Pesto Genovese →

This recipe is adapted from Pesto World Championship finalist, 77-year-old Maurizio Valle. Valle’s specialty is “pesto genovese” which uses garden fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, good quality olive oil, a mixture of Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheeses, and coarse salt. One of the most famous and versatile Italian sauces worldwide, the word “pesto” comes from the Italian “pestare” meaning to crush. According to Saveur, the recipe for Pesto Genovese first appeared in Giovanni Battista Ratto’s “La Cuciniera Genovese” in 1863. This version of Valle’s recipe adds a bit of lemon zest and uses an easy two-step method that is less labor intensive than using a mortar and pestle to crush the ingredients with similar results. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Mangiare bene!

PESTO GENOVESE
Ingredients

• 3 cups of fresh basil leaves (smaller leaves preferred)

• 3 tablespoons of pine nuts

• 1 clove of garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon coarse Kosher or sea salt

• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

• a mixture of 4 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus ½ tablespoon Pecorino Romano

• 1/3 cup mildly flavored extra-virgin olive oil

• Optional: ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Preparation (you can do it the traditional way using a mortar and pestle and a lot of elbow grease, or use the two-step method below)

1. Place all the ingredients into a small food processor. Blend as finely as you can, pausing to scrape down the sides of the processor until you have a paste.

2. Scrape the paste into a Weck jar or other jar slightly wider than the immersion blender. (I use a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup.) Process using an immersion blender until you have a smooth emulsified paste.

3. Use three tablespoons of the pesto paste for every four ounces of dry pasta. Cook the pasta to al dente and drain reserving a small amount of the cooking water. Add the cooked pasta to the paste and mix well. The water from the pasta will loosen the paste to create your pesto sauce. If necessary, add a small amount of the reserved pasta cooking water to achieve the sauce consistency you prefer.

4. Garnish with shaved Parmesan or a sprinkle of toasted Panko bread crumbs.

Note: try walnuts in place of pine nuts

Shrimp Pesto

For Freezing: some people will blanch the basil leaves and immediately give them a cold water bath to preserve the bright green color of the leaves. If you take this extra step, dry the leaves well before processing them. Process the pesto as above. As a rule of thumb, use 3 tablespoons of pesto per 4 ounces of dry pasta; 3/4 cup (12 tbs.) of pesto will sauce about a pound of pasta. Measure and freeze the pesto in freezer containers topped off with a thin layer of olive oil to help prevent the basil from oxidizing and turning an unappetizing color. Alternatively, spoon the pesto into ice-cube trays, top with olive oil (optional), and freeze. Once frozen, the pesto-cubes can be stored in zip-lock plastic bags in your freezer for up to 6 months. For reference later, it's helpful to note how many tablespoons of pesto you use for one cube or each container.

Wine pairing:
White wines: Viognier, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Vermentino
Red wines: Rosé or a light-bodied red wine like a Beaujolais or Pinot Noir

Adapted from: https://food52.com/blog/25401-how-to-make-pesto

Lemon Pasta (Pasta al limone) →

Pasta al limone is another wonderful example of Italian cucina semplice (“simple cooking”). Like so many classic Italian dishes, it seems like every Italian chef and cook has their own version, but regardless of how you get there, the goal is a light pasta dressed with a creamy, lemony sauce. The lemony sauce for this delicious dish is achieved by the emulsion of starchy pasta water, butter, and pecorino romano cheese infused with finely grated lemon zest and lemon juice and it only takes about 15 minutes to prepare! Prepare to fall in love with this simple Italian classic recipe. Serve it as a light starter for a larger meal or add a piece of grilled chicken or some spicy shrimp and a green salad for a tasty, quick, and easy weeknight meal. Sit back, close your eyes and imagine you’re with a special friend in a small bistro on the Italian Amalfi coast. Buon appetito!

Lemon Pasta (Pasta al limone)
Serves 4  

INGREDIENTS
·  8 ounces linguini
·  2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
·  1 red chili or 1 Calabrian chili thinly sliced or ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
·  3 tablespoons olive oil
·  3 tablespoons butter
·  1 cup pasta water
·  1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
·  3 tablespoons grated lemon zest (about 1 good size lemon) + 2 tablespoons for garnish
·  1/3 cup pecorino romano
·  ¼ cup parmesan for garnish
·  salt and pepper
·  1/3 cup fresh parsley (you can also use mint or fresh basil)

PREPARATION
1.  Cook the pasta for half the time in the directions; use less water than you normally would so the pasta water is more starchy than usual.
2.  Over medium heat, sauté the garlic and red pepper in the olive oil for a minute or two until fragrant. (don't burn!)
3.  Add the lemon zest and swirl around to incorporate the zest into the garlic-olive oil.
4.  Immediately add the half-cooked pasta to the saucepan and stir to combine; reserve the pasta water.
5.  Add 1/3 cup pasta cooking water and the lemon juice; stir and bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium.
6.  Add the parsley and stir to incorporate.
7.  Cook the pasta for the remaining recommended time until it is al dente and the starchy water has mostly evaporated and is creamy (like risotto); add an additional small amount of pasta water if the pasta is too dry.
8.  Add 3 tablespoons of butter and stir to melt and combine into the sauce.
9.  If the sauce isn’t loose enough, add an additional small amount of pasta water to bring the sauce to the creamy consistency you want. Keep stirring.
10. Remove the pan from the heat and, while stirring, sprinkle on 1/3 cup freshly grated pecorino romano, continuing to stir until the pecorino melts and the sauce is creamy.
11.  Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
12.  Garnish with lemon zest and parmesan

Wine pairing: Chablis, Albariño, Verdicchio, Pinot Grigio, a soft, Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc, or even a fresh Vinho Verde. In Italy a light red Valpolicella is often the wine of choice with pasta al limone.

Adapted from Gennaro Contaldo’s tribute to his longtime friend Antonio Carluccio:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwDJi_PB-wY 

Creamy Artichoke Pasta with Lemon and Capers →

Cooking and eating are so often connected to memories. Memories of our families, places we’ve been, good friends, good times… When I cook this dish I’m reminded of Lafayette, southern Louisiana, where I was introduced to Cajun/Creole cooking. Served with spicy Cajun shrimp, this dish is a delicious example of the fusion of French, Italian, African, and Spanish traditions that are reflected in Creole and Cajun food. Eating a plate of this pasta and shrimp, I can almost hear my grandmother’s laugh and Zydeco music off in the distance. Bon appetit et laissez le bon temps rouler!

Creamy Artichoke Pasta with Lemon and Capers
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound thin linguine, fettuccine, or rotini

• 1 cup ricotta

• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• ½ cup freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan

• Zest and juice from ½ lemon

• ¼ cup dry white wine

• 1 clove garlic minced

• 1 tablespoon capers

• 4 canned or frozen (not marinated) artichokes halved

• Kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

Garnish with freshly snipped or torn basil
Optional: serve with Spicy Cajun Shrimp

Preparation:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

1. While you prepare the sauce, cook your pasta and reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining the pasta.

2. While the pasta cooks, combine the ricotta, oil, pecorino, lemon juice, and zest in a medium bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Set aside.

3. Over medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet and briefly sauté the garlic and capers stirring constantly, about a minute, don’t let the garlic burn.

4. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes, the artichokes, and the ¼ cup of wine; bring to a boil stirring until the wine has almost evaporated.

5. Reduce the heat to low and add the ricotta mixture and stir. Add a ¼ cup of reserved pasta water if the sauce is too thick and not creamy smooth. Keep adding a ¼ cup of pasta water at a time, stirring constantly until the sauce is creamy and the consistency you want. Check for salt and pepper to your taste.

6. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir gently to coat.

7. Sprinkle with grated pecorino or parmesan and garnish with basil, and more freshly ground black pepper.

Optional: serve as above garnished with 3-4 Spicy Cajun Shrimp.

Adapted from: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a26830130/ricotta-pasta-recipe

Spaghetti and Meatballs →

Every family has their own favorite tomato sauce for pasta. My family recipe came from my grandmother’s long time neighbor Mrs. Andreoli from Abruzzo, Italy and like many family recipes, it was never written down; my grandmother taught me to make it when I was young. Over the years, I’ve tinkered with it, trying recipes from Lydia Bastianich to Marcella Hazan and others to “perfect” what I remember from my childhood. This recipe includes chopped pancetta, which is used in Amatriciana style tomato sauce, but otherwise it is true to Mrs. Andreoli’s recipe. I prefer to use “spaghetti rigati” which has ridges that hold the sauce, but use any substantial pasta of your choice. This recipe takes some time and should be a labor of love. Left-over sauce and meatballs will keep in the fridge for a few days, or can be frozen for up to 3 months in the freezer. Buon appetito!

Photo: c. foodblogchef 2019 - Spaghetti and Meatballs

Serves 6-8

For the sauce:

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

• 4 oz. thinly sliced chopped pancetta

• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

• 1 good-sized onion (about 3/4 cup minced onion)

• 3 Tbs. tomato paste

• 7 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 sprigs fresh basil

• 2 28-oz. can peeled San Marzano tomatoes with juices, broken up and crushed

• 1 cup dry red wine

• Kosher salt

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add pancetta and sauté until crisp and golden, about 4 minutes.

2. Add pepper flakes and black pepper; stir for 10 seconds.

3. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring often, until soft, about 8 minutes.

4. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine with the onion and garlic; cook for a minute or two.

5. Add tomatoes, basil, and wine; reduce heat to low, and cook for an hour, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens and the flavors meld.

6. Remove the sprigs of Basil

7. Reserve a cup of sauce to dress the pasta after you drain it.

(Note: if your sauce is too acid, add a couple of teaspoons of sugar to taste. If you don’t want to add sugar, you can mince up a small carrot and ½ stalk of minced celery and add it while sauteing the onion and garlic.)

For the meatballs:

Yield: about 24 small meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 cup roughly torn day-old Italian or another hearty country-style white bread, crusts removed

• 1 cup whole milk

• 8 ounces ground beef

• 8 ounces ground pork

• 8 ounces ground veal (Alternatively, omit the veal and use 1 ½ lb. of mixed beef and pork)

• 2 large eggs, beaten to blend

• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan, divided

• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley, divided

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (Alternatively, use 1 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp. dried/ground rosemary)

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seeds

• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1/4 cup olive oil

Preparation:

1. Place bread in a medium bowl, add milk, and let rest until moistened, about 5 minutes. Squeeze bread with your hands to remove excess milk, discarding milk. Tear bread into smaller, pea-size pieces and return to the medium bowl.

2. Combine beef, pork, veal, eggs, garlic, 1 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup parsley, 1 tsp. salt, oregano, pepper, fennel, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Using your hands, gently mix in bread until ingredients are evenly distributed (do not over mix or the meatballs will be tough).

3. Fill a small bowl with cool water. Moisten your hands and roll meat mixture between palms into golf-ball-sized balls, occasionally moistening hands as needed.

4. Working in batches, add 1-2 Tbs. olive oil to a skillet over medium heat and brown the meatballs adding more oil as necessary between batches. Add the browned meatballs to the simmering sauce as you brown them.

5. After all the meatballs have been added to the sauce, add a cup of sauce to the skillet and deglaze it scraping up the caramelized pieces of meat left in the skillet; add to your pot of sauce and meatballs.

6. Simmer meatballs in the sauce for at least 30 minutes or preferably an hour more.

Cook the Spaghetti and Serve:

• Cook spaghetti (1 lb. box for 4 people) in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente.

• Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid, and return pasta to pot over medium-low heat.

• Spoon reserved 1- 1 1/2 cups sauce over pasta and toss to coat. Add pasta cooking liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, as needed to loosen sauce and coat pasta.

• Divide pasta among plates and top with remaining sauce and meatballs.

• Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and 1/4 cup chopped parsley or fresh basil.

*Note: you can make the sauce a day ahead and refrigerate overnight. Bring to a simmer while you assemble and brown the meatballs.

For a good primer on the differences between styles of Italian tomato sauces, I recommend Lidia’s Italian Table by Lidia Bastianich, William Morrow,and Company, 1998.