6.3: Pasta Recipes

Creamed Orzo and Leeks

Makes 6 to 8 Servings

Orzo is shaped like a large grain of rice. Orzo can be served alone, as a soup accompaniment, as part of a salad, or baked in a casserole or tossed with vegetables and sauce.

Recipe

Ingredients:

• tablespoons butter
• 2 large leeks, cleaned and sliced thinly (both green and white parts)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup orzo
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt and white to taste
• Ground nutmeg to taste
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Procedure:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes.
2. In the meantime, melt the butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring until slightly wilted. Add the chicken stock and simmer until the stock almost disappears.
3. Drain the orzo and set aside.
4. Add the cream to the pan with the leeks and reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the orzo and stir gently to mix. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Just before serving, add the Parmesan and stir until it melts. Serve immediately.

Creamy One-Pot Spaghetti with Leeks

Makes 4 servings

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons minced green onions (scallions)
• 2 leeks, cleaned, trimmed and cut crosswise into ¼-inch slices
• 1 tablespoon minced shallots
• 1 anchovy fillet, mashed
• 1 pound thin spaghetti
• 3 3/4 cups chicken stock
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black paper to taste
• 2 tablespoons snipped chives
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Procedure:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, scallions, leeks, and shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are softened, about 6 minutes.
2. Add the anchovy, spaghetti, stock, cream, and the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, until the pasta is tender and a sauce forms.
3. Stir in the chives and 1 cup of the grated cheese, season with salt and pepper. Serve the pasta with extra cheese on the side.

Fettuccini Alfredo

Makes 4 Servings

Fettuccine Alfredo is a pasta dish made from fettuccine tossed with Parmesan cheese and butter. As the cheese melts, it emulsifies the liquids to form a smooth and rich coating on the pasta. It was named by an Italian restaurateur at his restaurant Alfredo on the Via della Scrofa in Rome in 1914.

Recipe

Ingredients:

• ounces fresh pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ounces heavy cream
• 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and white pepper

Procedure:

1. Boil the pasta, keeping it slightly undercooked. Refresh with cool water and drain. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
2. To make the sauce, combine the butter, cream and Parmesan in a skillet over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce the sauce slightly – it should thicken a bit.
3. Add the pasta to the pan and boil the sauce and pasta until the sauce is thick and the pasta is cooked. Adjust the seasonings and serve.

Greek Pasta Salad

Makes 8 Servings

Recipe

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt
• 1 pound farfalle
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano (get from the garden)
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1/3 cup pitted and chopped Kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onions
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta

Procedure:

1. Fill a large pot with water and generously salt the water. Bring to a boil, add the farfalle and cook until al dente, 12 – 15 minutes. Drain (reserving 1 cup of the pasta liquid) and transfer to a large serving bowl.
2. To make the dressing, whisk the olive oil, red wine vinegar, and oregano in a small bowl.
3. Add the tomatoes, olives and onions to the bowl of pasta. Add dressing and toss until evenly coated.
4. Season with salt and pepper and add dill, then top with feta.
5. COVER THE BOWL AND CHILL FOR 20 MINUTES BEFORE DOING A PRESENTATION PLATE.

Linguine with Onion, Bacon, and Parmesan

Makes 4 Servings

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips
• 2 onions, sliced thin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or fresh thyme from the garden)
• 1/8 teaspoon dried red-pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound linguine
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

Procedure:

1. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain.
2. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Put the pan over medium heat, add the onions, thyme, red-pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the linguine until just done, about 12 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain the linguine and toss with the bacon, onions, 3/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, the Parmesan, parsley, the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. If the sauce seems too thick, add more of the pasta water. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

Puttanesca Sauce

Makes 6 to 8 Servings

Spaghetti alla puttanesca (pronounced [spaˈɡetti alla puttaˈneska]; literally "spaghetti in the style of a whore" in Italian) is an Italian pasta dish invented in Naples in the mid-20th century. Its ingredients typically include tomatoes, olive oil, anchovies, olives, capers and garlic.

Prostitution has different connotations around the world, but there is only one place where it has inspired a sauce. That place is Italy and the stuff is puttanesca, which translates roughly to "lady of the night." Some sources call the sauce ‘Roman’ (The Oxford Companion to Italian Food), but it's more commonly associated with Naples, the country's third-largest city, the birthplace of pizza, and home of sirens so seductive that the only way to resist them is to ‘fill your ears with beeswax and be tied to the mast of a ship’. It is made by combining anchovies, capers, olives, and optional ingredients like garlic, red pepper flakes, chile peppers, and tomatoes into a truly tasty gravy.

Recipe

From Chef Amelie’s Stocks, Sauces & Soups class

Ingredients:

• tablespoons olive oil
• anchovy filets
• ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• cups of tomato sauce ***See note below
• 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
• 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Procedure:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium-size saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the anchovies, garlic and red pepper flakes, and stir until almost toasted DO NOT BURN
2. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce and simmer for 15 minutes or until sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
3. Add olives, capers, and parsley and simmer for 5 minutes longer.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste

Spaghetti alla Carbonara (Mario Batali)

Makes 6 servings

Recipe

Ingredients:

• tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ounces pancetta or bacon, cut into small dice
• ½ pound spaghetti (thin)
• 1 1/4 cups grated Pecorino Romano
• eggs
• Freshly ground black pepper

Procedures:

1. Bring 6 quarts of water to boil in a large pot, and add 2 tablespoons salt.
2. Meanwhile, combine the olive oil and pancetta or bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until the pancetta (or bacon) has rendered its fat and is crispy and golden.
3. Remove from the heat and set the pancetta aside (do not drain the fat from the skillet).
4. Cook the spaghetti in the boiling water until just al dente. Scoop out ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water and set aside. Drain the pasta.
5. Add the reserved pasta water to the pan with the pancetta, and then toss in the pasta and heat, shaking the pan, for 1 minute.
6. Remove from the heat, add 1 cup of the Parmigiano, the egg whites, and pepper to taste, and toss until thoroughly mixed.
7. Divide the pasta among four warmed serving bowls. Make a nest in the center of each one, and gently drop an egg yolk into each nest.
8. Season the egg yolks with more pepper and sprinkle the remaining ¼-cup Parmigiano over the top. Serve immediately.