My husband’s a straight shooter, so he’d be penne (which he happens to love). I’ve got some quirk and kink in my nature, so I’d be fusilli (which I happen to love— the twists are great for trapping the sauce). But whether long and skinny like angel hair or small and round like orechiette (little ears), pasta is one thing we can all agree on even in these fractious times. It’s comforting, filling, affordable, can be tarted up with truffles or just as satisfying tossed with a drizzle of olive oil and garlic. So this Saturday, celebrate the thing the whole world loves — it’s World Pasta Day.
We love pasta so much that it’s a $75 billion global market — not bad for something that’s just durum semolina and water. Yet as basic as its ingredients are, pasta can be elemental, extraordinary. But you gotta do it right. As Italian culinary doyenne Marcella Hazan wrote, “Pasta can be one of the easiest dishes in the world to prepare. It is also one of the easiest to ruin.” Don’t let this happen to you. When it comes to pasta done right — and that’s al dente, folks, not al gummy — learn from the Italians.
Tips for perfect pasta:
Dried pasta is thirsty. Cook pasta in plenty of water, more than you even think you need.
Let the water come to a vigorous rolling boil. Shake in a little salt. Then add your pasta.
Make sure it’s all submerged in water. Gently press any resistors so they bend, not break.
Pasta gets lonely. Keep it company. Just give a stir now and then and watch to make sure it doesn’t boil over.
Cook your pasta about a minute or two less than the box directions indicate. Al dente means yielding to the tooth, not to the gums. Overcooked pasta is an insult.
Drain your pasta, but save the pasta cooking water. It gets a starchiness and heft from the pasta. When you toss your pasta with the sauce, add a smallish ladleful, then combine. It creates a bond that hugs the sauce to the pasta.
Ideas for spectacular sauce:
For an edible example of doing more with less, try Hazan’s pasta with four herbs.
For luxe and luscious, discover the other pesto — pesto di Trapani, with tomatoes, almonds and basil. Happy to share this recipe from my co-queen Eugenia Bone’s very Italian dad, Edward Giobbi.
For oil-free and fabulous, there’s my tomato-rich not your nonna’s pasta, my oil-free twist on classic Italian salsa doppio, literally double sauce.
For a vegan take on Italy’s iconic cacio e pepe, Pecorino Romano and pepper pasta, turn to Tara Punzone, chef of LA’s award-winning Pura Vita. Cacio e pepe is meant to be melt-in-the-mouth unctuous and emulsified, but in the wrong hands — and there’s a lot of wrong hands — it’s greasy or gloppy. To make it right and make it vegan too? Honey, that’s big news. Punzone cracks the plant-based cacio and pepe code in her new cookbook Vegana Italiana. Beloved paid Broccoli Rising subscribers, the recipe’s right here. Want it? Step right this way to upgrade your subscription.
For all beloved Broccoli Rising subscribers, including my gluten-sensitive friends, try Favalicious. It’s gluten-free, fava bean-based and high-performing. Full disclosure, I’ve been doing some recipe development and consulting with this brand, and am happy to share a discount coupon with you. Because everybody gets a seat at the table for World Pasta Day.
Tara Punzone is taking Vegana Italiana on the road and she’s coming to Miami. Join her — and me! — December 4 at Books and Books, Miami’s favorite indie bookstore. Register now for this plant-powered event.
In other vegan cookbook news, I’m excited and delighted to announce Miami Vegan has been shortlisted for Best Vegan Cookbook by the International Vegan Film Festival. Grab your copy at Barnes and Nobel or IndieBound.
Whoo-hoo.