For fabulously fresh and tasty Italian fare you need travel no further than your own kitchen.
Some people spend a fortune in their search for the ideal pasta – they seek it out at top restaurants – but the finest pasta is often right under their noses. That’s because it is best eaten as soon as it is cooked, and the pasta you cook and serve at home meets this criteria. Many cafes and restaurants precook their pasta and just re-cook it when you order.
Then there’s the cheese that accompanies the pasta. If you have a good parmigiano reggiano – and you insist on buying the best – you’re ahead of most restaurants in the quality stakes.
At this time of the year, there’s a bounty of great vegetables that work a treat with pasta. I love cooking artichokes – both the globe and Jerusalem varieties. Celeriac, cauliflower, broccolini, cabbage and fennel can also be turned into a super sauce for pasta. Opt for a single variety or indulge in a little alchemy. I follow a fairly standard recipe, regardless of the vegetables I choose. I also subscribe to these three golden rules: firstly, buy a good-quality Italian durum wheat or semolina pasta; secondly, grate real parmesan cheese into it; thirdly, season the dish well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
I always sauté onions and garlic with extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt, then add anchovies and chilli flakes, and occasionally pancetta or smoked bacon. I add the vegetables – grated or broken up – pour in some water and cook until the vegetables are soft and most of the water has disappeared. Boil the pasta (for one minute less than the packet advises), drain and mix it through the sauce. Plate, add the cheese and pepper. Oh, and open a good bottle of red.
Rigatoni with Artichokes & Pancetta
This is another variation on vegetables braised in extra virgin olive oil. It has quite a component of pancetta, but you can also use smoked bacon or prosciutto. I love artichokes when they are in season and use them for all manner of things. If you like, you can use drained, good-quality preserved artichokes in olive oil (a 280g jar will be enough); just don’t use the ones that come in brine, as the flavour will be too strong for this dish. Serves 4.
Ingredients
400g dried rigatoni
150ml extra virgin olive oil
100g (1 cup) roughly chopped pancetta
Sea salt
½ small brown onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
½ teaspoon chilli flakes
4 cooked globe artichokes, quartered and stem roughly sliced
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
Freshly ground pepper
Method
Heat a large frying pan and add the extra virgin olive oil. Fry the pancetta and sea salt for two minutes. Add the onion, garlic and chilli flakes. Reduce the heat a little and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the artichokes and lemon zest and cook for a further three minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of heavily salted water to the boil. Cook the pasta for about eight minutes, or until al dente. When the pasta is cooked, drain, add to the sauce and toss through. Add the lemon juice, some freshly grated parmesan, the chopped parsley and a grind of fresh pepper to the pasta and fold through. Spoon into four deep pasta bowls and serve immediately.
Recipe from The Food I Love by Neil Perry, photography by Earl Carter (Murdoch Books, $85).
Sydney chef and restaurateur Neil Perry designs Qantas First and Business menus. For recipes and cooking tips visit: Website
Source: Qantas The Australian Way May 2008