The Recipe

Source: The Silver Spoon

1/4 cup butter
1 thick slice cooked, cured ham, diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
5 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup vodka
3 cups penne rigate
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a pan, add the ham, tomato paste and parsley, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and vodka and cook until the vodka has evaporated. Cook the penne in a large pan of salted, boiling water until al dente, then drain and tip into a warm serving dish. Pour the sauce over the pasta.

The Recipe

Source: From Biba’s Italian Kitchen by Biba Caggiano

For the spinach tagliatelle:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 extra-large eggs
2 tablespoons cooked, finely chopped fresh or frozen spinach, squeezed of all moisture

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup minced yellow onion
1/3 cup minced carrot
1/3 cup minced celery
1/4 pound prosciutto, cut into a 1/8-inch slice and then cut into thin strips
3 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, with their juices, put through a food mill to remove the seeds
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Prepare the spinach dough as instructed on pages 48-49, using the flour and the eggs in this recipe.

Roll out the dough and cut it into tagliatelle as instructed on page 50.

Prepare the sauce: Heat the butter and oil in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring, until vegetables are lightly golden and soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the prosciutto and cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring a few times. Add the tomatoes and the cream and season with salt and just a touch of pepper. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, until sauce has a medium-thick consistency, 10 to 15 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the tagliatelle. Cook, uncovered, over high heat until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite.

Drain the pasta and place it in a large, heated, serving bowl. Add the sauce and about 1/4 cup of the Parmigiano, and mix well. Serve at once with additional Parmigiano.

The Recipe

Source: Pasta Improvvisata : How to Improvise in Classic Italian Style by Erica de Mane

Ziti with Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce, Prosciutto, Black Olives, and Hot Chile

1 recipe Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce [see below]
3 or 4 thin slices prosciutto, trimmed of some fat, cut in small pieces
a large handful of black olives, pitted and cut in half (I use Gaeta here)
1 fresh red or green chile, seeded and very finely minced (taste a bit of the flesh to see how hot it is; you may want to add only a tiny amount)
1 pound ziti

Make the tomato sauce and, while it is still warm, mix in the prosciutto, olives, and chile.

Cook the ziti until al dente, drain, and toss with the sauce.

Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce

about 15 plum tomatoes (2 to 2 ½ pounds), coarsely chopped
salt
freshly ground black pepper
a few tablespoons olive oil
2 or 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
a small handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
a small handful of fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 500 F.

Place the chopped tomatoes on a baking sheet. They shouldn’t be too crowded, so if you think it is necessary, use 2 baking sheets. Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and pepper and drizzle liberally with olive oil. Mix the tomatoes with your hands until they are well coated with oil. Distribute them evenly in one layer on the baking sheet. Roast about 10 minutes, stirring the tomatoes once or twice so they cook evenly. Sprinkle the garlic and the herbs on top of the tomatoes and mix briefly. Roast another 5 to 10 minutes. The tomatoes should be slightly browned around the edges of the pan but still moist. Transfer the tomatoes to a bowl, and while still hot, break them up a bit with a fork, saving all the juices.

The Recipe

I didn’t follow a recipe for this dish, but here is a basic recipe I wrote just now:

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced
1/2 pound asparagus, blanched until just tender, then shocked in ice water
1/2 pound fava beans, shucked and peeled
1 28-oz can Italian plum tomatoes, sent through a food mill
a few slices of prosciutto, diced
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
some Pecorino and/or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for grating
salt and black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and saute until lightly toasted.

Add the blanched asparagus, and saute for a minute to heat.

Add the pureed tomatoes, the fava beans, and prosciutto. Simmer for about five minutes to cook the beans.

Add the heavy cream, if using, and simmer for a few minutes to reduce.

Cook the pasta until al dente, and toss with the sauce. Add the grated Pecorino/Parmigiano cheese to the pan and toss well.

The Recipe

Source: I learned this one at work.

2 lemons
2 limes
2 navel oranges
2 blood oranges
2 grapefruits
1 cup diced apple
1 cup diced pear
1 cup diced pineapple
1/2 cup simple syrup (1/4 cup water & 1/4 cup sugar brought to boil)
1 1/2 inch piece of ginger, cut in half and lightly crushed
pinch of cayenne
red and yellow mustard seeds to taste

Cut off the ends of each citrus fruit, and make a slit down the side. Place the fruit on its side and, with the knife starting in this slit, make one cut all the way around the pith, to remove the peel in one piece. This takes a bit of practice. Turn the fruit as you cut, and don’t cut into the fruit itself. Take the juice of all the fruits, and set aside.

Take each citrus peel and lay it on the cutting board, pith side up. Pressing down on the peel, slide the knife down the peel to remove most of the pith. Cut the peel into 1/4 inch dice.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch the diced peel three times, for about 30 seconds at a time, each time shocking it in a bowl of ice water. This softens the peel while keeping its bright color.

Pour the juice into a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the blanched peel and the diced apple, pear, and pineapple. Simmer until the juices are reduced by half.

Add the simple syrup, and stir well to incorporate.

The relish should have a thick consistency and should not be too watery. Remove it from the heat and add the ginger, cayenne, and mustard seeds (enough to spread around; each spoonful should have some seeds). When cool, remove the ginger and discard.