Having tried Jamie Oliver’s baked pasta, last week (a lovely simple chez-piggy-in-a-casserole-dish sort of fare), we decided to try David Rocco’s this week. David Rocco’s baked pasta is more guy-food: tomatoes, tonnes of cheese (including smoked mozzarella or scamorza if you can find it), sun-dried tomatoes, more tomatoes, olives, crushed red peppers, and eggplant make it a hearty stick-to-your ribs sort of meal (so it’s not surprising that it would be Dan’s top choice after a day of running errands and biking):

PASTA AL FORNO

Baked Pasta Part 2 (with salad(s)), originally uploaded by CaitKP.

Ingredients

1 lb rigatoni pasta (450g) (we actually used whole wheat penne rigatoni — which worked pretty well)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (60ml)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large eggplant, cubed
15 infornate olives, pitted and chopped (I used black semi-dried)
10 large sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 dried chili pepper, crushed (optional, but strongly recommended)
1 jar of tomato puree (750ml)
0.8lb freshly grated mozzarella (400g)
smoked scamorza cheese, as much as desired, roughly chopped (we couldn’t find this, so instead used 1/2 lb plain mozzarella (grated) and 1/2 lb smoked mozzarella (chopped into chunks) which worked quite well),
freshly grated parmigiano cheese for sprinkling
salt to taste

To start your Pasta al Forno:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

While the rigatoni cooks in salted boiling water, prepare the sauce. In a saucepan heat up olive oil and sautí garlic, eggplant, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and chili peppers for a few minutes. Add tomato puree and salt. Let cook for approximately 10 minutes on medium heat.

Lightly oil a large (8×12″) baking dish, set aside. Drain rigatoni, and mix with sauce in a large bowl. Add the mozzarella and smoked scamorza (or smoked mozzarella)–the cheese will start to melt as soon as you add it, so you have to be a bit quick here–mix just long enough to get the cheese well-distributed throughout the mix (30 sec. tops, otherwise all the cheese will melt and end up in one large blob on your spoon). Now pour the whole mixture into the baking dish, sprinkle with parmesean, and pop it in the oven.

Alternatively, you can do the layering thing: drain the pasta, add to the saucepan with the sauce, sprinkle with some parmigiano and cook for another 30 seconds. Place half the rigatoni in a baking dish, adding a layer of half of the mozzarella, half of the scamorza and another sprinkle of parmigiano cheese over the pasta.Add the remaining rigatoni, and follow with a final layer of all the cheeses.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Per 4 persone (again: 4 ravenously hunrgy young males–this is a lot of pasta).

For my money, there’s nothing more theraputic than tomato-based pasta sauces. Plop the whole lot in a baking dish with alternating layers of basil, freshly grated parmesean and gorgeous, salty fresh mozzarella and chuck it in the oven, and you’ve got all the requirements of theraputic food: richness (parmesian), gooeyness (mozz), a hint of spice (crushed red chiles in the tomatoes) etc. As far as I can tell, and Jamie Oliver’s explanation seems to agree, this is the Italian version of mac ‘n cheese, which is about as comfort-food-ish as you can get. It also makes a refreshing lunch when eaten cold.

Its really dead simple to make (we wussed out and did not put equal parts mozz and pasta into the mix, instead we used one large ball of fresh mozz, about 1/2 lb. the dish could probably do with a little more, but was certainly not bad with only this much). I couldn’t find the orecchiette either (next time I see it, I’m just going to buy it, because it is never there when I am looking specifically for it), I used large-ish bow ties instead, and they worked quite well. I think the real key is the quality of the pasta, rather than the shape…although noodles might be weird.

baked pasta with tomatoes and mozzarella (pasta al forno con pomodori e mozzarella)

Baked Pasta Part 1, originally uploaded by CaitKP.

Servings: Jamie claims it feeds 4. By 4 he means 4 ravenously hungry 21 yr old males. So far it has served us for 2 dinners, and 4 lunches, and probably has about 2 more servings left to go.

Ingredients:
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 white onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 or 2 dried red chillies, crumbled
• 1.5kg ripe tomatoes or 3 x 400g tins of good-quality plum tomatoes (due to the fact that it is June and we don’t live in Italy, we used canned)
• a large handful of fresh basil leaves
• optional: 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 400g dried orecchiette
• 4 big handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 x 150g balls of mozzarella

Preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6 and put a large pot of salted water on to boil. To an appropriately sized pan add a couple of lugs of good extra virgin olive oil, your onion, garlic and chilli and slowly fry for about 10 minutes on a medium to low heat until softened but without any colour. If you’re using fresh tomatoes, remove the core with the tip of a small knife, plunge them into the boiling water for about 40 seconds until their skin starts to come away, then remove with a slotted spoon or sieve and remove the pan from the heat.

Put the tomatoes into a bowl and run cold water over them, then slide the skins off, squeeze out the pips and roughly chop. Add your fresh or tinned tomatoes to the onion and garlic, with a small glass of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 20 minutes. Now put them through a food processor or liquidizer to make a loose sauce. Tear your basil leaves into the sauce and correct the seasoning with salt, pepper and a little swig of red wine vinegar.

When the liquidized sauce tastes perfect, bring the water back to the boil. Add the orecchiette to the water and cook according to the packet instructions, then drain and toss with half of the tomato sauce and a handful of Parmesan. Get yourself an appropriately sized baking tray, pan or earthenware dish and rub it with a little olive oil. Layer a little pasta in the tray, followed by some tomato sauce, a handful of grated Parmesan and 1 sliced-up mozzarella ball, then repeat these layers until you’ve used all the ingredients, ending with a good layer of cheese on top. Pop it into the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden, crisp and bubbling.

Pics to come.

Chez Piggy Pasta

This dish came originally from Chez Piggy (hence the name), an upscale restaurant in Kingston, Ontario. The pasta itself is very low key though, and has evolved over time to be considerably different from the original recipe. It was the first thing I ever cooked and it remains one of my favorite go-to dishes of all time.

Ingredients:

1/4 c Balsamic vinegar
1/4 c Red wine vinegar
1/3 c Extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1.5 pints of grape tomatoes
a large handful of torn basil (1-2 cups)
1 lb penne rigate
fresh bocconcini
Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Rinse the tomatoes and cut any especially large ones in half (try to avoid cutting them *all* in half though). Place the tomatoes in a deep frying pan, large enough so that the tomatoes are more or less in a single layer.

2. Add the balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, olive oil and garlic to the pan, and heat over medium-low heat. You can play around with the vinegar to olive oil ratio depending on how punchy you like your pasta. I like mine pretty intense, so I tend to go heavy on the vinegar, and cut back a bit on the oil. The key is to make sure that there will be enough liquid to coat the pasta.

3. While the tomatoes and garlic are cooking on a low simmer, put a large pot of water up to boil. Once it’s boiling add some salt and the penne. The penne will be ready when it is aldente, and the tomatoes will be ready when the skins are just beginning to split (be sure not to overcook them or they will liquefy and leave you with a tomato sauce, rather than cooked tomatoes). Usually, the pasta and the tomatoes finish around the same time, but if the tomatoes finish first, you can just turn the heat to low, and cover them until the pasta is finished.

4. Combine the drained pasta with the tomatoey-vinegary sauce, and mix in the basil. Stir to combine.

5. Serve and garnish with grated Parmesan fresh ground pepper and sliced bocconcini (you can add the bocconcini prior to serving, but it will start to melt and get very very stringy, making serving a messy business).

Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of this recipe–it packs an incredible flavour punch for so few ingredients. It also needs a good strong wine. I tend to have it with Shiraz (Trader Joe’s Purple Moon), a Sangiovese or a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (Farnese makes a great bottle of both).

On the other hand, if you’re looking for a heartier meal, with perhaps a little less vinegar, there’s always this option:

Ratatouille Pasta

Every time I make this dish it evokes some deep childhood taste-memory of eggplant and zucchini cooked in tomato sauce. I have not yet figured out where this memory came from–maybe homemade vegetable lasagna?

Anyways, this one if from the Food and Wine herbs and spices bible:

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, cut into thin slices
1 green or red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice (or both)
1 small eggplant (about 1/2 pound), cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 zucchini (about 1/2 pound), cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 2/3 cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (one 15-ounce can)
2 teaspoons wine vinegar
3/4 pound linguine
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons thin-sliced basil leaves
I like to add a pinch of red pepper flakes too, just to “kick it up a notch”

Directions

1. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the eggplant, zucchini, garlic, salt, and black pepper (and red pepper flakes). Reduce the heat to moderately low and cook, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the tomatoes and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar.

3. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the linguine until just done, about 12 minutes. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta-cooking water. Drain the pasta and toss with the vegetables, the 1/2 cup basil, and, if the pasta seems too dry, some of the reserved pasta-cooking water. Serve topped with the 2 tablespoons basil.

This one doesn’t need as punchy a wine. F&W recommends a chardonnay, but being a red-wine person myself, I find something light like a tempranillo goes nicely.

So there you have it. Two simple yet tasty things you can do with tomatoes and basil (and vinegar). Enjoy!

For a long time, I was ambivalent about Italian food, it was either too rich or too meaty. The dish that turned me around (which I shall blog about next time I make it), was neither of these extremes, instead it was bright, flavorful and satisfying, without being heavy, or too rich–and it was *simple*. And therein lies the key to *real* Italian cooking: fresh ingredients and simple recipes. Almost always, with Italian food, less is more, and you will find that the dishes that taste the best are also the easiest to make. BTW, this is not news, Jamie, Nigel, and David Rocco have been trying to educate the world on this one for a while.

Today, because it’s late March and not a whole lot is *fresh* at the moment, we’ll talk about the simple seasonings part. The more Italian you cook, the more trend you begin to see in seasonings. For example, there’s often a salty component (anchovies, pancetta, proscuitto etc.), vinegary flavors are common too (balsamic, red wine vinegar, red wine, etc.), and there’s almost always an herb and a good cheese. Once you begin to see the patterns, you can start creating them yourself (which is the best part of Italian cooking: there are no “chemistry” rules to follow).

Drunken Spaghetti

This one came from David Rocco’s website. There’s also an excellent video on the web of him making it for friends.

1 lb. spaghetti (454 g)
3 to 4 anchovy fillets, chopped (I used ~1 tsp anchovy paste)
2 cups of red wine (474ml) (I used an Italian valpolicella)
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese (125 ml)
Small bunch of Italian parsley, finely chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (60ml)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 dried chili peppers, crushed (optional)
Salt to season

Method:

1.Bring salted water to boil in a large pot. Add spaghetti and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, pasta should still be a little firm in the middle (just before pasta is al dente).
2.In a saucepan, heat extra virgin olive oil. Add garlic, anchovy fillets and chili peppers and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.
3.Add spaghetti to the pan and toss well.
4.Pour in red wine and cook until it has reduced and spaghetti has finished cooking.
5.Add freshly chopped parsley and grated pecorino cheese to pasta and toss well.
6.Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Spinach, Tarragon, and Feta Fritatta

A fritatta is Italy’s version of the quiche. To me, it’s the perfect combo of quiche and omlette (eggier than the quiche, not as eggy as an omlette). It is also a flexible dish, meaning once you have the process down pat, it will take just about any veggies/cooked meats that happen to be idling in your fridge. This recipe comes from food and wine mag.

Ingredients

1. 2 tablespoons butter
2. 2 scallions including green tops, cut into thin slices
3. 10 ounces spinach, stems removed, leaves washed and cut into thin strips
4. 1 1/2 teaspoons dried tarragon, or 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
5. 1/4 teaspoon salt
6. 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
7. 8 large eggs
8. 1 tablespoon olive oil
9. 3 ounces feta, crumbled (about 1/3 cup)

Directions

1. In a 12-inch ovenproof nonstick frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over moderate heat. Add the scallions and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the spinach, dried tarragon, if using, and 1/8 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Remove the spinach mixture and let cool. Wipe out the pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Stir in the spinach mixture and fresh tarragon, if using.
3. Heat the broiler. In the same frying pan, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter with the oil over moderate heat. Pour in the egg mixture and reduce the heat to low. Sprinkle the feta over the top and cook until the bottom is golden brown and the top is almost set, 6 to 7 minutes. Broil the frittata 6 inches from the heat, if possible, until the eggs are set, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Lift up the edge of the frittata with a spatula and slide the frittata onto a plate (I usually put in in a pie pan, for easy storage purposes). Cut into wedges and serve.

Dead-Easy White Artichoke Pizza

This one was all me =) I was craving artichoke pizza, and so decided to experiment a little, with great success.

Ingredients:

1. A jar of preserved artichokes (buy the nice ones in a jar, rather than a can, because you can use the oil they’re preserved in to coat the pizza dought)
2. 1/2 a red onion, sliced
3. 3/4 cup fontina cheese grated
4. 1/2 cup gruyere cheese grated
5. a few sprigs fresh thyme
6. thinly sliced eggplant (you want to slice it pretty thinly so that it will cook through when you cook the pizza)
7. One bag-o-premade-pizza dough (I usually get mine at Trader Joe’s)
8. flour

Method:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchement paper, and preheat the oven to 450 C.
2. Let the pizza dough come to room temp. (it will be easier to shape it this way) then, on a well floured cutting board/counter, stretch/roll the dough to the desired size. Mine never ends up perfectly round or square, it doesn’t really matter, as long as its of a fairly even thickness all around.
3. Brush the dough with the oil from the artichokes (or, if you’d rather, olive oil).
4. decorate the pizza with the artichokes, onion slices, and eggplant. This step is open to interpretation: you can be as liberal as you’d like with any of the toppings, or add some of your own, but note that an overdressed pizza will require a fork and knife to eat.
5. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the pizza. I chose fontina for texture (it melts to a nice gooey stringy pizza cheese) and gruyere for flavour. Again, experimentation is encouraged =)
6. Sprinke the pizza with the thyme. I added a couple full sprigs (stem and all) for garnish, and then the leaves (no stems) from about 3 sprigs, for further flavour.
7. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the bottom of the pizza is golden.
8. Let cool for 5-10 min, cut, and serve.

If you have a pizza stone hanging about, feel free to use it, but I have found that a hot oven and well-rolled out dough works fine.