Pasta Modern (7 page)

Fruit

SEI UN LECCA PENTOLE.

YOU’RE A POT LICKER.

Said as a compliment to a foodie.

My passion for pasta with fruit began while I was researching my first cookbook,
Shakespeare’s Kitchen
, when I discovered the many sweet-savory pasta dishes of the Renaissance. Now I’m always on the lookout for fruit and pasta pairings when in Italy and I constantly pester my Italian friends to send me recipes. In this chapter, you’ll find pasta paired with all sorts of fruit, both dried and fresh—berries, figs, prunes, dates, oranges, and lemons—each adding lovely color, brilliant acidity, and delicate sweetness to the sauces.

PASTA WITH ARTICHOKES, PRUNES & SAGE

{
Pasta coi carciofi, prugne secche, e salvia
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Central and southern Italy

Artichokes, which are slightly bitter, are nicely balanced in this dish by the sweetness of the prunes and the touch of sage, which adds brightness with its balsamic notes. Plus, it’s ready in fifteen minutes or less: By the time the pasta is al dente, the sauce is ready. Ah, Italy’s version of “fast food”!

This dish is typically served with
incannulate
—gorgeously long, wide ribbons of pasta that are folded over and then twirled around themselves. This must-try specialty of
Puglia
is available dried here in the States or you can make your own. Of course, this delicious sauce is superb with any pasta shape!

8 baby artichokes

Olive oil

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 dried plums, or prunes, thinly sliced

12 fresh sage leaves

⅓ cup (75 ml) white wine

1 pound (455 g)
incannulate
or any long pasta, preferably Terre di Puglia brand

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Zest of 1 lemon, cut into long strips

Cut off the top ½ inch (12 mm) of each artichoke, discard, and slice the remainder paper thin. In a large frying pan, heat 6 tablespoons oil over high heat. Add the artichokes and fry until crisp. Remove them from the pan and drain on paper towels. Lower the heat, add the onion and garlic to the pan, and sauté until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the prunes, sage, and white wine. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Boil the pasta in salted water for 2 minutes less than the package directs. Drain and finish cooking in the sauce, adding a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking liquid as needed. Stir in the fried artichokes and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve topped with lemon zest.

{
Pasta all’arancia
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Central and parts of northern Italy

This dish, featuring orange juice and crisp Italian bacon, has a rich flavor with only a few ingredients. It’s like breakfast for dinner!

Oranges have an astonishingly savory-sweet quality when paired with pasta, so it’s no wonder that there are hundreds of variations of this combination throughout Italy. The trick is to add the orange juice a little at a time so it caramelizes into golden goodness.

3 ounces (90 g) pancetta, cut into matchsticks

Olive oil

2 medium leeks

1 cup (240 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice, plus grated zest of 1 orange

1 tablespoon sugar

1 pound (455 g) orecchiette or any short pasta, preferably Benedetto Cavalieri brand

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pecorino or other aged cheese, grated

In a skillet large enough to later toss the pasta, cook the pancetta in 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until crisp.

Wash and finely slice the leeks, including any of the tender green parts; you should have about 1 ½ cups (360 ml). Stir the leeks into the pancetta and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add about ½ cup (120 ml) of the juice, raise the heat to high, and boil until syrupy. Add the sugar and the rest of the juice, a few tablespoons at a time, until caramelized, syrupy, and thick, so the sauce adheres to the back of a spoon, with a nice dark golden color.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water for 2 minutes less than the package directs. Drain, toss into the sauce, and cook over high heat until it is al dente and coated in a thick glaze. Season with salt and serve topped with the zest, pepper, and some cheese.

{
Strozzapreti al pesto di limone e finocchio
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Sicily

Lemon’s tang plus fennel’s freshness make a light and superbly different pesto. This specialty of Sicily whirls up right in the food processor. If they don’t have wild fennel at your farmer’s market, just omit it. I’ve made this pesto here in the States with only normal supermarket fennel and it was still amazing.

Here I suggest using the whimsically named “priest stranglers” pasta, which have a delightfully dense chewiness. The name, perhaps a secret wish, dates to the days when farmers dreaded a visit from the village priest, who’d greedily devour the poor parishioners’ food.

⅓ cup (50 g) blanched almonds

1 lemon

1 fennel bulb, including fronds, chopped

1 small wild fennel bulb, including fronds, chopped

About 30 fresh mint leaves

About 25 large fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons salted capers, rinsed

Olive oil

Salt

1 pound (455 g)
strozzapreti
or any pasta

Finely grind the almonds in a mortar and pestle, clean coffee grinder, or small food processor.

Using a very sharp knife, and working over a plate to collect the juices, cut off the skin and white pith of the lemon and discard. Separate the lemon sections, cutting or peeling off the membranes between the sections.

Put the fennel, lemon pieces, and any collected lemon juice into a food processor and grind into a paste. Add the almonds, wild fennel, if using, mint, basil, capers, and 3 tablespoons oil and process until the mixture resembles cooked oatmeal, adding more oil if it is too thick. Season with salt.

Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss with the pesto.

BERRIES, BASIL & BELLS

{
Campanelle in crema di frutti di bosco
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Sicily

Berries, tingly mint, and aromatic basil combine with ricotta to create a highly unusual but crowd-pleasing pasta dish. Staggeringly simple to make, the sauce is ready before the water boils. Here it’s paired with pretty bell-shaped
campanelle
pasta, but it’s fantastic with any shape.

1 pound (455 g)
campanelle
or any short pasta

Salt

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup (170 g) fresh blueberries

1 cup (170 g) fresh raspberries

1 cup (250 g) ricotta

About 15 small fresh mint leaves

About 12 small fresh basil leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add three fourths of the berries, reserving the rest for garnish, and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Transfer the fruit to a large serving bowl along with the ricotta, mint, and basil leaves and stir the mixture with a fork to combine.

Toss the pasta with the ricotta mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve topped with the reserved berries.

RIGATONI WITH RED APPLES, ROSEMARY & RED ONIONS

{
Pasta mele rosse Cuneo
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Piedmont, especially the province of Cuneo