FamilyFood

Baked Pasta with Butternut Squash, Bacon, Onions, Three Cheeses, and Pine Nuts

the finished dish about to go into the oven

Okay, so I figured out what we were having for Halloween dinner.

I have two sickie-poos at home so we're staying in and having comfort food: the baked pasta and salad, and later some popcorn, and, of course, candy.

For now though, the pasta is baking, and I have time to type up the recipe.

BAKED PASTA WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH, BACON, ONIONS,  THREE CHEESES, AND PINE NUTS

Forgive me, the directions are a little "loose," but baked pastas are very forgiving (as long as you don't over bake them).

Tips: the halved and seeded squash (seasoned with a little salt and pepper) baked at 350º for 45 minutes. I let it cool then peeled it with my trusty Y-peeler. Pancetta can easily be substituted for the bacon. Or, remove bacon completely for an ovo-lacto vegetarian dish.

Preheat oven to 350º.

• 1 box Barilla Campanelle pasta (or other short pasta) cooked very al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions indicate (cook while preparing sauce)
• 1 butternut squash, halved and roasted then peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• 2 sprigs (6-8) fresh sage leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 large onion,chopped
• dry rosé or white wine (last night's leftover wine is perfect for this)
• 6 slices of nitrite-free bacon (I like Beeler's), remove fat and dice
• 4 glugs of olive oil
• raw milk gruyere and parmigiano reggiano, grated (2 generous handfuls each)
• gorgonzola, crumbled (1 handful)
• lightly toasted pine nuts (they will toast further in the oven; 1 handful)

While pasta is cooking, beging sauce by heating olive oil over medium heat then adding garlic, shallot, onion, and sage leaves. Cook for about 5-10 minutes until onions start to become translucent. Add bacon, cook 10 minutes stiring often.  Splash in wine (3-4 glugs). Allow sauce to simmer and reduce, then continue cooking on low for about 15 minutes until onions begin to brown.  (If you want truly carmelized onions, let them cook for an hour on low THEN add in the bacon and proceed.)

Add in diced butternut squash and a little more wine plus some pasta cooking water if the sauce needs loosening.  Season with a little bit of salt and pepper. (Remember lots of salty cheese is going into this).

Drain pasta. Remove sage leaves from sauce and toss with pasta. Toss with gorgonzola. Pour mixture into a greased 11 x 17 (or comparable) casserole dish.  Top with gruyere lightly mixing it into the pasta, then top with parmigiano. Sprinkle pine nuts over all. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes more until lightly browned.  Serves 6.

the dish before cheese is added

[photo credit: Stefania Pomponi Butler]

Lentils flavored with pancetta, red wine and orange

To kick off bean week here at Family Food, I'm sharing a recipe that I didn't photograph because it all got eaten before I had time to.

Last week, when it was rainy and cold, I made a big pot of lentils per my daughter Bunny's request. When I think of fall, I think of braises. I think of stews. I think of beans.

Bunny prefers her lentils to be intact (as opposed to pureed for soup) so you can quick-cook this dish and have it on the table within 45 minutes. Or, you can cook it longer, add more water or broth, puree it with a stick blender and make soup.

This recipe is also versatile because you can make it completely vegetarian/vegan by omitting the pancetta. Personally, I find myself arcing back towards a more vegetarian way of eating (I'm a former ovo-lacto vegetarian) and I find that beans are an easy way to be satisfied with rich flavors without adding meat.

CITYMAMA'S LENTILS FLAVORED WITH PANCETTA, RED WINE, AND ORANGE

• 1 bag of lentils, picked over and washed
• 3 bay leaves
• pancetta (about 3 ounces), diced*
• olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 3 celery stalks, sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced into discs
• dry red wine, about 1/4 cup
• the peel of 1/3 to 1/2 an orange (several pieces okay)
• 1 normal-sized can plain stewed (or diced) tomatoes
• organic vegetable soup base or veggie broth (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Place lentils in a saucepot with 5 cups of cold water and one bay leaf. Bring to boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer covered for about 25 minutes until lentils are just tender and water is absorbed. Do not add salt to lentils during cooking. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a very large saute pan or dutch oven, saute pancetta in a splash of olive oil over medium heat until cooked through but not crisp, and fat begins to render. Add remaining bay leaves, garlic, onion, celery, and carrots and cook until veggies begin to carmelize. When a nice fond or brown crust begins to form on the bottom of the pan and veggies are nicely soft, splash in some red wine to de-glaze. (I do 2-3 glugs, you can use more or less as you like. Use broth if you don't want to use wine.) Cook until alcohol has evaporated, about a minute or so.

Add the cooked lentils to the pan along with 1-2 additional cups of water into which a spoonful of veggie soup base has been dissolved. (Again, this is optional. You can also add 1-2 cups of broth). The amount of water/broth you add to the lentils depends on how soupy you want them. If you want soup, you may have to add two more cups of water/broth.

Add orange rind(s), stewed tomatoes (and their liquid), and salt and pepper.

Cook an additional 15 minutes before serving (if you can't wait any longer) or longer if you can wait. stirring often. Remove bay leaves and orange and check seasoning before serving.

What to do with this?

• Serve alongside grilled sausages or pork chops or sliced cotechino
• Top with plain yogurt that has been enhanced with orange zest and chopped parsley
• Add cooked elbow macaroni (or other small pasta) for a heartier meal. Top with your favorite grated hard cheese.
• If lentils are fairly intact and not too soupy, eat cold as a salad after swirling in some sherry or balsamic vinegar and drizzling with fruity olive oil

*When I buy pancetta (or guanciale), I ask the deli person to cut me a 2-inch-think hunk. (I just don't like the paper thin slices that come pre-packaged at places like Trader Joes.) Then, I take it home, and use as much as I need.  To make these lentils I had about 1/3 of my hunk left. I diced that and used it as the base for the stew.

Rigatoni Alla Mondello

My preferred brand of pasta is DeCecco. It's what I grew up eating, and as far as dried pasta goes, I think it's the best. I like it mainly because it cooks up al dente like pasta should if you are paying attention, and then retains its toothsomeness instead of turning to mush. In a pinch I will buy Barilla, but for an everyday pasta, my favorite is DeCecco.

The other thing I like about DeCecco pasta are the interesting recipes you find on the back of the boxes. When I saw the recipe for Rigatoni Alla Mondello, a vegetable sauce, I knew I had to try it. I love a tomato-eggplant sauce, especially the way my Italian aunt makes it with crispy-salty pieces of eggplant in a very fresh and flavorful tomato sauce.

This sauce, however, includes zucchini and also curry powder which sounded intriguing. Once cooked it has beautiful Indian flavors, almost like a korma sauce. If you like creamy tomato sauces like the ubiquitous Penne Alla Vodka, and you like spicy flavors, you'll like this.

RIGATONI ALLA MONDELLO

Recipe copied almost verbatim from DeCecco.

Notes: I used campanelle instead of rigatoni.  Any short pasta will work. I fried the veggies in olive oil in a cast iron skillet (fill half way up with oil).

Ingredients:

some of the ingredients

• 1 lb DeCecco rigatoni
• 3/4 lb. eggplant, diced
• 3/4 lb. zucchini, diced
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 2 cups pureed tomatoes (I used a can of crushed San Marzanos)
• 1 1/2 cups cream
• Parmesan cheese
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1-2 tbsps. curry powder
• salt (and pepper)

Wash and dice the eggplant. Salt them so that they will lose their bitter taste. Wash and dice the zucchini and deep fry in oil. Drain them and place them on paper towel. Deep fry the eggplant. (Drain on paper towel.) In another large skillet, cook the very finely chopped onion in very little oil until transparent and then add the pureed tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Take off heat and add curry and cream mixing thoroughly.

When the rigatoni are al dente, drain and pour into the skillet with the sauce. Then add the fried eggplant, zucchini, and chopped basil. Mix well over high heat (I used medium) for a few minutes. Serve with grated parmesan cheese on the side. Serves 6.

[photo credit: Stefania Pomponi Butler; white plate from IKEA]

PASTA THAT REMINDS ME OF MY CHILDHOOD

My favorite "warms-the-heart," comforting pasta dish is the one I grew up eating: spaghetti con burro e pomodori. My mom was a working mom so it was a dish she could throw together quickly. The beauty of this sauce, like so many good pasta sauces, is that in the time it takes to boil the pasta water and cook the pasta, it's done. The recipe is simple, but the key is to use the best ingredients you can get your hands on. Don't skimp on quality. Buon appetito!

Spaghetti con burro e pomodori (Spaghetti with butter and tomato sauce)

Put pasta water on to boil. Salt it generously. When water boils, add in 1 package of (thick) spaghetti. Cook about 1 minute less than package indicates for al dente pasta.

In the mean time, melt 1/2 cup of unsalted, best-quality butter in a saute pan ove medium heat.  When butter starts to foam, add 2 cloves of minced garlic.  Heat until butter smells garlicky and is completely melted then dump in a large can of imported San Marzano whole, peeled tomatoes. Smash tomatoes up with a wooden spoon.

Continue simmering until sauce is reduced by about a third, 20 minutes or so. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss with hot, cooked pasta. Pass the grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese. (My family is Roman, so we prefer pecorino romano.) Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as a starter.

[photo: Stefania Pomponi Butler]

also posted on slashfood

SUMMERTIME AND THE PASTA'S EASY...

Wallie takes two naps a day which kinda cramps our style a little.  I feel bad for Bunny because it really throws a wrench into our morning.  We now have to stay home whereas before, we were always out of the house until her afternoon nap.  On the upside, Wallie's naptime is our time to spend together.  We usually spend the time doing some kind of art project or cooking.  Today she helped me make lunch for our playdate buddies.

The next couple of posts will probably be about summertime pastas since I have a couple of potlucks to cook for over the next day or so.  In our family, we don't eat pasta salads so much as pastas made with uncooked sauces that are meant to be served at room temperature. 

In general, I am not a fan of the Americanized pasta salad which is usually some sort of pasta which has been rinsed with cold water (please—never do this*) and tossed with salad dressing.  I just don't like my pasta to have a vinegary taste.

Try this pasta and you will never do the above again.  And let your toddler help you with it.  Here is Bunny stemming the tomatoes and putting tomatoes into the CuisinArt and "chopping onions."

PENNE CON SALSA CRUDA (Penne with Raw Sauce)

If you like bold flavors, this is for you.  You probably won't use all the sauce on the pasta but that's okay.  It's great as a bread dip, too.

Put the pasta water on to boil and salt it generously.

• a pint of grape tomatoes washed and stemmed
• a red bell pepper, chopped
• half a sweet onion (Vidalia, Walla Walla, Texas Sweet, etc.)
• 1-3 cloves of garlic
• a handful of flat-leaf parsley, leaves only
• 8-10 fresh basil leaves
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• pecorino romano cheese for serving

Place veggies and herbs into the bowl of a food processor.  Add a six-count pour of olive oil along with salt and pepper.

 

Turn processor and and whiz everything into a loose, pesto-like consistency (see below) and set aside:

When pasta is ready, drain it well, and then toss with the sauce.  (Go easy on the sauce as you will likely have a cup or so left over.)  Add several generous handfuls of pecorino romano cheese and serve immediately or at room temperature.

*The reasons why you never, ever rinse pasta—either with hot or cold water—are:

1. It washes of all the starch which helps the sauce to stick.
2. It cools the pasta off—even if you are rinsing it with hot water to serve it hot. Just leave the pasta alone.  However, if you want the pasta to cool without sticking (if you are making a cold pasta, for example) just toss it with a teeny bit of olive oil and spread it out on a baking pan or two.  ...not too much olive oil or your sauce won't stick nicely to the pasta.

HOW TO COOK PERFECTLY "AL DENTE" PASTA EVERYTIME

The timer is a pasta cook's best friend, especially if you have kids.  I never used to time my pasta before having children but one too many mushy pastas later, I finally broke down and started timing the cooking.

Cook pasta for 2 minutes less than what the box indicates. Set timer. When timer goes off, test pasta. If it is still too crunchy, test at 30 second intervals until done. Remember that the pasta will continue to cook even after it is drained so better to err on the side of underdone-ness than overdone-ness.

Always generously salt the pasta water. And, never, ever add oil to it. If you cook your pasta in enough water, and it is a quality pasta*, it should never stick.

*My preference for an everyday pasta is DeCecco brand with Barilla a close second.  Both come in whole-wheat varieties.

NEVER BUY JARRED SPAGHETTI SAUCE AGAIN

This sauce is very quick-cooking.  No need to simmer for hours and hours. You can make this while the pasta water is boiling—then you never need use jarred sauce again! So, before you start the sauce, put on the pasta water to boil.

BASIC MARINARA (TOMATO) SAUCE FOR PASTA

• olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped (or to taste)
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• pinch of salt
• 1 large can Italian *whole* plum tomatoes (my preference is imported San Marzano tomatoes but you can use Trader Joe's or Contadina or Muir Glen—whatever). The kind with basil is ok, too.
• 1/2 wine glass white wine (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
  

In a frying pan put 2-3 good glugs of olive oil. The bottom of the pan should be very well coated. Use more than you think you need. Add the chopped garlic and onion and pinch of salt and heat over medium heat stirring often until onions turn translucent.

Dump in tomatoes and bring to a rapid simmer (your stove will be a mess). Add wine if using. Every so often, smash up tomatoes with back of spoon. Reduce heat to a low simmer (you should still see some bubbles on surface) and let sauce reduce. Stir every 5 minutes or so. Allow liquid to reduce by about 1/3.

Once sauce is reduced, season with more salt and pepper.  If you season before, the sauce might end up being too salty.

Some people like to add a pinch of sugar to their tomato sauce.  I don't but if you want to, go ahead.

By this time, your pasta should be done. If sauce seems too thick you can "loosen" it a bit with some pasta cooking water (wait until the end of pasta cooking time when the water is nice and starchy). Drain pasta, toss with sauce. Top with grated cheese of your choice.

This sauce is very versatile. You can add fresh chopped basil to it at the end. You can saute some dried chilis with the onion and garlic to make it spicy. You can brown meat first then add this finished sauce to it. You can use it for lasagne. You can use it as a base for seafood sauce—just add shrimp, clams, and/or mussels to it plus a very generous handful of chopped, flat-leaf parsley.

Anything goes.