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Pasta

Linguine Puttanesca
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 clove of garlic, chopped
6 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 35 oz can imported Italian plum tomatoes, crushed with their juices
1 tablespoon capers
12 gaetta olives, pitted
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pound linguine pasta

Preparation:
Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and anchovy, cook until garlic is lightly browned.
Crush tomatoes and add with juices. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce to a simmer.

Add capers, olives, oregano, black pepper, and 1/2 cup of water. Cook at a simmer for 20 minutes.
While the sauce is cooking bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook uncovered over high heat until al dente. Drain pasta, toss with sauce and serve.
Serves 4.

Capellini Carbonara
Ingredients:
2 shallots chopped fine.
4 ounces of pancetta, chopped fine.
2 tblsp of olive oil
2 tblsps of butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1/2 pound angel hair (if you can find fresh green and white paglia-e-fieno pasta it works perfectly with this sauce.)

Preparation:
Heat olive oil and butter in large saute pan over medium heat.
Add shallots and pancetta, cook until lightly browned.
Add wine and chicken stock, cook for 2 minutes over high heat.

Add cooked pasta, parmi­giano, freshly ground pepper and egg yolk, stirring vigorously over high heat until pasta is coated and creamy. Transfer to indi­vidual plates and serve.
Serves 2.

Penne Filetto di Pomodoro
Ingredients:
6 tblsps of olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 of a pound prosciutto, chopped
1 35 oz can of imported Italian tomatoes
2 basil leaves, chopped
1 pound of penne pasta
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and prosciutto, cook until onion is translucent and prosciutto is brown.
Crush tomatoes and add with juices to onion and prosciutto mixture. Add basil, salt & pepper to taste and a little water.

Cook 15 to 20 minutes, until sauce thickens.
While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the penne. Cook uncovered over high heat until al dente.
Drain pasta, put back in pot add some of the sauce to the pot and mix it up. Dish out pasta spooning remaining sauce over top.
Serves 4.

Penne con Fagiolini
Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds string beans.
1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound of penne pasta

Preparation:
Clean string beans by breaking off ends.
Bring one pot of water to a boil and place string beans and 1 tablespoon of salt in water and cook until tender. Bring a second pot of water to a boil add 2 tablespoons of salt and the penne, cook until just al dente.

While string beans and pasta are cooking, peel garlic cloves and crack them by pressing down on them with the side of a chef's knife.
Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until lightly browned.

Drain the string beans, reserving 1/4 cup of the water they were cooked in. Add string beans, pasta, salt & pepper and the water to oil and garlic in pan. Stir together for about 1 minute and serve.
Serves 4.

Trenette Al Pesto
Ingredients:
2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup plus 4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup of pine nuts
pinch of salt
2 cloves of garlic chopped fine
1/2 pound of trenette
1/4 cup freshly grated par­migiano-reggiano cheese

Preparation:
Wash the basil in cold water and gently pat it dry with paper towels.
Put 1/4 cup of olive oil, pine nuts, garlic and a nice pinch of salt in a food processor or blender, start mixing and add the basil a few leaves at a time processing to a creamy con­sistency.

In a large saute pan add 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 4 tablespoons of pesto, turn heat on low and heat through.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the trenette. Cook until al dente.

Reserve 2 tablespoons of water from the pot then drain pasta and add to saute pan with pesto, and turn the heat up to high.
Add the 2 tablespoons of the water the pasta was cooked in, and the parmigiano cheese and stir vigorously coating the pasta completely with the sauce.
Transfer the pasts to individual serving plates and serve immediately.
Serves 2.

Late-Night Pasta Sauce with Pine Nuts and Raisins
Ingredients:
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, peeled and chopped fine
2 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water
Fine sea salt
1 pound boxed pasta, pre­ferably spaghettini (thin spa­ghetti), or very small penne
A warm serving bowl

Preparation:
Let the raisins steep in lukewarm water to cover until they swell. Drain them and chop them coarsely.
Chop the pine nuts coarsely, then mash them slightly, using the flat side of a knife blade or a meat pounder.

Put the olive oil and chopped garlic in a small skillet, turn on the heat to medium, and cook just until the garlic becomes colored a pale gold, but no darker.
Add the chopped pine nuts and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Add the chopped raisins, stir well, and cook for just a few seconds.

Turn off heat.
Cook the pasta in 4 quarts of salted, rapidly boiling water. When almost done, turn the heat under the skillet containing the sauce to medium low, retrieve about 2 tablespoonfuls of the pasta cooking water, and add it to the sauce together with some salt, stirring rapidly.

Drain the pasta the moment it is cooked al dente, tender but firm to the bite. Immediately transfer it to the warm serving bowl and toss it with the sauce. Serve at once.
Serves 4 to 6.

Buon appetito!

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