Authors: Gabriele Corcos
Extra Virgin (10 page)
Kosher salt
1 pound thick spaghetti
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and add the spaghetti. Use a wooden fork to stir the pasta so it won’t stick together. Cook the pasta until al dente and drain.
Meanwhile, in a large serving bowl, mix together the olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
Add the drained pasta to the bowl and toss evenly to coat with the oil. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Add more red pepper flakes if your palate calls for it.
IMPORTANTE!
If raw garlic isn’t to your liking, sauté it and the red pepper flakes in the olive oil in a large pan over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cooked, drained pasta and continue cooking for a few minutes more over a high flame. Also, as much as you may want to, don’t add Parmigiano-Reggiano. This pasta is about oil and heat, not cheese!
“FAKE” SAUCE
SUGO FINTO
SERVES 4–6
Finto means fake, so this is a “fake” sauce: It originated with farmers who wanted the body and heartiness of a regular red sauce but couldn’t afford the meat. The chunks of onion, carrot, and celery provide the meatlike texture, while the use of red wine gives it added color and depth. Of course, for all you vegetarians, lack of meat may make this more “real” for you than “fake”!
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ red onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
¹⁄³ cup red wine
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes (pelati)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, plus more for garnish
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for serving
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onions are soft and golden, just before caramelization.
Add the red wine and stir well. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the pungent smell of alcohol is gone.
Add the tomatoes and break them down roughly with a wooden spoon. Add the 1 tablespoon parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir well and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes until the sauce thickens and the flavors blend.
Toss with 1 pound of just-cooked pasta and serve garnished with more parsley and grated Parmesan.
PASTA ALLA NORMA “NUDA”
SERVES 4–6
D:
The Norma is a traditional Sicilian pasta dish—named for the Bellini opera—that typically combines fried eggplant and ricotta. We removed the frying oil and cheese to make it a healthier, lighter-tasting, and “nuda” (naked) alternative that we think you’ll love. Grilling the eggplant helps retain its density of character, too, and in summer Gabriele might go so far as to make the soffritto on the grill, using a heavy-bottomed pan.
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
½ small red onion, diced
Pinch of hot red pepper flakes
1 (15-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes (pelati), crushed by hand
Freshly ground black pepper
1 medium eggplant, sliced into thin rounds
1 fresh bay leaf
1 pound rigatoni or fusilli
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish (optional)
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for serving (optional)
Preheat the grill. In an 8- to 12-quart pot, bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft but before it starts to brown. Add the red pepper flakes and cook less than a minute, until they are fragrant but not burnt.
Add the tomatoes, season with salt and black pepper to taste, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes. The sauce should be fluid but not wet and liquidy.
Meanwhile, season the eggplant with salt and pepper. Place on the grill, drizzle with olive oil, and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, until cooked through. Remove from the heat to a large plate or baking sheet and allow to cool slightly.
Slice the eggplant into ½-inch-wide strips. Add the eggplant and bay leaf to the sauce and continue simmering for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and use a wooden fork to stir the pasta so it won’t stick together. Cook until al dente. Drain, add the pasta to the sauce, and toss well. Remove the bay leaf before serving. If desired, garnish with basil and top with Parmesan to taste.
SPAGHETTI PUTTANESCA
SERVES 4
G:
The history of this salty, flavor-packed pasta often refers to its ladies-of-the-night origins, whereby crafty brothels would make this fragrant concoction to lure in customers. I prefer to think of it as the carbo-loading pick-me-up the women might have needed. One of the early energy foods, perhaps?
1 pound tomatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
2 garlic cloves, sliced
4 anchovy fillets
Pinch of hot red pepper flakes
2 ounces Gaeta or Ponentine black olives, pitted and sliced
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and chopped
1 pound spaghetti
Finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, for garnish
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Submerge the tomatoes in the boiling water for 1 minute, then remove and peel them. Slice the tomatoes in half, remove the seeds, and cut into small cubes.
In an 8- to 12-quart pot, bring 6 quarts of salted water to a rolling boil for the pasta.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the garlic, anchovies, red pepper flakes, olives, and capers and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, so the flavors can meld. Use a wooden spoon to break up the anchovies. Add the tomatoes and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, being mindful that anchovies and capers play a big role in flavoring your puttanesca.
Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and use a wooden fork to stir the pasta so it won’t stick together. Cook until al dente. Drain and add to the skillet. Toss well over medium-high heat for up to 2 minutes.
Serve with a sprinkle of parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.
PESTO
SERVES 6
(ENOUGH FOR 1 POUND OF PASTA)
There are few culinary pleasures in life as fragrantly intoxicating as freshly made pesto, the Genovese-originated mixture of basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, and cheese that—when made well—tastes even better than the promise of its sweet, nutty aroma. Though we’re like any busy, money-minded family and make ours in a food processor, we suggest trying it at least once by combining the ingredients in a mortar and pestle. Pesto comes from the Italian word pestare—to stomp—and when you grind everything by hand, you’re squeezing out and blending oils and flavors in a way that produces something even more wonderfully rustic, aromatic, and possibly more delicious. As for pasta pairings, we suggest something with grooves that can trap the pesto, like fusilli or penne rigate. Also try it in
Pesto Lasagne
for a lighter version of the classic.
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cups fresh basil leaves (about 4 ounces)
¹⁄³ cup pine nuts, toasted
3 garlic cloves
½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
¼ cup freshly grated Pecorino Sardo or Romano cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Using a mortar and pestle or in a food processor, combine the olive oil, basil, pine nuts, and garlic and blend until a paste forms. Add the Parmesan and Pecorino cheeses, and pulse until smooth.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Be mindful that Pecorino and Parmesan are salty cheeses.
IMPORTANTE!
When storing pesto in the refrigerator, add an extra layer of olive oil—that will help preserve its freshness and keep the color from turning to dark green too quickly. You can also freeze it.
