It's much too hot for Meat Sauce
Pasta alla Primavera with Tomatoes and Zucchini
Ingredients:
1 pound (500 g) fresh plum tomatoes
1 artichoke
2 zucchini, sliced
1 stick celery, minced
1 carrot, minced
1/2 a medium onion, minced
1 bunch parsley, minced
1 hot pepper, either fresh or dried
A pinch of oregano
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Olive oil
Boiling water or vegetable broth
Salt
A pound (450 g) of short pasta, such as penne or rigatoni
Preparation:
Prepare the artichoke: discard the tough outer leaves, square the tip, and cut the heart into slivers, discarding any fuzz you may find in the choke. Put the slivers in acidulated water lest they blacken, peel and dice the stalk, and add it to the water too.
Mince the onion, parsley, and pepper; sauté them in 6 tablespoons of oil. Add the rest of the vegetables, except the tomatoes, and simmer for ten minutes.
Add the tomatoes and the oregano and cook slowly for a half hour, or until the carrot is done, adding boiling water or vegetable broth (if you have it) as necessary to keep the sauce from drying out. Meanwhile, cook a pound of pasta in salted water. Drain the pasta, stir in the sugo, and serve with grated cheese to taste.
A wine? White, perhaps an Arneis.
Serves 4.
Pasta alla Primavera with Bell Peppers and Broccoli
Ingredients:
2 meaty bell peppers of the color you prefer.
A large white onion
A clove of garlic, finely sliced
A salted anchovy, rinsed, boned, and diced
2/3 pound (300 g) broccoli florets, broken up
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
12 ounces (320 g) mezze maniche or ziti
Freshly grated pecorino romano
Preparation:
Set pasta water to boil.
Next, stem, seed, and rib the peppers and cut them into strips that will lie flat. Run them under the broiler, skin side up, until the skins have blistered; you may have to turn the strips to blister the skins evenly.
When the skins have blistered and blackened, put the strips in a bowl and cover it to let the steam generated by the cooking further loosen the skins.
After a few minutes remove the skins, running the strips under warm water to rinse them clean, pat them dry, and dice them.
Peel the onion, slice it finely, and sauté it with the garlic in the olive oil; when it's translucent add the peppers and the anchovy and simmer over a low flame for about 15 minutes.
By this time the pasta water should be boiling; salt it and blanch the broccoli florets for 2-3 minutes; remove them with a slotted spoon and add them to the pepper sauce.
Continue simmering the sauce while you cook the pasta, and set the oil in your deep fryer to heating. When the pasta is al dente, drain it, and return it to the pot with about half the sauce; cook, stirring, over high heat for a minute and serve the pasta with grated pecorino romano on the side.
Serves 4.
Pasta alla Primavera with Zucchini, Tomatoes and a little Milk
Ingredients:
1 pound (500 g) baby zucchini
2 ribs from the heart of a celery plant
2 small carrots
A scallion
1/2 cup tomato sauce
3/4 cup milk
5 basil leaves, shredded
A small bunch parsley, minced
A pinch of shredded hot pepper
Olive oil
Salt
12 ounces (320 g) spaghetti
Preparation:
Wash the zucchini, trim their tips, quarter them lengthwise and dice them. Finely slice the scallion. Wash the celery, peel the carrot, and dice both.
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a pot, flavor it with a healthy pinch of red pepper flakes, and after a second add the scallion, carrot and celery; cook, stirring, over a medium flame for about 4 minutes, and then add the zucchini.
Mix well, and then add the tomato sauce and the milk. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Check seasoning, and raise the flame if need be to thicken the sauce. Once it is the proper consistency, turn off the flame and stir in the parsley and basil.
In the meantime, bring pasta water to a boil, salt it, and cook the pasta; when it's done drain it and season it with the sauce.
Serves 4.
Pasta alla Primavera with Tomatoes, Eggplant, and Bell Pepper
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds (650 g) fresh sauce tomatoes, sliced
1/2 medium sized onion, minced
1 large eggplant, peeled and diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 bunch parsley, minced
1/2 cup pitted black olives, minced
1 anchovy filet, washed and boned
Half a fresh hot red pepper, minced (optional)
3 capers, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup olive oil
Grated Parmigiano
1 pound (500 g) short pasta
Preparation:
Peel and dice the eggplant; put the pieces in a colander, sprinkle them liberally with salt, set a weight on them, and let them sit for a half hour. Meanwhile, mince the onion, dice the pepper, and slice the tomatoes, keeping them separate.
Then mince the parsley, anchovy, capers, olives, and red pepper (if you are using it).
Put the oil in a 2 quart pot, and while it’s heating rinse the salt off the eggplant and let it drain. Sauté the onion till it’s translucent, then add the eggplant. Cook for about five minutes, stirring to keep the mixture from sticking.
Stir in the diced bell pepper and continue cooking a few minutes longer, then add the tomatoes and the parsley and olive mixture. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce the heat, simmering it gently for about twenty minutes. The sauce should be fairly thick.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water; when it’s done, drain it, stir in the sauce, and serve with grated cheese.
The wine? A deft red, for example a Valpolicella.
Serves 4.
Buon appetito!
