Pasta Modern (14 page)

Top each serving with a dollop of ricotta, some fried leeks, and a sprinkle of almonds.

{
Pasta glassata
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Throughout Italy

It’s a brilliant concept: Zucchini does double duty as both cooking medium and topping. After it’s grated, it releases lots of delicious green juice, which is used to cook the pasta, coating it in a gorgeous glossy glaze. The grated pieces are then tossed with hot pasta to complete the light yet richly satisfying dish. Not a drop of vibrant, fresh vegetable flavor goes to waste.

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes—in fact, when PBS interviewed me for a special on Italian-Americans and asked about the pasta I most prefer, this is the one I mentioned. I love that it’s light, healthy, and practically fat free; I love that it’s simple but has a fancy, chef-y touch; I love how tasty and pretty it is. I love it!

6 large zucchini

Salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound (455 g) spaghetti or any long pasta

Olive oil

Parmesan or other aged cheese

Line a colander with cheesecloth and place it in a large bowl. Grate the zucchini on the smallest holes of a cheese grater into the colander. Toss the zucchini with a pinch of salt and the garlic and let it rest for 1 hour at room temperature.

Squeeze the zucchini to extract all the liquid; you should have about 1 cup of juice. Set aside both the grated zucchini and the juice.

Boil the pasta in lightly salted water for half the time suggested on the package, then drain it. In the empty pasta pot, bring the zucchini juice to a boil. Toss in the pasta and cook it, stirring occasionally, until it is al dente. Raise the heat to high at the end so any remaining juice absorbs into the pasta and creates a nice glaze.

Now you have a choice on how to finish the dish: You can either toss the pasta with the raw grated zucchini and top with a drizzle of olive oil or, if you prefer, fry the zucchini in a skillet on high heat with 2 tablespoons oil until crispy, then toss it into the pasta. Serve the pasta topped with grated or shaved cheese, if you like.

CHAPTER

Fish

LECCARSI I BAFFI
.

LICK YOUR MOUSTACHE.

Said of particularly delicious food
.

Italians, with their long coastline, enjoy an abundant variety of seafood. In this chapter you’ll find a wide assortment, including tuna, clams, mussels, eels and
baccalà
, paired with all sorts of unusual ingredients like creamy avocado and even licorice.

{
Linguine cotte all’estratto di cavolo rosso
}

SERVES
2
*
|
REGION:
Lombardy and northern Italy

Pasta + Juicer = Dinner. In Italy today, many chefs—like the talented Andrea Aprea of Vun restaurant in Milan—are cooking pasta in vegetable extracts.

Here it’s red cabbage juice, which produces pasta with a glorious purple color and lovely vegetal flavor. It’s served with creamy
burrata
cheese for sweet richness, a touch of smoked fish for depth, pistachio nuts for crunch, and watercress for fresh brightness. It all makes a thrilling combination of vibrant colors, rich flavors, and varied textures.

1 small head red cabbage, about 2 pounds (905 g)

8 ounces (225 g) linguine or any long pasta, preferably Rummo brand

Salt

Olive oil

4 ounces (115 g)
burrata
, or substitute fresh mozzarella plus 3 tablespoons heavy cream

3 ounces (90 g) smoked trout or whitefish, flaked

¼ cup (35 g) toasted pistachio nuts

A few sprigs fresh watercress

*
If you’d like to serve four, double the ingredients and use two pans, because the sauce becomes velvety only when cooked in small batches
.

Using an electric juicer, juice enough of the cabbage to get 1 ½ cups (360 ml) of liquid. In a skillet wide enough to hold the pasta, bring 1 cup (240 ml) of the juice to a boil.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta in a pot of salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and add to the cabbage juice to finish cooking, occasionally adding more juice a little at a time so it absorbs into the pasta and creates a glaze. When the pasta is al dente, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons oil and toss over high heat for a few seconds until well combined.

Meanwhile, in a blender or small food processor, puree the cheese with a little oil until it is creamy.

Spread the cheese on the bottom of the serving plates, top with pasta, and garnish with the fish, pistachio nuts, and a few tiny watercress leaves.

TROUT & “SNAILS”

{
Lumache alla Schegginese
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION
:
Umbria

Trout, caramelized onions, and tomatoes season the snails here … snail-shaped pasta, that is! With its big openings at both ends,
lumache
pasta lets lots of sauce sneak in.

The trout flavors the sauce and then is flaked to top the pasta. Then, traditionally, the pasta is topped with grated black truffles, which, along with trout, are specialties of the tiny hill town of Scheggino, where this recipe originates.

Olive oil

1 onion, minced

1 trout, about 1 ¾ pounds (800 g), gutted but with head and tail left on

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine

1 (26-ounce/750-g) container strained tomatoes, preferably Pomi brand

1 cup vegetable or chicken broth

1 pound (455 g)
lumache
or any pasta

Black truffle, optional

In a large pan over medium-high heat, warm ¼ cup (60 ml) oil and cook the onion until it is soft, about 5 minutes. Season the trout inside and out with salt and pepper and add it to the pan, pushing the onion to the side. Sear the trout on each side, remove it from the pan, and set aside.

Add the wine to the onions and bring it to a low boil. Stir in the tomatoes, return the trout to the pan, cover, and simmer over very low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour, adding a little broth if needed. Remove the trout from the sauce. Flake the meat and reserve it to top the finished dish; discard the bones and skin.

Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss into the sauce with a little of the cooking liquid. Add in a few tablespoons of shaved truffles, if using. Serve the pasta topped with more shaved truffles and the flaked trout.

TAGLIATELLE WITH SMOKED TROUT & LICORICE

{
Tagliatelle al liquirizia con pesce affumicato
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Lombardy

Smoked trout, fresh fava beans, creamy burrata cheese, and licorice: It’s a startling list of ingredients that work in glorious, delicious harmony. The licorice leaves a fresh aftertaste, with a subtly piquant bite.

Sara Preceruti, at twenty-nine, is the youngest female chef in Italy to win a Michelin star, and she graciously taught me to make this dish. It has just the right balance of ingredients to complement the decisive intensity of the licorice. The result is an explosion of flavors with licorice as the final surprise.

The recipe calls for licorice pasta. You can buy it if it’s available or try the great trick Chef Preceruti showed me—substitute any type of pasta and top the finished dish with ground licorice hard candies or a drizzle of licorice liqueur.