Greetings Friends! It's the end of January, and the days are getting just a little longer now. This is the third in the series of newsletters related to my cookbook and cooking website. I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much I enjoyed putting it together for you.
Cooking Pasta:
Do's and Don'ts
Recently I was invited to a friend's house for a get-together. She wanted people to bring different dishes and the theme was Italian. She said she would make red sauce but also wanted pesto for her teen son who is crazy about it. I volunteered to bring some, because I had fresh basil in my garden.
When I arrived, everything was ready, other people had brought a great array of foods, and it all smelled delicious. She hadn't yet cooked the pasta; she was waiting for everyone to arrive. She had the water on already, in a humongous pot, on a burner that did not give out much heat -- for a couple pounds of pasta.
After 20 minutes everyone was there, but the pasta water was nowhere near boiling. I asked my friend if I could take over, and she agreed.
I transferred some of the simmering water from the large pot into a smaller one, put it on a larger burner, turned the heat on high and waited until it came to a rolling boil. I put in two pounds of pasta, stirred it right away, added some salt, and covered it until it came back to a rolling boil. I uncovered it as it was about to boil over, stirred it again, turned the heat down just a little, and let it cook uncovered at a fast boil, stirring frequently and tasting for tenderness.
Then we drained it, divided it onto two platters, and covered one with red sauce and the other with pesto. Needless to say, it went so fast that we had to cook more. Fortunately, we had sauces in abundance.
Here are the key points to cooking pasta
- any kind of pasta. -
- First, keep in mind this is not an exact science.
- Cooking pasta does not require as much water as many people think; about 3 to 4 quarts of water for a pound of pasta is more than sufficient. If you are cooking two pounds of pasta, don't double the
amount of water; rather, add half the amount (5 to 6 quarts).
- Do not put oil in the water. It does not prevent the pasta from
sticking -- this is a myth, and the oil causes the sauce to slide off the pasta.
- Don't add pasta until the water is at a rolling boil. Add the salt to the water along with the pasta. Stir immediately and frequently at first to prevent sticking.
- Bring it back to a rolling boil as soon as possible by keeping the pot covered and the heat on high, but don't let it boil over. When the boiling water starts to rise, uncover the pot and stir. Turn the heat to medium-high, then finish cooking to the desired doneness.
- Do drain the pasta immediately after it's done. The easier way is to use a colander. Using forks or other utensils also works, but does not drain as well and some water in the serving dish can make for a watery sauce.
I understand not everyone likes their pasta "al dente," but there is a point when it is done before it becomes MUSHY (and if you ever had pasta at a restaurant you'll know exactly what I mean).
For those who prefer their pasta cooked past al dente, be careful not
to overcook it; the taste will change.
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
5 garlic cloves
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lb.
spaghetti
Salt freshly grated pepper to taste
1/4
cup grated parmesan
Set a 5-quart pot of water on high heat to boil. Meanwhile, peel and mince the garlic. Place it in a small saucepan along with the oil and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes or until the garlic is barely gold. Add a little salt and pepper, turn off the heat, and set aside.
When the water comes to a rolling boil, put in the spaghetti and the salt, stir immediately, and cook according to the directions of the package or as preferred. Drain the pasta and transfer it to a serving bowl, pour the garlic and oil mixture over the top, stir and serve immediately with grated cheese.
This is a family favorite; it's quick, and garlic and olive oil are always on hand in an Italian household. On many occasions when we got home late and hungry, we made spaghetti aglio e olio and served it with cheeses and sausages.
Website News:
My recipe for ALBACORE in PUTTANESCA SAUCE was featured on the front of the recipe section at PacificAlbacore.com - it's best made with fresh or frozen albacore loins, but can also be made with solid-pack canned tuna. Spaghetti with puttanesca sauce - an anchovy sauce - is a holiday tradition with our family.
A similar recipe from Los Angeles Times food editor
Russ Parsons made the list of the Top Times Recipes of 2008.
Ask Claudia:
Dear Claudia, I was browsing fresh vegetables at the store and they were featuring Broccoli di Rape. What is it and how do I serve it?
Thanks, Kelly
Dear Kelly, Try this!
Love, Claudia
Sausages and Broccoli di Rape
4 Italian link sausages
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 heads of broccoli di rape
Red pepper flakes
One fresh Meyer lemon
Sea salt and black pepper
In a large skillet, cook sausages over medium heat till cooked, and well browned on all sides. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels, covered with a sheet of foil. Add the olive oil and garlic to the sausage fat in the skillet, and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes to blend the flavors. Meanwhile, cut off about an inch from the stalks of the broccoli di rape. Add the broccoli to the pan and toss it so it's coated evenly with the oil and garlic. Turn heat to medium and cook for about 4 minutes. Add a splash of water -- just enough to drizzle the greens -- and cover with a lid to steam for another 2-3 minutes. Arrange the warm sausages on a platter, pile the hot broccoli di rape next to them, sprinkle with red pepper flakes and a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Serve with salt and fresh-ground black pepper, and a small dish of fine-grated parmesan cheese.
Got questions? Email
them to me and I'll respond right away. If you have a food question, a kitchen problem, or even a recipe request, just let me know - you can always Ask the Italian Cook!
Broccoli di Rape:
Rapini, also known as Broccoli Rabe (or Raab), or Broccoletti, is a common vegetable in Chinese, Italian, and Portuguese cuisine. The plant is related to the turnip, with spiked leaves around a green bud that resembles a small head of broccoli. Its small yellow flowers are edible.
The flavor is somewhat nutty, and a little bitter. Broccoli di Rape contains vitamins A, C, and K, plus potassium, calcium, and iron.
Rapa is the singular version of Rape, which acquired the feminine gender in the Italian language. The plant has large, dark green, ragged-edged leaves and grows to about 12 to 15 inches tall.
They are called "broccoli di RAPE" (the correct Italian word -- not raab, and not rabe) because there are other vegetable plants that have broccoli - one that comes to mind is broccoli di cavolo.
The broccoli grow at the very base of the leaves' stems with smaller leaves than the rape and
a flower similar to the American broccoli, though the two are not in the same plant family. One rapa plant has a number of broccoli, depending on the size of the plant and the way the broccoli are picked.
This kind of broccoli has a thin stem that can be tough when left on the plant too long; they should be broken off before cooking. The head is small, and blooms into yellow flowers, depending on the age, and they are cooked whole, with leaves and stems. The taste has various descriptions from bitter to pungent to nutty to "an acquired taste." Nonetheless, it is one of Italians' favorites. One way to counteract the spicy taste is to add a few tablespoons of vinegar to the dressing or while they are being cooked (not when steamed or boiled).
We usually made them in one of two ways: we steamed them until they were tender, drained them and dressed them with garlic, olive oil, wine vinegar, salt and pepper -- or we steamed them and then sautéed them in a hot skillet with olive oil and garlic, just long enough for them to start getting crispy. I remember my grandmother also used them when she made polenta and pasta when they were in season.
When I was growing up, my grandparents planted a lot of rape seeds mixed in with fava beans and fodder to feed to the various animals. The mixture of the three was a healthy snack for the animals and gave the landscape visual appeal - at least when it all was upright! I remember Grandma being so mad sometimes when she came home from the fields. The broccoli looked so good to people who passed by that they loved to pick them, but they left long trails of knocked-down forage, which made a much harder job of cutting it for the animals.
One day Grandma saw this old woman in the middle of the field picking broccoli. She was livid! Her step became more hurried as she got closer and closer to the woman. Grandma, being a person who held nothing back, thought was going to feel so much better after she'd really let this old woman have it for trampling all over the field.
Surprise! It was her mother! when she told Great-Grandma Christina that she had hurried over there to give her a piece of her mind thinking she was some stranger they couldn't stop laughing. Needless to say, it became a big joke whenever Great-Grandma Christina came to visit.
