----- Original Message -----
From: "The Splendid Table" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 3:15 AM
Subject: Weeknight Kitchen: Spaghettini with Garlic, Parsley & Olive Oil
The Splendid Table: Weeknight Kitchen: Spaghettini with Garlic, Parsley &
Olive Oil
Printable version:
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September 8, 2010
Dear Friends,
Dear Friends,
Before tomato sauce and pasta (which was first recorded in 1827), there
was this ultra simple way with pasta in Italy. Alice Waters featured it in
the Slow Food Nation celebration as part of the Green Kitchen Project.
Spaghettini with Garlic, Parsley & Olive Oil
Reprinted with permission from In the Green Kitchen: Techniques to Learn
by Heart by Alice Waters (ClarksonPotter/Publishers, an imprint of the
Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., 2010). Copyright
© 2010 by Alice Waters.
Recipe by Lidia Bastianich
2 servings
This dish of Lidia's is what I make for supper when I return home tired
and hungry after traveling. I like it very plain, with lots of parsley,
but you could spice it up by adding a pinch of dried chile flakes or
chopped anchovy, and serving it with grated cheese.
* Salt
* 1/3 pound spaghettini
* 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
* 8 to 10 branches Italian parsley, stems removed, leaves chopped
1. Bring a generous pot of salted water to a boil over high heat, and stir
in the spaghettini. Stir frequently and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until
tender but still firm.
2. Meanwhile, put the olive oil and garlic in a saucepan and heat gently
until the garlic begins to sizzle and release its fragrance; take care
that it does not brown or burn. Add the parsley to the pan along with 1/2
cup of the pasta water.
3. When the pasta is cooked, use a skimmer to lift it out of the water and
directly into the pan, or drain it, reserving some of the water, and then
add to the pan. Toss the pasta and let it simmer briefly in the sauce to
finish cooking and absorb the flavors; add more pasta water if needed to
keep the pasta loose and saucy. Taste the pasta for salt, and add more if
needed. Serve immediately in warm bowls.
LYNNE'S TIPS
In a simple recipe like this one, the ingredients are everything. Buy the
best imported pasta you can (brands like Rustichella, Latini, Setaro,
Spinosi and, at more reasonable prices, De Cecco, Del Verde, Geraldo &
Nola and Molisana), good olive oil (Moustere Grove from New Zealand, De
Verde from Sicily, and the Tuscan Laudemio oils are all excellent but
pricey). There is the option of Spectrum's Spanish blend oil which is
pretty good. And you'll want nice plump cloves of garlic; at this time of
year they're fresh and very fine.
When a recipe calls for a “generous pot of salted water,” think a 6-quart
pot for a pound or less of pasta. To prevent sticking, you want plenty of
room for the pasta to move about in the briskly boiling water. The water
should be salted so it tastes like the sea, and don't bother with olive
oil in the water. Pasta sticks when it's cooked in too little water.
Always set aside some pasta cooking water to thin out a sauce if needed.
As a reminder, set a one cup size measuring cup in your colander to scoop
out the water just before draining the pasta in the colander. Stir into
the pan as you warm up the sauté. The starch and salt thicken and season
simple sautés like this one.
THOUGHTS FROM LYNNE
When it comes to southern desserts, cookbook author and cooking teacher
Nancie McDermott knows the genre as well as anyone. Her new book, Southern
Pies, follows Southern Cakes (both are worth cooking your way through into
the holidays) with another collection of regional heirloom recipes that
will take you right back to grandma's kitchen table. Here is her recipe
for Green Tomato Pie, a sweet spin on the abundance of unripened tomatoes
from the late summer garden.
Green Tomato Pie
Reprinted with permission from Southern Pies: A Gracious Plenty of Pie
Recipes, from Lemon Chess to Chocolate Pecan by Nancie McDermott
(Chronicle Books, 2010). Copyright © 2010 by Nancie McDermott.
Makes one 9-inch pie
Hard, unripe green tomatoes may seem an unlikely ingredient for a sweet
Southern pie, but once you've tasted this treat, you'll understand why it
has so many fans. Popular as a pie ingredient around the country, green
tomatoes have a particular following in the South. From mid-August through
the first frost, gardens start slowing down, and the bounty of green
tomatoes tempts cooks to fry them up as a vegetable, can them as a tangy
component of mincemeat, and slice and bake them in pies like this one.
Not only are they treated like apples in pies, they are sometimes paired
with apples as a pie filling – the two textures complementing each other
nicely.
To prepare the tomatoes, cut out their cores, and then slice each one very
thinly crosswise. You can use vinegar in place of the lemon juice, with
apple cider vinegar as first choice. Any kind except balsamic will do the
job of bringing up the tangy contrast between the tomatoes and the sweet
seasonings in this pie. Vanilla ice cream makes a perfect partner for this
late-summer-into-fall pie.
* Pastry for a 9-inch double-crust pie (store bought or your favorite
recipe)
* 1-1/2 cups sugar
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 4 cups very thinly sliced green tomatoes (about 3-1/2 pounds; see
headnote)
* 2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small chunks
* 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice or 1 tablespoon vinegar
Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a 9-inch pie pan with half of the
crust, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang.
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Use a fork or a whisk to stir everything together well. Add the thinly
sliced green tomatoes and toss gently to season them evenly and well.
Transfer the seasoned tomatoes to the piecrust, and arrange them so that
they are mounded up a little in the center. Scatter the small butter
pieces over the top of the filling, and then sprinkle on the lemon juice.
Roll the remaining crust into a 10-inch circle. Place the top crust over
the tomatoes, pressing it down gently to touch the top of the tomato
filling. Trim away the extra pastry around the edges, and press the top
and bottom edges together firmly. Fold up the bottom edge and crimp it, or
press down on the edge with the back of a fork, sealing and decorating the
pie. Cut about 8 slits around the top of the crust, so that steam can
escape during baking.
Place the pie on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce
the heat to 350 degrees F and bake until the pie is bubbling with sweet
juices and a handsome golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes more.
Place the pie on a cooling rack or a folded kitchen towel and let cool for
at least 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Have a great week,
Lynne
Copyright 2010, Lynne Rossetto Kasper.
All Rights Reserved
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