonds. A green dream pesto!

Ready in minutes, sophisticated, simple, healthful, satisfying, and very pretty on the plate: exactly what you’d expect from today’s Italy.

½ cup (80 g) whole blanched almonds

Olive oil

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 medium head chicory, about 1 pound (455 g)

1 pound
trofie
or other short pasta

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup (60 g) ricotta

In a small food processor or blender, grind the almonds until they resemble coarse sand, then slowly stream in ¼ cup (60 ml) oil and the lemon juice until creamy.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Wash and chop the chicory and boil until it is bright green, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicory, squeeze it dry, add it to the food processor, and puree it into the almond mixture. Reserve the cooking water.

Return the cooking water to a boil, add a pinch of salt and the pasta, and boil until it is al dente. Drain and toss with the pesto, seasoning with pepper and salt. Serve topped with dollops of ricotta and garnish with the zest.

BEHIND THE SHAPE

Trofie
, a Ligurian specialty, are tiny twirls of pasta tapered at both ends. During times of poverty, the poor farmers of Liguria would make
trofie
with chestnut flour, a staple that provided their main sustenance, and indeed the name of this pasta comes from the ancient Greek word for nourishment. They are available in the States dried, but I always buy a few pounds of the locally made trofie when I visit the seaside town of Camogli in Liguria. It’s a charming village with quaint trompe l’oeil paintings of windowsills and architectural features on its buildings.

SILKY ESCAROLE–PINE NUT PAPPARDELLE

{
Pappardelle con crema di scarola
}

SERVES
4
to
6
|
REGION:
Campania

This sauce is actually a vegetable puree—healthy and perfect for vegans. Escarole, with its broad, tender, pale-green leaves, makes a gorgeous sauce that gets an added flavor boost from olives, salty capers, tingly chile peppers, and crunchy toasted nuts. Nothing is more simple and elegant.

Here, the sauce is tossed with pappardelle, which are fabulous long, wide noodles whose name comes from the Italian word
pappare
—to gobble up—but it is fabulous with any pasta.

½ head escarole, about 8 ounces (225 g)

Salt

Olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

12 pitted oil-cured black Gaeta olives, halved

2 tablespoons salted capers, rinsed

1 small fresh red chile pepper, thinly sliced

1 pound (455 g) pappardelle or any pasta, preferably Garofalo brand

¼ cup (35 g) toasted pine nuts

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and roughly chop the escarole and boil it until it is bright green, about 2 minutes. Remove it with a slotted spoon to a food processor, reserving the cooking water.

Puree the warm escarole with 3 tablespoons oil and the garlic until very smooth and silky. Stir in the olives, capers, and chile to taste.

Meanwhile, bring the cooking water back to a boil, add the pappardelle, and boil until it is al dente. Drain and toss with the escarole mixture. Serve topped with the pine nuts.

PASTA WITH POOR MAN’S PESTO

{
Pasta al pesto povero
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Sicily

Highly aromatic, with wave after wave of flavor—the basil hits first, then the rosemary, with a delightful finish of mint and lemon. Popular in the countryside of Sicily’s Agrigento province, this is called “poor man’s” because it is made mostly with herbs and vegetables, plentiful in every peasant’s garden. To make enough delicious pesto for four takes just six almonds!

1 ¼ cups (55 g) assorted fresh herb leaves, including basil, parsley, mint, and a bit of sage and rosemary

1 small tomato, diced

1 garlic clove

6 toasted almonds

Zest of ½ lemon

Olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound (455 g)
cavatappi
or any pasta

Pecorino or caciocavallo cheese

In a food processor or mortar and pestle, grind the herbs, tomato, garlic, almonds, and zest until smooth. While processing slowly stream in 5 tablespoons oil until creamy. It will be very dense. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss with the pesto, adding a few tablespoons of the cooking water if the mixture is dry. Top with a drizzle of oil and shaved or grated cheese to taste.

REGINETTE WITH WALNUT-ALMOND PUMPKIN PESTO

{
Reginette al pesto di zucca e noci
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Central and southern Italy

This simple orange-colored pesto with two different nuts is so full of flavor that you don’t even need grated cheese—perfect for vegans.

My very favorite squash for this recipe is kabocha, aka Japanese pumpkin, which is naturally sweet, with a pretty flesh color and nice texture. It’s the closest in flavor to the terrific
zucca rosso
pumpkins of Italy.

1 small kabocha, butternut squash, or sweet pumpkin, about 1 ½ pounds (680 g)

Olive oil

⅓ cup (40 g) chopped toasted walnuts

½ cup (55 g) chopped toasted almonds

1 pound (455 g)
reginette
or any pasta

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Aged balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze

Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C) and lightly oil a baking pan.

Cut the kabocha in half and discard the seeds. Put it onto the baking pan and bake until tender and golden at the edges, about 45 minutes, turning once during cooking.

Meanwhile, in a small food processor or mortar and pestle, finely grind the walnuts and almonds. Scoop out about 1 ½ cups (360 ml) of the pumpkin flesh and puree it with the nuts, slowly streaming in 3 tablespoons oil until smooth. Refrigerate the remaining roasted kabocha for another purpose.

Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss with the pesto, seasoning with salt. Serve topped with a sprinkle of pepper and a drizzle of balsamic.

BEHIND THE SHAPE

Reginette
, which means “little queens,” are one of a group of pasta named after Italy’s royalty, which includes
regine
—queens—and also
mafalde
, after Princess Mafalda, daughter of Victor Emanuel III.
Tripolini
are a thinner version with ruffles on only one side, evocative of a queen’s crown.

RADIATORE WITH RADICCHIO, BEER & HAZELNUTS

{
Radiatore con birra e radicchio
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Veneto

I tasted this unusual beer-pasta combination at the annual food festival in Umbria called
I Primi d’Italia
, which celebrates Italy’s first-course dishes. Unique and flavorful, the radicchio rosso di Treviso, affectionately called
il fiore che si mangia
—the flower that you eat—marries perfectly with the beer’s slightly bitter notes. Sautéed leeks add a subtle sweetness to this dish and hazelnuts give it crunch. I love it with the pale blonde Italian ale called
bionda
, but any beer you enjoy drinking would be fine.

Olive oil

1 large leek, thinly sliced

¾ cup (180 ml) beer, such as bionda

1 small head radicchio, very finely sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound (455 g)
radiatore
or any short pasta

Parmesan or other aged cheese

⅓ cup (40 g) chopped toasted hazelnuts

In a sauté pan large enough to later toss the pasta, heat ¼ cup (60 ml) oil over high heat and cook the leeks until golden, about 5 minutes. Pour in the beer, scraping up any brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add the radicchio, reserving a little for use later as garnish, and cook until it is soft, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and add to the sauce along with a little more beer, if the mixture is dry. Toss the pasta in the sauce until well combined, then stir in grated or shaved cheese to taste. Serve topped with the reserved raw radicchio and hazelnuts.

BEHIND THE SHAPE

Radiatore
, radiators, is a pasta shape created after the invention of the car. Other Machine Age–inspired shapes are:
ruote
, wheels;
eliche
, propellers;
trivelle
, industrial drills; and
dischi volanti
, flying saucers.