Everyday Pasta (17 page)

Despite their many colorful names, all stuffed pastas are essentially made from the same dough, with the shape, size, and the amount of filling varying with the season and region of Italy. Every city and town has its own characteristic forms and stuffings. Agnolotti is from Piedmont, tortellini from Emilia-Romagna, ravioli from Liguria.

What I think is so fun about stuffed pastas is they make you look and feel like an expert chef. And if you use prepared wonton wrappers, they are incredibly easy to make. You can fill them with whatever combination of flavors you like, whether it is a simple mixture of ricotta and herbs, vegetable purées, or finely chopped and seasoned meat or seafood bound with a bit of tomato sauce or béchamel. You can also play around with different shapes and sizes, making mini ravioli to drop into a broth or extra-big ones to serve with a simple brown butter sauce for an elegant starter.

Whichever shape you choose, though, be careful not to overstuff your pasta, or the filling will expand too much and split the pasta when it cooks. Uncooked, stuffed pastas freeze very well, so make a big batch and freeze the extra on baking sheets until completely firm, then transfer to freezer bags to keep for up to three months.

4 servings

Next time you feel like pasta and a salad for lunch, why not combine the two? I love the way the heat of the pasta warms the greens. I often make this when I’m cooking for one; just adjust all the ingredient quantities accordingly, and start with 6 ounces (about 1 cup) of dried pasta.

1 pound orecchiette (small, disk-shaped pasta)

8 ounces Mediterranean-style mixed salad greens

½ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil)

3 ounces (about ⅓ cup) crumbled fresh goat cheese

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

¾ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.

Place the salad greens in a large serving bowl and top with the warm pasta and ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss to combine and wilt the greens. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, cheeses, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine, adding the remaining ½ cup of pasta water if necessary. Serve.

4 to 6 servings

Walnut
pesto is very popular in Piedmont, where I first tasted this dish. It’s really great on its own, simply tossed with a long-cut pasta, but I think the peppers give it a bit more body and also make the dish more beautiful on the plate.

Walnut Pesto

2 cups (lightly packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley

¾ cup toasted walnuts (see note in recipe for
Rotelli with Walnut Sauce
)

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

3 garlic cloves

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¾ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced

1 orange bell pepper, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced

2 leeks, thinly sliced crosswise and well rinsed

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 pound capellini or angel hair pasta

8 ounces fontina cheese, cut into small cubes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the pesto, combine the parsley, walnuts, thyme, and garlic cloves in the bowl of a food processor; blend until finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add the ½ cup of oil, processing until well blended. Season the pesto with the salt and pepper.

Heat the 3 tablespoons of oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bell peppers, leeks, and the finely chopped garlic. Sauté until the bell peppers are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the capellini and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking together, about 4 minutes. Drain, reserving 2 cups of the cooking liquid.

In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the pesto, bell pepper mixture, and cheese, adding enough reserved pasta water to moisten. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

4 to 6 servings

Alla pirata
usually refers to a dish containing seafood, and because pirates were known to be hot-tempered men, the dish is usually spicy as well. You could substitute other seafood you like, such as mussels, squid, or scallops, for either the shrimp or the clams.

1 (12-ounce) bag cherry tomatoes, halved

3 scallions (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped

3 garlic cloves

1-ounce chunk of Parmesan cheese, coarsely chopped

8 fresh basil leaves, plus ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound spaghetti

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 pounds small clams, scrubbed

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Combine the cherry tomatoes, scallions, garlic, Parmesan, whole basil leaves, and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse just until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped (do not purée). Transfer the sauce to a large bowl. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking together, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the extra-virgin olive oil, red pepper flakes, and ½ teaspoon of salt in a large bowl. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Heat a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to the hot skillet and sauté just until cooked through and golden, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl. Add the remaining oil mixture, the clams, and the lemon juice to the same skillet. Cover and cook until the clams open, shaking the pan occasionally, about 8 minutes (discard any that do not open). If the sauce is too liquid, remove the clams and cook over high heat until the sauce is reduced by half.

Drain the pasta and transfer to a large bowl. Add the tomato sauce, and toss to coat. Season the pasta to taste with salt and pepper. Top with the shrimp-and-clam mixture. Sprinkle with the chopped basil and the lemon zest, and serve.

A note on serving cheese with seafood pastas:
my grandfather would say you should never put cheese on seafood, but I sometimes add a bit of Parmesan to baked seafood pastas, or on a red sauce with seafood, to accent the briny flavors. It’s not traditional, but it’s delicious. The bottom line? Make your own rules!