Archive

ITALIAN RECIPES

Tomato Sauce And Pasta Is Hard To Beat!

Penne all'Arrabbiata

Ingredients:

1 pound (450 g) penne
2/3 pound (300 g) peeled, seeded, and chopped plum tomatoes or a drained 1-pound can of tomatoes
1 finely chopped onion
1 minced clove of garlic
1/4 pound (100 g) pancetta or quanciale, diced
1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or more, to taste
Salt
1 1/4 cups grated pecorino Romano, or, if you find it too sharp, 2/3 cup each of grated Parmigiano and pecorino, mixed

Preparation:

Sauté the onion and the garlic in half the oil, and when the mixture is lightly browned, add the pancetta.
Continue cooking the mixture for five more minutes, then add the tomatoes and the pepper. In the meantime, cook the pasta in salted water.

Check the seasoning of the sauce, stir the remaining oil into it, pour it over the pasta, and serve the pasta with the cheese on the side.
Serve with a white wine from the Colli Albani, such as Fontana di Papa.
Serves 4.

Bucatini all'Amatriciana

Ingredients:

1 pound bucatini or thick stranded spaghetti
1/4 pound (100 g) pancetta or guanciale, diced
1/4 pound (100 g) ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and chopped
Half an onion, minced
A hot pepper, seeded and shredded
1/2 cup olive oil
An abundance (a cup) of freshly grated Pecorino Romano

Preparation:

Set the pasta water to heat, salt it when it boils, and cook the pasta. While this is happening, heat the oil in a skillet, add the diced meat, and cook until it browns, stirring the pieces about.
Remove them to a sheet of absorbent paper with a slotted spoon and keep them warm. Add the onion to the grease in the pan, together with the hot pepper, and when it begins to color add the tomato pieces, which should be well drained.

Cook, stirring, for 5-6 minutes, then return the diced pancetta to the pot and heat it through.
Drain the pasta while it's still a little al dente, turn it into the skillet with the sauce, cook a minute, stirring the pasta to coat the strands, and serve, with grated pecorino.
Serves 4.

Pasta Puttanesca

Ingredients:

2/3 cup pitted black olives, sliced
4 boned anchovy fillets
2 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 tablespoon rinsed salted capers or rinsed and drained capers in vinegar, minced
Three or four ripe plum tomatoes, finely sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
A pound of spaghetti

Preparation:

Chop the garlic and sauté it in the oil with the anchovies, stirring the mixture about to break up the anchovies.
When the garlic’s lightly browned, add the olives, capers, and tomatoes. Check seasoning. Simmer the sauce for fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta. Stir the sauce into the pasta and serve.
A wine? A red, Vesuvio Rosso.
Serves 4.

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients:

6 to 8 ounces (150-200 g) ground beef - it shouldn't be too lean, or the sugo will be dry
2 ounces (50 g) pancetta, minced (if you omit it increase the beef)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
A quarter of a medium-sized onion, minced
A half a carrot, minced
A six-inch stalk of celery, minced
1/2 cup dry red wine
3/4 cup crushed tomatoes or 2 tablespoons tomato paste dissolved in 1/2 cup water
Beef broth (If you don't have any, dissolve half a bouillon cube in a cup of boiling water)
A pinch of salt
A pound (500 g) of pasta.
Grated Parmigiano.

Preparation:

If you omit the pancetta you will want the full 8 ounces of meat.
If you are using it, mince it and the vegetables, and sauté them in a casserole or Dutch oven with the oil.

When the onion is golden, add the ground meat and continue cooking till it's browned. Stir in the wine and let the sauce simmer till the wine has evaporated, then add the tomatoes, a ladle of broth, and check the seasoning.
Continue simmering over a very low flame for about two hours, stirring occasionally, and adding more broth if the sugo looks like it's drying out.

The sugo will improve steadily as it cooks, and if you have the time simmer it longer - Artusi suggests it be simmered for six hours, adding boiling water or broth as necessary. When it is done it should be rich and thick.

This meat sauce will serve about six as the topping for a first course of pasta or gnocchi, or about four if served over pasta with a tossed salad on the side; in either case serve it with grated Parmigiano.
In terms of a wine I'd suggest a relatively light red such as a Chianti Colli Fiorentini.
Serves 4.

Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Eggplant

Ingredients:

6 medium-sized eggplants, about a pound (500 g)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
About a pound (500 g) sun-ripened plum tomatoes, blanched, peeled and chopped.
6-8 basil leaves, shredded
1 pound (450 g) spaghetti
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano, salted ricotta, or Parmigiano
Salt & Pepper to taste
Olive oil (or corn oil) for frying

Preparation:

Peel and slice the eggplant into half-inch (1 cm) slices, salt the slices, and let them sit in a colander for about an hour. Rinse them, pat them dry, and fry them a few pieces at a time in hot oil, turning them so both sides brown, and setting them to drain on absorbent paper.

Next, set water to boil, and while it's heating heat 1/4 cup oil in a pot, sauté the garlic briefly, and then stir in the blanched, peeled tomatoes. Season with salt and abundant pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue cooking the sauce figuring 15-20 minutes in all; about 5 minutes before it's done add the shredded basil.
Keep an eye on the pasta pot while preparing the sauce, and as soon as the water boils salt it and cook the spaghetti.

When the spaghetti are al dente, drain them and season them with the tomato sauce. If you are bringing bowls of pasta to the table, divvy the spaghetti into four bowls and divide the eggplant slices among them.

Sprinkle the pasta with much of the cheese, and serve it with the remaining cheese on the side. The wine? A Ciró Rosato or Rosso would be nice.
Serves 6.

Buon appetito!

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