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For us this is one of the
really fun parts of our website. That's because we love to cook and trade recipes, cooking tips,
techniques, serving suggestions, and wine recommendations.
So with
that in mind, please feel free to send us your own recipes,
suggestions, and wine picks. We'll publish them right here. Send your
stuff to
joe@couplaguys.com.
Okay, let's get started.
Being the smart guys that we are, we figured the
logical place to begin talking about serving tips would be with the
stuff that you are already buyin' from us. If ya get what
we're gettin' at here. Just Click on the recipe titles below to go to
that recipe.
Recipes:
Awesome Arrabiata & Perfect Puttanesca
Arrabiata Sauce with Meat
Serious Sesame Sauce
Terrific Tapenade
Buoy Base
Crème de la Crimini
Marvelous Marinara
Insalata Caprese
Prosciutto with Fresh Figs
Bruschetto Squisito
Pesto
Smoke Roasted Arctic Char
Rigatoni
with Italian Sausage
Noodles with Red
Clam Sauce
Noodles with
White Clam Sauce
Noodles with
Fresh Clams
Spaghetti
with Anchovies and Onions
Awesome Arrabiata & Perfect Puttanesca
We
think the best kind of pasta for either of these sauces is "penne
rigate". That's the kind that's shaped like a short tube with ribs or
grooves etched along the length and the ends cut at an angle, resembling
the tip of a pen. Hence,
"penne"—
like a pen.
Okay, with that little factoid out of
the way, now pay attention!
-
Buy a pound of "penne
rigate" noodles, a bunch of flat leaf (Italian) parsley, a loaf
of crusty French or Italian bread (Italian sourdough would be good),
and if ya don't already have some, a bottle of extra virgin olive oil.
-
Buy a bottle of red
wine. Try a French Cotes du Rhone, or an Italian Chianti
Classico. Either one is a terrific match for this sauce.
-
Cook the noodles in about 3 quarts
of boiling, salted water. Chop up the parsley leaves, and heat the
sauce slowly over medium heat (don't burn it).
-
Slice the bread, stack it in
serving basket or bowl, and serve with small plate with the extra
virgin olive oil for dipping the bread slices. (It's better than
butter.)
-
When the pasta is done, drain the
water, toss the pasta and sauce together, put it in a serving
bowl and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.
-
Eat, drink, enjoy!
New Arrabiata Sauce Recipe
Sometimes you ask
yourself, "Hey, what would it taste like if I just added some of this extra
stuff to the sauce?" Well that's what happened to me one weekend. I had about a
half pound each of ground pork and ground beef leftover from a making a
meatloaf. So I decided to sauté 'em and add some dry fennel, thyme, and
oregano.
Why those three? 'Cause
they're the seasonings (especially fennel) that give Italian sausage its
distinctive flavor.
In any case, when the
ground meat was almost done,
I removed it
from the pan and drained off almost all of the grease from the meat. Then, I
just added a jar of our Awesome Arrabiata Sauce and used the sauce to
deglaze the sauté pan, scraping the beautifully caramelized meat stuff in
the pan and blended it all into the sauce.
Next I put
the ground beef and pork back into the sauce and let it simmer for about 30
minutes.
When the pasta was
finished, I tossed it with sauce, sprinkled on the fresh parsley, put it in
a pretty pasta bowl, and served.
All four of my guests
cheered. So ya gotta try this.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
1 jar Awesome Arrabiata Sauce
Handful of finely chopped flat leaf parsley.
Of course
another way to do this recipe would be to use regular Italian sausage with
fennel that you slice up and sauté. But you can be sure of this: Whichever
way you decide to do it, your friends and family will rave.
Serious
Sesame Sauce
We call this stuff "serious" for three
reasons: 1) you can use it in a bunch of ways, 2) It has seriously good
flavor, and 3) It goes a long way— this jar will sauce 2
lbs. of pasta. That's enough noodles for 6 to 8 people as a
main course, and 10 or more if it's served as a pasta course or side dish!
As far as wine goes, things like sesame are a
difficult match. That said, two that we think go well with sesame
are Pinot Blanc from the Alsace region of France, or a Sauvignon Blanc from
anywhere (although we're partial to the versions from California and
Oregon).
Here's
a couple, two, t'ree suggestions that will make your family and friends
swoon.
Put it on noodles the way
the Chinese did and do.
- Buy some fresh cilantro and a
pound of spaghetti.
- Boil the noodles in a coupla
quarts of salted water and finely chop about half of the bunch of
cilantro.
- Drain the spaghetti, pour on 1 cup
(1/2 jar) of sesame sauce and toss it well to coat the noodles. Add
about half of the chopped cilantro and toss again.
- Dump the noodles into a sexy pasta
bowl, sprinkle on the rest of the cilantro, and serve.
Sesame Chicken Breasts
for a Coupla Lovers
- Buy a couple of boneless chicken
breasts, a bunch of fresh cilantro, and some scallions (green onions).
- Season the chicken
breasts with salt & pepper and saute them over medium
heat in around 3 tablespoons of oil (peanut oil would be great if
ya have it) for about 8 to 10 minutes per side.
- While the chicken is cooking,
finely chop the cilantro, and coarsely chop the scallions.
- When the chicken is done, take it
out of the skillet and put it aside in a warm place. Now pour all of
the oil out of the pan and put the pan back on the burner to
heat up.
- Pour a half cup of sesame sauce
into the hot pan and stir it around with a wooden spatula to
dissolve the carmelized chicken stuff that's stuck to the pan.
- Finally, pour some of the
sauce from the pan on each plate, put the chicken breasts on top and
sprinkle the cilantro and scallions on and around the chicken.
- Now run (don't walk) to the table
and enjou the applause!
Spinach with Sesame— our version of the Japanese dish "Goma-ae"
- Buy some fresh spinach— one bunch
per person.
- Cut or tear off the tough stems,
and wash the leaves well in cold water in a colander. Let the water
droplets stay on the leaves. The water will create a little steam in
the pan as you saute the spinach.
- Saute the spinach leaves in a
little canola or peanut oil for about 3 minutes.
- As the spinach finishes cooking,
pour on a little sesame sauce and toss the leaves so they get lightly
coated with the sauce.
- There, you've just created an
incredible veggie side dish to have with chicken, fish, or pork.
- Go to the dining room & take a
bow.
Terrific
Tapenade
Okay, here's a couple of ways to
introduce folks you like (or don't like but want to impress) to the fifth
taste— umami. As you'll see, the first way ain't rocket science, if ya get
our meanin' here.
As for wine, a whole bunch of wines (both red and
white) go well with our tapenade. Red Wines: Italian Sangiovese, Chianti or
Barbera; French red wine from the Rhone region; Australian Shiraz (similar
to Rhones). For white wine try Sauvignon Blanc, Italian Soave, or
French whites from the Loire region.
The
World's Best Bread Spread
This is
so easy that we doubt that you can call this a "recipe".
- Pick up a loaf of Italian or
French bread— the really good, crusty kind.
- Cut the bread into 1/2"
slices and brush one side with some extra virgin olive oil.
- Toast the bread under the broiler
with the oiled side up. Oh, by the way, don't toast the other side--
it's better that way. Hey, who's recipe is it anyway?
- Spread a healthy dollop of
tapenade on toasted bread slices and pass them around.
- Now watch everyone smile.
Tagliatelle
and Tapenade
If ya thought the first way to use this stuff sounds easy, try this:
- Buy a pound of tagliatelle pasta—
that's the kind that's all rolled up in little nests, but the noodles
are about as wide as fettucine. Also, get a bunch of fresh flat leaf
parsley.
- Boil the tagliatelle in a couple,
three quarts of salted water. While the pasta cooks, chop up a handful
of parsley.
- When the noodles are done, drain
'em and toss 'em with about 2/3 cup of the tapenade.
- Sprinkle the chopped parsely
artfully over the tagliatelle and serve.
This is a terrific side
dish a great match for grilled tuna or swordfish. Your guests, family, or
lover (potential or otherwise) will insist you are a genius.
Bouy
Base
Making
supper doesn't get much easier than this:
-
Buy a variety of your favorite fish
and shellfish (shrimp, mussels, clams, squid, scallops, swordfish,
etc.), and a loaf of your favorite crusty French or Italian Bread.
-
Shell the shrimp and scrub the
hard-shelled critters.
-
If you're including a finned
fish such as swordfish or tuna, instead of just adding the raw fish to
the pot, do this. (Keep in mind that this should not be a big piece
of fish— 3 to
4 oz is plenty.) Sauté the fish briefly in a little olive oil in a very
hot sauté pan to sear both sides. Remove it from the saute pan and set
it aside on a warm plate. (Sautéing also keeps the fish from falling
apart in the stewing liquid and preserves the natural flavor.)
-
Okay, now dump a jar of our
Buoy Base into a pot large enough to hold the fish and shellfish, add
one jar of cold water, and bring it almost to a boil. Then reduce the
heat to a medium.
-
Now add your shellfish
to the pot, with the critters that require a longer cooking time going
in first, and simmer it all for around 10 minutes.
-
Don't put the
swordfish in the pot.
-
Badda Bing! You've just made
the best tasting shellfish stew that you've ever had.
Next, put each piece
of swordfish in the middle of some sexy
bowls. Now ladle a good portion of the stew and shellfish in each bowl. Now run (don't walk) to the table.
Or, if the pot you used for cooking
is a good looking one, just take the pot to the table and serve your family
and friends right from it, inviting everyone to slurp to their hearts
content and dunk that wonderful crusty bread in the stew.
This dish will be matched almost perfectly by a
peppery red Rhone or Australian syrah. Do it all like this and you'll
discover what it's like to be a super supper hero.
Marvelous Marinara
Like we tell ya on the label and in
our product description here on the website, this stuff is a "mother sauce".
Like our own mothers, it's terrific all by itself (as a sauce for your
favorite pasta), or it can be used to give birth to other wonderful sauces
when you add your favorite ingredients.
(Hey, don't worry. We won't extend
the metaphor any further.)
Here's a couple of suggestions:
Fettuccine
with Italian Sausage
Buy a pound or so of your favorite
Italian sausage with fennel, a pound of your favorite pasta (we like
fettucine with this recipe), a loaf of your crusty Italian or French bread,
and a bunch of flat leaf parsley.
-
Put a big pot of salted water
on the stove to boil for the pasta.
-
Cut the sausage into 2" pieces
and saute it in olive oil. When the sausage is nicely browned after 5 or
6 minutes, remove it from the pan and pour off the grease and oil.
-
Return the pan to the stove,
turn up the heat, and dump a whole jar of Marinara Sauce into the pot.
As it sizzles and comes to a boil, use your spatula to stir and scrape
up and dissolve all of that wonderful caramelized stuff on the bottom of
the pan.
-
Put the sausage back in the
pan, turn the heat down, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
-
Now all ya gotta do is drain
the pasta, toss it with the sauce, and finish it off with a sprinkling
of chopped parsley.
When you, your family, and your
guests take that first bite, you'll swoon. It's a meal none of you will soon
forget.
Pasta
Primavera
Primavera means spring, or more
broadly, the brightness and freshness of spring. As a recipe for pasta it
includes fresh, brightly colored vegetables that are lightly cooked so hold
their color and raw flavor.
Typically, pasta primavera is made
using smaller noodles (e.g., penne, rigatoni, fussili), but because we like
long noodles (linguine, fettuccine, tagliatelli), we just cut the veggies
into long, thin strips so they match the noodles better.
With all that said, here's our
version of Pasta Primavera:
Ingredients:
1 jar of Marvelous Marinara sauce
1 lb. Fetuccine
2 small zucchini
3 small yellow or "winter" squash
1 small or baby eggplant
2 red bell peppers
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
A pinch of crushed red chilies (or
more if you like it spicy)
2 Tbs. chopped flat leaf or Italian
parsley
Salt & black pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan Reggiano Cheese for
the table (Yep, the imported stuff.)
Preparation:
Put a big pot of salted water on
the stove for the noodles. Next, slice all of the veggies into thin slices
pieces (Juliannne is the fancy word we'd use here— as in "Juliannne" the
veggies.)
Next, heat a sauté pan and add the
olive oil, crushed chilies, & vegetables. Add a little salt & black pepper
to your liking and sauté it all for about 5 minutes.
Now add the whole jar of Marvelous
Marinara sauce, & gently stir to mix it all up. When the sauce is heated
through, dump the drained noodles into the sauté pan and toss it all
together.
All ya gotta do now is put the
pasta in good looking big bowl and take it to the dinner table, along with
the parmesan cheese. No, wait, there'll be one other thing to do: graciously
accept the applause coming from all the folks at the table.
As for what wine to serve with this
masterpiece, well, you pick it. Both red or white will work with this
recipe. If you decide on a white wine, make sure it's got some guts and
structure— something like a full-bodied Chardonnay or Alsatian Pinot Blanc.
But if red is what you like, try a Barbera di Alba, a Sangiovese, or a
Chianti— something lighter and fruitier.
Crème de la Crimini Sauce
"Ready to Use" is a phrase that
applies so well to this sauce, it's as if the words were invented just
because of it.
Okay, okay, ya gotta do a couple of
things:
Cook the pasta. (Use any pasta
shape that's your favorite.)
Grate some Parmesan Reggiano
Cheese, and chop up some Italian parsley.
Heat the sauce, drain the noodles,
toss it all together, and sprinkle the chopped parsley over the whole,
wonderful thing.
Oh, and buy your favorite red wine
to go with it. We like wines from the Rhone But, other than that, that's it.
ENJOY!
Insalata Caprese—Tomatoes with Fresh Mozzarella and Basil
Although dishes don’t get any simpler or easier
than this one, this recipe depends upon two things that aren’t always available:
terrific red, ripe tomatoes (like the ones we used to swipe from the
neighbor’s garden in late August when we were kids), and big, fresh basil
leaves.
The third major ingredient—fresh mozzarella cheese
is easy to find in larger cities. It’s pretty simple stuff—nothing more
than mozzarella cheese before it’s pressed to remove the water.
If you live in the boonies and can’t find it , we
have a suggestion. Move! This food is worth selling your house for. But if
that’s a little too radical, just ask your grocer to order it. And if he
doesn’t know what it is, you’ve got the wrong grocer.
Of course, you can always find stuff like fresh
mozzarella Online. Google will help ya.
When you’re able to get these three things, your
guests will close their eyes and have that kind of dreamy smile people get
when they bite into something that combines different flavors and textures
perfectly.
Ingredients:
Ripe fresh tomatoes—1 per person
Fresh Mozzarella balls—1 per person
Whole fresh basil leaves
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
Cut the tomatoes and fresh mozzarella into ½ inch
thick slices. Pick the basil leaves from their stems, wash them, and either
spin them dry in a salad spinner or pat them with paper toweling.
Arrange three or four slices of tomato on each
salad plate, cover the tomato with a leaf of basil, and then put a slice of
fresh mozzarella on top of the basil leaf. Now drizzle a little extra
virgin olive oil over each piece of mozzarella, followed by a sprinkle of
coarse kosher salt and a generous grind of black pepper.
That’s it!
Serving
Suggestions:
Caprese is wonderful as either an appetizer or
salad. We like to serve it when friends come over for drinks and
conversation. It’s great company for a bowl of Kalamata olives, a loaf of
Italian bread, and your favorite prepared giardianara. The next time you
have friends over for an informal gathering try putting out:
A plate of Insulata Caprese
A bowl of ripe Kalamata olives
A plate of Italian bread slices that are brushed
with olive oil, toasted under the broiler, rubbed with a clove
of fresh garlic and accompanied by a dish of spicy giardinara.
A bowl of our Black Bean Spread (page 9).
A plate of sliced, hard Italian sausage.
A plate of either cantaloupe chunks or figs
wrapped with Prosciutto di Parma (page 7).
The only problem with this spread is if you make a lot, nobody will ever go
home.
Wine
Suggestions:
White wine works best, but lighter reds are good
too.
White: a
crisp, dry Pinot Grigio, Soave, Gavi, or a Sauignon Blanc.
Red: an
Italian Dolcetto, a Barberrra, a Chianti, or a Sangiovese (from either
California or Italy).
Prosciutto with Fresh Figs
Prosciutto
is ham. That’s kinda like saying caviar is fish eggs or Mozart was a piano
player.
Of
course, in that prosciutto is meat from the leg of the pig, it is ham. But,
like it’s German (Westphalian hams), American (Smithfield hams), and
Spanish (Serrano) counterparts, it’s special.
The
specialness starts with the piggy’s diet. The well known Smithfield hams of
Virginia and North Carolina are from pigs whose feed includes acorns or
peaches. German hogs destined to become Westphalian ham are given meals of
sugar beets. Italian Prosciutto comes from animals that eat chestnuts, with
the very special pigs from Parma (Prosciutto di Parma) being fed whey from
the cheese that’s produced there.
How
about that? Now you’re ready for Jeopardy.
Prosciutto,
like its cousins, is cured in brine and aged for up to a year. Sliced
paper-thin, its smooth texture gives you the impression that it’s delicate,
maybe even a little wussy. But, not so. Prosciutto is powerful stuff, with
rich, earthy, slightly salty and smoky flavors. One of our guys says it
reminds him of smoked salmon.
Most
people who eat prosciutto with fruit combine it with cantaloupe, and it’s
very good that way. Plus, cantaloupe has the added advantage of being
readily available year round these days. Fresh figs, on the other hand,
only come to us in mid to late summer.
Even so,
combining Prosciutto di Parma and fresh figs is an event we look forward to
each summer. Maybe it’s actually better because we can only do it for a
brief time once a year. It’s more special that way.
Ingredients:
Prosciutto di Parma— 1 lb.
Fresh Figs— 1 dozen
Preparation:
Putting
it together is ridiculously simple.Wash the
figs, slice off the tops and bottoms, and cut each one in half. Lay the
thin sheets of sliced prosciutto on a cutting board and slice them in half
along their length.Wrap
each half fig with a slice of prosciutto and secure it with a toothpick.That’s
it. Boiling water for tea is more complicated.
Serving
Suggestions:
In the food dictionary “appetizer heaven” has a picture of these items next
to it: a plate of prosciutto with fresh figs, a heaping bowl of Calamata
olives, a plate of bruschetta, and an array of char grilled vegetables such
as egg plant, zucchini, and sliced red bell peppers that are drizzled with
a little extra virgin olive oil.
If you are lucky enough to be both
reading this and living in Chicago, go to D’Amato’s bakery on Grand Avenue
and buy a round loaf of tomato bread, then walk next door to Bari Foods and
pick up a jar of Ralph’s spicy Giardinara to use as a topping. Add this to
the array of stuff we’ve already listed, and you will be happy.
Wine
Suggestions:
Either red or white will be
terrific, but since we tend to serve this appetizer in late summer, we like
crisp, cold, citrusy whites with it.
White:
Italian Pinot Grigio or Soave. French Sancerre or Pouilly Fume from the
Loire Valley. Sauvignon Blanc or lighter, less oaky chardonnays from
California. A Pinot Blanc from Alsace or a dry Reisling from Germany. Or
for something unusual, look for a white Rioja from Spain.
Red: Reds should be light and fruity. Try a
chilled Beaujolais from—guess where—Beaujolais.
Bruschetta Squisito
Classic Italian bruschetta is pretty simple stuff.
It’s nothing more than Italian bread slices that are brushed with olive
oil, toasted under the broiler, and rubbed with a clove of fresh garlic. It
is sometimes accompanied by a dish of spicy giardinara, roasted garlic,
cannelini beans, etc.
This version of bruschetta is one wonderful,
mouth-watering appetizer that is also elegant in its simplicity. In fact
it’s so special we had to invent a pretentious title for the recipe. The
hot, crunchy, toasted bread contrasts nicely with the cool, aromatic flavor
combination of tomatoes, basil, and garlic. It will make you happy.
Ingredients:
Plum Tomatoes— 2 lb.
Red Onion— 2/3 cup
Fresh Basil— 1 cup, finely chopped
Flat Leaf Parsley— ½ cup, finely chopped
Fresh Garlic— 4 cloves
Red Chile Pepper Flakes— 1 Tsp.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Crusty Italian or French Bread
Preparation:
Dice the tomatoes & red onion, chop the basil & parsley, and peel,
crush & finely chop the garlic.Combine all of the ingredients in a
bowl, drizzle a small amount of olive oil over, add salt & 20 grinds of
fresh black pepper, mix it all together, and taste a spoonful.
The key flavors in this dish come from combining
tomatoes and basil (one of the food combinations invented by the gods). The
garlic, parsley, and onion make it heady, aromatic, and complex. Crushed
chili pepper adds a gentle spiciness, and the extra virgin olive oil
smoothes the texture.
The amount of oil, chili flakes, and salt &
pepper should be adjusted to taste. Experiment. Try a little more of this
or that until the dish has the flavor combinations you want.
Cut the bread into slices, brush one side of the
bread slices with olive oil, and toast 'em lightly under the broiler.
(Why just one side? 'Cause that's the way we do it, that's why. Also, it
creates a nice texture contrast when you bite into it.
Spoon the bruschetta mixture on the toast slices
and serve immediately (while the bread is hot).
This dish is a terrific appetizer. Also, it
matches beautifully with wine, especially cold, crisp whites.
BUT
BE CAREFUL.
Your
guests will enjoy it so much they’ll overeat and loose their appetites. Or,
they’ll drink too much wine and you’ll have to drive them home. Or, even
worse, you’ll also drink too much wine, and then they’ll have to stay
overnight. Maybe they’ll never leave.
Wine
Suggestions:
White: A crisp, dry wine
such as Pinot Grigio, Gavi, or Sauvignon Blanc.
Red:
A fruity red such as Chianti, Salice, or Sangiovese.
Pesto
The
herb called basil gets its name, according to one legend we heard, from the
word “basilica”—the name for early Christian churches—because it grew
prolifically around those buildings in the warm Mediterranean climate. It
is, therefore, the herb from God.
We’re pretty sure this tale is apocryphal (bunk)
since “basil” is more likely descended from the Greek word “basilikos”,
meaning “royal.” But, as one of our guys says, “… it don’t matter.”Besides,
it’s romantic and right that something as wonderful basil can be described
as the herb of the gods. And because pesto sauce is virtually all basil,
maybe we could say that it was invented with the guidance of the gods. It
is just terrific stuff.
Although pesto appears in all kinds of dishes, we think there’s a best way
to use it—as a simple sauce for pasta. So that’s the way we’re presenting
it. (Hey, it’s our recipe isn’t it?)
Also, our recipe for pesto differs from almost all
others, including the original Genoese version, in that we use no cheese.
Make no mistake; we love cheese, all kinds of cheese, with Italian Parmesan
Reggiano being one of our favorites. It’s just that we think parmesan
should be on top of the pasta, not in the sauce.
The other advantage to making pesto without cheese is that it can be
enjoyed by folks who are either lactose intolerant or whose dietary
lifestyle does not allow the use of dairy products.
Ingredients:
Fresh Basil Leaves— 4 cups, loosely packed
Fresh Garlic— 4 cloves
Pine Nuts— 1/2 cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil— approx. 1 cup
Flat Leaf Parsley— 1 cup, loosely packed
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Spaghetti or Linguini— 1 lb.
Preparation:
Wash and spin dry the basil and parsley leaves, and peel the garlic. Put
the basil leaves, parsley, pine nuts, and garlic, along with a healthy
pinch of coarse salt and about 15 grinds of black pepper, into the food
processor.
Run the processor until all the ingredients are finely chopped. With the
processor running, pour in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until the
pesto has the consistency of loose mayonnaise.
Bring 4 quarts of water to the boil in large pot, add about 1½ tablespoons
of salt to the water, allow it to come to a rolling boil and slide the
noodles in. As the pasta cooks, stir it frequently with a wooden spoon to
make sure the noodles separate completely as they cook.
When the pasta is almost finished take about ½ cup of the pasta water and
stir it into the pesto sauce until the sauce is soupy. Doing this makes
coating all of the noodles much easier.
Drain the pasta, return it to the pot and toss the noodles
with the pesto sauce. You’re done! Get in there and eat.
Serving
Suggestions:
As a first course, this recipe will feed six; as a
main course, it should be enough for four—assuming they aren’t big eaters.
It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but two of us have, on occasion,
polished off the whole bowl.
Without question you must put a hunk of Parmesan
Reggiano on a plate with a grating tool. Now everyone can have no cheese, a
little cheese, or a lot of cheese.
Here’s something neat to try with this dish. Make
a bowl of the tomato/basil topping that we use in the recipe we call “Bruschetta
Squisto”. Invite everyone at the table to spoon a little on top of each
serving of the pesto pasta. The cold tomato/basil mixture is wonderful
combined with the hot pesto sauce.
Finally, terrific company for this pasta is a
summer salad of sliced tomatoes, red onion, and cucumber with a red wine
vinagarette.
Wine Suggestions:
White:
a crisp, dry Pinot Grigio, Soave, or Gavi from Italy, or a Sauignon Blanc
or lighter Chardonnay from California.
Red:
an Italian Dolcetto, a Barberrra, a Chianti, or a
Sangiovese (from either California or Italy).
Smoke Roasted Arctic Char
Arctic
Char is a kind of salmon—one that spends its life in a fresh water lake—a
creature that doesn’t swim down and up a river to and from the sea. Being
native to lakes near or above the Arctic Circle, it’s pretty obvious why
it’s called “Arctic Char.” Its flesh is pink red compared to the deeper
orange red of both Atlantic and Pacific salmon, and has a milder, more
delicate flavor. Along with Rainbow Trout, it’s my favorite fresh water
fish.
Although the char is a wonderfully flavored fish,
it’s the “smoke roasting” that creates the magic. Actually, this recipe is
more about smoke roasting than about cooking char. It’s almost always the
way we cook Rainbow Trout, Coho and Steelhead Salmon (a lake dwelling
Rainbow Trout), and Lake Superior Whitefish.
One of the guys says, “Okay, why not call it
‘Smoke Roasted Trout’? Everybody knows what that is.” There are two
reasons: 1) Hey, whose recipe is it anyway? and 2) Every cookbook’s got a
recipe for Trout, but how many got one for Arctic Char?
The fish is marinated with lemon juice, olive oil,
and herbs, then cooked whole, with the bones in and head on. It’s not that
leaving the head on changes the flavor, but if you do, you’ll get to hear
at least one person at the table say, “…eeeyew, you can see its eyes."
No matter which fish we start with, we end up with
a dish that combines four wonderful flavors—the sweet/tartness of the
lemon, the perfume of the fresh herbs, the smokiness of the mesquite, and
the richness of a charcoal fire. Dinner guests have been known to tremble.
Ingredients:
Whole Arctic Char—1 per person
Fresh Lemon— 1
Extra Virgin Olive Oil— 1/2 cup
Fresh Dill— 1 tbs.
Coarse Kohser or Sea Salt &
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Mesquite wood chunks or chips
Preparation:
Certainly an important part of this preparation is
picking the fish. First, buy it whole, ‘cause if it’s not whole it’s really
hard to put back together. Check the eyes for clarity. If they are clouded
over, take a pass. Inspect the gills. They should be red, not purple, not
bluish. If they’re not red, take a pass. Smell the critter. When fish is
past its prime, you’ll know immediately. If you know its a fish with your
eyes closed, take a pass.
In short, the fish must be fresh. If you could
take it off the hook or out of the net, that would be ideal. Since few of
us can do that, talk to the folks at the market and ask questions. You’ll
develop a sense of how knowledgeable and reliable they are.
Okay, now you bought the perfectly fresh fish. Get
the charcoal or gas grill ready for cooking with wood chunks or chips. Ours
has a wood chip container on one side that can be filled with wet chips for
smoking. If you have either a charcoal grill or a gas grill with lava
rocks, simply put wet wood chunks on top of the lava rocks or charcoal.
Also, since you are roasting the fish rather than
grilling it, you’ll need to elevate the roasting pan above the grill,
otherwise the fish will fry in the pan. Although our grill is equipped with
a elevation rack, it’s not wide enough to hold a roasting pan steady. So I
just put three bricks right on top of the grill bars and set the pan on the
bricks. It works great.
Get back in the kitchen.
If the char’s body cavity has not been cleaned
out, do it. Actually, do it anyway. Fishmongers aren’t thorough enough most
of the time. Remove the gills or (if you must) cut off the head just behind
the gill opening. Then scale the fish. Using a pair of kitchen shears cut
off the pectoral, pelvic and ventral fins that are on the underside of the
fish, but leave the dorsal fin on (the big one on the fish’s back). Wash it
thoroughly and pat it dry with paper towels.
Prepare the marinade by whisking the juice of one
lemon, the olive oil, fresh dill, and salt and pepper into an emulsion. Put
the char in a shallow roasting pan and pour the marinade over it, making
sure the fish is coated well both inside and out. Let the critter marinate
for 20 but not more than 30 minutes.
When that time is up, pour the marinade from the
roasting pan and put the pan on the grill. Make sure the grill lid is
closed tight.
Roast the fish for about 10 minutes per pound and
check it. On our Weber grill four 1½ lb. Char or Trout take 20 minutes.
Remember, as with any roasting, the bigger the
animal, the longer the roasting. A good rule of thumb is one that has been
established by the Canadian fisheries folks: lay the fish flat and measure
its thickest part. Figure 10 minutes of cooking time for each inch.
When the fish is done, the skin will have a golden brown finish. A good
test of doneness is to pull on the dorsal fin (the big one on its back). If
the fin and its bones pull out easily, the fish is finished.
Now hurry back inside with the fish, put it on a
platter big enough to hold it comfortably, decorate the plate with lemon
slices and sprigs of fresh dill, and take it to the table as your guests
mutter: “Wow, that smells great.”
Serving Suggestions:
If you’ve cooked a bigger fish “carving” it at the
table is easy to do. First, use a spoon to peel back the skin from head to
tail. When you’ve exposed the fish flesh, you’ll see what looks like a slight
division of the muscle running in a straight line from head to tail. Use a
table knife to slice through that depression, dividing the entire filet in
half. Now use two spoons to gently push sections of flesh from the bones
and serve those portions to your guests. When the whole filet has been
served, the entire skeleton of the fish will be exposed. Take hold of the
center bone near the fish head and gently lift the skeleton from the bottom
filet. The second filet is now boned and can be served like the first.
Because the smoke roasted fish is very rich, a
good company for it is a salad of mesculin greens with red wine
vinaigrette. Equally good vegetable matches are 1) green beans sautéed with
red onion and garlic, or 2) steamed or lightly boiled asparagus spears next
to 3 or 4 small new red potatoes that have been drizzled with a little
extra virgin olive oil and tossed with fresh dill leaves.
It will be a memorable feast.
Wine Suggestions:
Without doubt, a rich full-bodied white drunk with
this meal will get rave reviews. Pick your favorite white Burgundy or
California chardonnay.
If you’re partial to the sauvignon blanc grape,
look for ones made in California that are more full-bodied because they
spend some time in oak.
Rigatoni with Italian Sausage
Near where we work and live in Chicago there is a
small Italian store called Bari Foods. It was founded and run by an Italian
immigrant family from Bari in Italy. But that’s not what makes Bari Foods
wonderful. What makes it a wonderful place is the great stuff you can get
there. And that is especially true of the sausage they sell. It’s made
right there using a secret recipe that we like to think was invented
generations ago in the “old country”. (It’s way more romantic that way.)
Regardless of the romance, Bari’s sausage is the
best we’ve ever tried. The brothers at Bari make three kinds—mild and spicy
versions of sausage with fennel, and one called Barese. Broiled, grilled,
or sautéed; braised with peppers or used as the base for pasta sauce; it’s
terrific. If you’re reading this book and you live in the Chicago area, go
there and buy the sausage, even if you don’t use it for making pasta sauce.
Which brings us to this recipe.
NOW GO BACK UP TO WHERE WE TELL YOU TO USE OUR MARINARA
SAUCE TO MAKE THIS RECIPE.
When the pasta is done, drain the water, return
the noodles to the pot, add ½ of the sauce, and toss. Put the pasta in a
serving bowl, spread the remaining sauce over the pasta, and garnish the
dish with finely chopped fresh parsley. If you don’t serve it immediately,
your friends or family will probably hurt you. By the time this recipe is
done, your house or apartment will be full of amazing, wonderful
aromas—aromas so intense they bring new meaning to the phrase
mouth-watering.
Serving
Suggestions:
(1) Put it on the table.
(2) As an appetizer or
first course try
insalata caprese.
(3) Serve a crisp,
cold, Romaine lettuce salad with a red wine vinaigrette after the pasta.
(4) Follow the salad with a plate of Italian gorgonzola cheese, fresh
sliced pears, and port wine.
(5) End the meal with either dark or milk
chocolate candies with a snifter of cognac.
Your guests will swoon.
Wine
Suggestions:
White: Stay
with red.
Red: Any
of a number of reds will compliment this recipe: from Italy try Chianti
Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, or a Valpolicella. From France go with
just about any full bodied red from the Rhone valley—Cotes du Rhone,
Hermitage, or Chateaunef du Pape.
Also, if you like the idea of a cheese course as we suggested above, you
could continue drinking any of these reds if you don’t want to switch to
Port.
Noodles with Red Clam Sauce
Among our pasta recipes, this is, hands down, one
of the best we make. It’s also one of the few pasta dishes we make where
the main ingredients are canned. Most of the time you hear us saying over
and over, “use fresh stuff.” Well, this breaks that rule. As one of the
guys sez, he sez, “...you wanna know somtin’ else? It don’t matter.”
With few exceptions a recipe always tastes a
little different each time it’s made. Variations are inevitable—we add a
little more of this or that, the fire is a bit hotter or cooler, the wine
is different, etc., etc. Sometimes the dish is better, sometimes worse.
This one is only good or better. The only time there’s been any left over is
when two or fewer people can’t stuff themselves anymore.
We make three versions of pasta with clams or clam
sauce. All three are terrific, and you’ll find them here back to back. This
happens to be my favorite.
Finally, a word about canned plum tomatoes. We’ve
tried many brands. Some are better. There’s a simple answer to your
question, “...what makes them better?”.
Water—actually, too much of it. If whole plum tomatoes are canned properly,
the liquid in the can will be pulpy and thick. That happens when the
canning company uses the pulpy tomato flesh that comes off with the skins
to make a puree that goes back into the can with the tomatoes. Others skim
off the pulp to use for purees that are sold separately, replacing the lost
thick stuff with water. The result is you have to use more tomatoes and
cook them longer in order to get a thick, rich sauce.
If you live in Chicago, buy “Bari” or
"Duomo" brand canned plum tomatoes. But my favorite is
Parmalate's "Pomi" brand of asceptically packaged chopped
tomatoes. You know what's in it? Chopped tomatoes. Because the tomatoes are
asceptically packaged, they don't have to add any acid or preservatives.
The result is a sweeter, richer tasting sauce.
Ya know what? We should be gettin’ somethin’ for
these plugs. Other than that, we recommend trying different brands that are
available where you live until you find one that works good.
Now if that sounds like a pain, hey, too bad. Get
with the program! Finding great ingredients is one of the best parts of
cooking. Looking for stuff perks up your imagination and gives you a chance
to be inventive—sort of cooking’s version of stopping to smell the flowers.
Ingredients:
Whole baby clams—3 cans
Peeled plum tomatoes—1 28 oz. cans
or
One package of Parmalat Pomi Chopped Tomatoes
Red Onion—1 medium size
Fresh Garlic—6 large cloves
Fresh flat leaf parsley—1 cup, finely chopped
Dried oregano—1 tbs.
Dried chili flakes—1 tsp.
Dry white wine—1/3 cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil—1/2 cup
Salt & Pepper
Fettuccine or Linguini—1 lb.
Preparation:
Strain the water from the clams into a bowl. Do
this first so that any sediment from the clams will settle to the bottom,
allowing you to use some the clam juice in the sauce.
Before doing anything else, put salted water on
the fire to boil for the pasta.
Coarsely chop the tomatoes, keeping the liquid;
finely chop the red onion and parsley; and peel, smash, and chop the
garlic. Although you’re now ready to cook, listen up.
The order in which the ingredients are cooked is important. If you just
throw it all together, the clams will have the taste and texture of a
rubber eraser.
Over medium to high heat add the olive oil and
chilies to the pan and cook for about a minute. The chilies will soften and
give up some of their oil. Add the chopped onion along with some coarse
salt and sauté until it’s wilted and soft—the sign that the onion has given
up its sugar. Add the smashed garlic and cook for one to two minutes. Sauté
it longer and you risk burning it. If you do, the sauce will be bitter.
Pour the white wine in the pan and allow it to
boil down by half.
Now add the chopped tomatoes with their liquid,
along with the dried oregano, and about half of the parsley. Season the
mixture with about 10 grinds of black pepper from your pepper mill. Sauté
it all (stirring frequently) until most of the water has cooked off, and
the flesh of the tomatoes has softened and broken down, leaving a thick
pasty sauce. It should take 20 to 25 minutes.
Drop the fettucine or linguini into the boiling
water in your pasta pot just before the sauce is done. That way the noodles
and sauce should be finished cooking at about the same time—the pasta
should take 10 to 13 minutes to cook “al dente”. (You’ll feel like a genius
of culinary timing.)
Stir the drained clams into the sauce, and pour
the clam juice in until the sauce has a “thick soup” consistency—the
thickness of, say, split pea or other pureed soup. The point here is to
have a sauce that coats the pasta well, but doesn’t loose its richness
because there’s too much water.
Cook the sauce for a final two or three minutes,
making sure the clams and the sauce are heated through. Take a taste and
adjust the seasoning. Don’t cook it too long, though. The clams will get
tough and rubbery.
Toss the noodles and sauce together(use the pasta
pot-- it's easier and less messy), garnish with the remaining chopped
parsley, serve, and acknowledge the applause.
Serving
Suggestions:
This dish begs for a crisp romaine lettuce salad
with a fresh lemon/olive oil/fresh garlic dressing. The crispness of the
romaine and tartness of the fresh lemon balance the sweet richness of the
clam sauce beautifully.
Also set the table with a bowl of Calamata olives,
and a plate of crusty Italian bread with a small dish of extra virgin olive
oil for dipping the bread. (It tastes great, and it’s way better for you
than butter.)
Wine
Suggestions:
Because of the tomatoes, red wine works great, but
a richer white can be good too.
White: a
richer Chardonnay, an Italian Gavi, or a Sauvignon Blanc (one that has been
aged briefly in oak barrels).
Red: an
Italian Dolcetto (when God made tomatoes, he invented Dolcetto to go with
'em), a Barberrra, a Chianti, or a Sangiovese (from either California or
Italy).
Noodles with White Clam Sauce
Here’s clam sauce number two. It’s white rather
than red because it doesn’t have tomatoes. We thought that was pretty
obvious, and we didn’t say it in the first draft of this recipe. Then
several of our friends tell us, “Hey, tell ‘em the difference. If somebody
don’t know, they’ll like that you told ‘em. If they do know and they’re
offended, they’ll git over it.”
In any case, this recipe is a lot quicker to make
because the sauce doesn’t have to reduce and thicken. In fact, this sauce
has a lot of liquid, which gives you and your dinner guests a chance to do
something wonderful—take hunks of the crusty Italian or French bread and
sop up the luscious liquid remaining in the bottom of the pasta bowl after
the noodles have disappeared.
Plus, this pasta dish has one other virtue—it’s
delicious.
Ingredients:
Whole baby clams—3 cans
Red Onion—1 medium size
Fresh Garlic—6 large cloves
Fresh flat leaf parsley—1 cup, finely chopped
Fresh oregano—2 tbs.
Dried chili flakes—1 tsp.
Dry white wine—½ cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil—½ cup
Salt & Pepper
Fettuccine or Linguini—1 lb.
Preparation:
Because the sauce cooks quickly, put salted water
on the stove to boil for the pasta first.
Just as with the red sauce, strain the water and juice from the clams into
a bowl so the sediment settles to the bottom. You’ll use all of the clam
juice in the sauce.
Finely chop the red onion, parsley, and oregano.
Peel, smash, and chop the garlic.
Remember, the order in which the ingredients are cooked is important. Don’t
just throw it all together in the pan and turn the heat up.
When the pasta water has come to a rolling boil,
drop the fettucine or linguini in to cook. We’re having you do this now
because the noodles and sauce will take about the same time to cook.
Over medium to high heat add the olive oil and
chilies to the pan and cook for about a minute so the chilies soften and
give up some of their oil. Add the chopped onion, a healthy pinch of coarse
salt and sauté until it’s wilted and soft. Add the smashed garlic and cook
for one to two minutes, being very careful to not burn it.
Pour the white wine in the pan and allow it to
boil down by half, then add the clam juice. Bring it all to the boil.
Stir the drained clams and half of the chopped
parsley into the sauce and season with several grinds of black pepper.
Continue cooking the sauce for about two or three minutes, making sure the
clams and the sauce are heated through. But be careful. Cook it too long
and clams will get tough and rubbery.
Drain the water from the pasta, put the noodles
back into the pasta pot, add the sauce and thoroughly toss. Put it all in a
big pasta bowl, garnish with the remaining chopped parsley, and enjoy.
Serving
Suggestions:
Here’s a warning that’s intended to keep you
healthy: do not serve this dish without a plate heaped with slices of
crusty Italian or French bread. If you fail to do this, your dinner guests
will cause you great bodily harm. Spending a couple of bucks for a loaf of
bread is pretty cheap health insurance.
Wine
Suggestions:
As with the fresh clam sauce— white, dry and
crisp!
White: an Italian Pinot
Grigio, or Soave; a California Sauvignon Blanc, or a lighter, crisp
Chardonnay with hints of lemon; French Sancerre, Pouilly Fume, or Muscadet
from the Loire valley. Look for citrus flavors. They will mate well with
the clams.
Red: an Italian Dolcetto,
a Barberrra, a Chianti, or a Sangiovese (from either California or Italy).
Noodles with Fresh Clams
Our next clam sauce recipe, made (as the title
suggests) with fresh clams, is simple, fast, rich and delicious.
Of course it does depend on being able to get
good, fresh clams, with the fresh part emphasized. It’s simple, the
fresher, the fatter, and therefore, the richer.
As you know (and if you didn’t, now you do) there
are many varieties of clams. There’s soft shell or longnecks from the Northeast—the
ones that are used in clambakes, or eaten raw. Hard shell clam varieties
include Butter Clams and Quahogs (which we recognize as Cherrystones and
Littlenecks). From the West Coast come Razor Clams and Pismos among others.
And there’s a type referred to as Surf Clams—for pretty obvious reasons.
The clams that are available to most of us
(particularly in the middle of the country) tend to be Cherrystones and
Littlnecks, and those are just fine for this recipe.
The ones to avoid are Surf Clams— they’re real
sandy. If they’re not opened and thoroughly washed, which is pain to do
(and probably not worth it), you’d call this recipe “Pasta with Fresh
Beach.”
Okay, so much for clam lessons. Let’s cook.
Ingredients:
Fresh Live Clams—5 dozen (that’s not a typo)
Yellow “Dry” Onion—1 small size
Fresh Garlic—6 large cloves
Fresh flat leaf parsley—1 cup, finely chopped
Fresh oregano—2 tbs.
Dried chili flakes—1 tsp.
Bottled Clam Juice—1 cup
Dry white wine—3/4 cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil—3/4 cup
Salt & Pepper
Fettuccine or Linguini—1 lb.
Preparation:
All right, we know that 7 dozen clams looks like a
serious pile of mollusks, but remember this: you don’t eat the shells.
Also, you’ll cook the clams in two batches. The first batch of 4 dozen will
be shucked and put in the sauce. The second batch will be left in their
shells and arranged on top of the pasta when it’s served because it looks
neat.
Start by scrubbing the clams with a stiff brush,
like one you’d use for baking potatoes. A fingernail brush works good too.
As you clean the clams, discard any that remain open or have cracked
shells. They’re dead and they’ll make you never want to eat clams again.
You’ll notice we use small “dry” yellow onion
instead of the red ones we typically suggest. Why? Well we just like ‘em
better that’s all!
Actually, the small yellow onions are little
stronger, but they are loaded with natural sugar, and that really helps the
richness of this sauce.
Cut both the root and shoot ends off the onion,
cut it in half, peel the dry skin off, then slice the halves into very thin
half rounds. Now cut the pile of half rounds in half, creating a pile of
quarter rounds. Doing it this way keeps the opened clam shells from filling
up with small globs of finely diced onion, and helps the dish look better.
(Keep in mind that we eat with ours mouths, noses, and eyes.)
Finely chop the parsley and oregano, and peel,
smash, and chop the garlic.
For cooking the clams you’ll need a large deep
pot, like a pasta or stockpot, or a saucier. (We use a pasta pot mainly
because we’ve got several of them.)
In a second pot, put 4 quarts of water on to boil
for the noodles. We’re having you do this now because it always seems to
take forever for this much water to boil. If it gets to boiling before
you’re ready to put the pasta in, you can always turn the fire down and let
the water simmer until you’re ready.
Using a medium to high flame, heat the olive oil
and chilies in the pot and cook for about a minute so the chilies soften
and give up some of their oil. Add the sliced onion and healthy pinch of
coarse salt and sauté until it’s wilted and soft. Add the smashed garlic,
chopped oregano, half of the parsley, and cook for one to two minutes,
being very careful to not burn the garlic.
Pour the white wine in the pot and let it boil for
a couple of minutes, allowing the alcohol to evaporate. When the sauce is
at a rolling boil, dump 4 dozen of the clams into the pot and cover it with
a lid.
After about 5 minutes check to see that the clams
have opened. If they have, they’re done.
Take the pot off of the stove and shuck (remove the meat from the shells)
the clams into a bowl, making sure you save all of the liquid that’s in the
shells. That stuff is the nectar of the clam god.
Now pay attention!
Be sure to discard any clams that haven’t
opened—which is just the opposite of what we told you to do when you were
washing the little critters earlier. That’s because if they don’t open as
they cook, they weren’t alive when you put them in the pot. So get rid of
‘em.
About now is when you should put the fettucine or
linguine in the boiling water to cook.
Return the clam saucepot to the stove and add the bottled clam juice and
the liquid from the bowl with the shucked clams (but not the clams). Turn
the fire up to high and bring the sauce back to a boil. Stir it
occasionally for three reasons: 1) it makes you feel and look like you’re
doing something important; 2) you get to smell the sauce; 3) because you
can smell it as it cooks and reduces, you’ll develop a sense for when the
flavors are just right.
Add several grinds of black pepper from a pepper
mill, taste, and add salt or pepper if you think the sauce needs it.
Now dump the remaining live clams in the pot,
cover with a lid, and cook for another five minutes. When the clamshells
have opened remove them from the pot and set them aside. Add the shucked
clams to the sauce to heat them up. Remember, they’re already cooked, so
this should only a couple of minutes.
Drain the cooked pasta, put it in the pot with the
sauce, and toss. Fill a pasta bowl with the noodles, garnish with the
remaining chopped parsley, and arrange the clams with their shells over the
top of the pasta.
Badda Bing, Badda Boom…. You got a masterpiece.
Serving
Suggestions:
Here’s a warning that’s intended to keep you
healthy: do not serve this dish without a plate heaped with slices of
crusty Italian or French bread for dipping into and sopping up the sauce in
the bottom of the bowl. If you fail to do this, your dinner guests will
cause you great bodily harm. Spending a couple of bucks for a loaf of bread
is pretty cheap health insurance.
Wine
Suggestions:
Definitely white, definitely dry and crisp!
White: an
Italian Pinot Grigio, or Soave; a California Sauvignon Blanc, or a lighter,
crisp Chardonnay with hints of lemon; French Sancerre, Pouilly Fume, or
Muscadet from the Loire valley. If the wine has citrus flavors it will go
beautifully with the clams.
Red: an
Italian Dolcetto, a Barberrra, a Chianti, or a Sangiovese (from either
California or Italy).
Spaghetti with Anchovies and Onions
When one of da guys (Jim Kochevar) told me about
this sauce, I thought, hmm…that don’t sound so good. But because Jim knows
a lot about really good food, I tried it.
You know what? It’s sensational!
When folks eat this pasta the first time they are
so stunned by its earthy richness that they ask, “Are you sure this isn’t a
meat sauce?”
Like many of the pasta sauces we like doing, this
one has just a few ingredients and is simple to prepare.
Ingredients:
Yellow Onion—4 cups, finely chopped
Anchovies—3, 2 oz. cans
Parsley—2 cups, finely chopped
Fresh Garlic—6 cloves
Oregano—2 tsp. Dried or 4 tsp. fresh
Extra Virgin Olive Oil—1/2 cup
Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Preparation:
Drain the oil from the anchovies, put them in a
bowl and soak them under gently running cold water for 20 to 30 minutes to
remove most of the salt.
Finely chop the onions and parsley. Peel, smash
and finely chop the garlic.
Using a pasta or stockpot, put 4 quarts of salted
water on the fire to boil.
Use a sauté pan with a lid. Heat the olive oil and
sauté the onions and ½ of the parsley, stirring and mixing them together.
Add 15 to 20 generous grinds of fresh black pepper.
Cover the pan and cook for 30 minutes over medium heat. Every five minutes
or so lift the lid and stir to keep the vegetables from burning.
Uncover the pan and continue to sauté over medium
heat for another 25 minutes. The water will evaporate and the onions will
caramelize, turning almost black. As this happens, stir with a wooden
spatula, scraping the glaze that forms from the bottom of the pan.
Drain and chop the anchovies, then combine them
with the chopped garlic. Add that mixture, along with the oregano, to the
onions and parsley that have been happily caramelizing.
By now the water for the noodles has come to a
rolling boil. Slide the noodles in to cook. Now get back to the sauce.
Continue cooking it for another 8 minutes,
stirring and mixing as the time passes. This both gives you something to do
and keeps the garlic from burning.
Take a cup of water from the pasta pot and pour it
in the sauté pan. Using your wooden spatula, stir and scrape the brown
glaze from the bottom of the pan. You’ll be surprised at how easily the
glaze dissolves and seems to melt into the sauce.
What’s happening is the caramelized sugar from the
onions is being dissolved and incorporated into the sauce. It’s the classic
technique of de-glazing a pan. Intense richness and flavor are trapped in
that brown glaze. All we’re doing is freeing them up.
As the sauce heats and reduces slightly, drain the
cooked noodles, dump them back into the pasta pot, add half of the
remaining parsley, pour on the sauce and toss it all together thoroughly.
Put the pasta in a serving bowl, garnish with the parsley that’s left, and
take it to the table.
Serving
Suggestions:
This is a rich, hearty pasta dish with strong
flavors. A good match for it is a cold, red leaf lettuce salad dressed with
our mustard/chive, red wine vinaigrette. Finish the salad with sliced red
onion and tomatoes arranged around and on top of the lettuce leaves.
Don’t forget the bread—a basket of crusty Italian
sourdough next to a small dish of extra virgin olive oil for dipping.
When you tell your guests what you’re serving,
enjoy their furtive looks of skepticism that say, “Damn. I wish we’d had a
snack at home before coming here.” In a little while they’ll be asking you
for the recipe.
Wine
Suggestions:
Pasta dishes with rich, heady flavors such as tend
to be complimented by more full-bodied wine.
White: A full-bodied
Chardonnay from Burgundy such as a Meursalt (but you’ll need a loan), or a
less expensive Chardonnay from California, Oregon, or Australia.
Reds: Chianti Classico
Reserva from Italy; French Rhone Valley reds from the less expensive and
softer Cote du Rhone’s to the Hermitages (more power, more money). These
are peppery, full-bodied wines that taste great, and will make you happy.
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