Many people expect some kind of pasta or grain with dinner. Some like polenta, risotto, and pasta are best served as a first course or main course, while others, such as couscous or potatoes, are usually served as an accompaniment with the main course.
Very few foods are as versatile as pasta. In Italy, pasta is always served as a first course (although lately some people, usually tourists, order it as a main course). And it is served in much smaller portions than we see in the United States. Americans like pasta as a main course, for which it is indeed well suited, since any manner of other foods—vegetables, seafood, eggs, bacon—can be included with it. Pasta is a snap to cook as long as you keep in mind that it will have different cooking times, depending on whether it is dried or fresh and on the particular brand and shape. The best advice is to follow the directions on the package. If you’re still unsure, or you’ve made the pasta yourself, fish out a piece every few minutes and bite into it. It should be cooked through, but still offer some resistance to the tooth (al dente). Cook pasta in plenty of lightly salted water so it doesn’t gum together.
The only disadvantage to polenta is that it’s time consuming to make. To avoid this, you can buy instant polenta, which isn’t half bad. But if you’re going to make polenta in the traditional way, follow the directions here. If you’re counting on sautéing polenta as in the recipe that follows, make a double batch to begin with so there’s plenty leftover. It will keep for several days in the refrigerator.
Makes 4 side-dish servings
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 imported bay leaf
4 cups water, or more as needed
1 cup polenta
6 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
1 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
Tie together the thyme sprigs and bay leaf with string. In a saucepan, combine the water and herb bundle and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the polenta. As soon as the polenta mixture returns to a simmer, turn the heat to low. Simmer gently, stirring from time to time, until the mixture thickens and no longer tastes raw, about 1 hour. Thin with water if you find the polenta thicker than you like. If you find the polenta lumpy, work out the lumps by stirring rapidly with a wooden spoon.
Stir in the butter and the cheese. Serve immediately. Pass extra Parmesan at the table.
Cooked and cooled polenta that’s cut into rectangles and gently sautéed in butter is even better than it is fresh out of the pot. If you make polenta especially for sautéing, you can leave the cheese out.
Makes 4 side-dish servings
Polenta, still warm
4 tablespoons butter
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the polenta into an even layer about ½ inch thick, on the prepared baking sheet. Let cool to room temperature.
Cut the polenta into thick French fry shapes.
In a nonstick sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter foams, working in batches as needed to avoid crowding, add the polenta in a single layer and sauté until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Hold the batches in the oven. Serve immediately.
Making couscous from scratch is an elaborate process of forming the dough by hand in tiny grainlike pieces, and then steaming them. Fortunately there is instant couscous. Essentially, to make instant couscous, you just add water, let steep, and serve. Serve couscous with saucy dishes, such as braises or stews.
Makes 4 side-dish servings
1 cup instant couscous
3 cups boiling water
Put the couscous in a mixing bowl and pour the boiling water over. Let sit uncovered for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.
After forever hearing complaints about sticky rice, I finally adhere to this method. The method is simple: just cook rice like pasta, in an abundance of boiling salted water. This dissolves any starch and prevents stickiness. Not all rice is the same. Basmati rice from India or the United States (the longer the grains, the better) or jasmine rice from Thailand are far superior to the “Carolina” rice usually sold in America.
Makes 4 side-dish servings
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup long-grain white rice, preferably basmati or jasmine
In a saucepan, bring 4 quarts of water to a rapid boil over high heat and toss in the salt. Add the rice and boil for about 15 minutes, or until the rice is just cooked, but start checking after 12 minutes by biting into a grain. Drain in a coarse-mesh strainer (the holes in a colander are usually too big). Toss quickly to dry out the grains. Don’t stir. Serve immediately.
When shopping for dried porcini mushrooms, don’t just automatically buy the cheapest. Look for slices rather than broken pieces. Smell the package to make sure the aroma of the mushrooms seeps through. Keep in mind that a few go a long way. Remember to soak the mushrooms in as little water as possible and to save the soaking liquid.
Most of us think of risotto as a time-consuming dish; but, in fact, risotto can be made in a flash, of sorts. The solution is to simply boil the rice for the first part of the cooking, then the actual stirring takes only 10 minutes at most.
This risotto is quite runny, the way it’s served in Venice. If you want it a little stiffer, decrease the amount of broth to 3½ cups.
Makes 4 first-course servings
1 cup Arborio or Carnaroli rice
4 cups chicken broth, beef broth, turkey broth, or water
3 slices dried porcini mushrooms, soaked for 30 minutes in water to cover, using as little water as possible
6 tablespoons butter or olive oil
½ cup (1 ounce) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Salt
Pepper
Combine the rice and broth in a medium pot (4 quarts is good). Bring the broth slowly to a simmer over medium heat. When it reaches a simmer, turn down the heat to maintain a very gentle movement on the surface of the liquid. Stir once.
Chop the mushrooms into tiny pieces. Add the soaking liquid—leave behind any grit—to the risotto. After 10 minutes of simmering, stir constantly for 10 minutes more. Stir in the butter, the cheese, and the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.
If you don’t like your cornbread to have the distinctive hot and smoky flavor of chipotle chiles, you can leave them out.
Makes 8 side-dish servings
¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, melted
1⅓ cups flour
⅔ cup yellow cornmeal (medium ground)
⅓ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1½ cups buttermilk
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, rinsed, seeded, and chopped
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish.
Sift together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and chipotle chiles in a separate bowl. Add to the cornmeal mixture, along with the melted butter, and stir until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the cornbread bounces back to the touch. Cut the cornbread into squares directly in the baking dish.
This dish got its reputation from an almost mythic restaurant in Rome—Alfredo’s—popular in the 1950s. What makes fettuccine alfredo is butter and a fair amount of it. If you can find it and want to splurge, try making it with French butter, which has its own special flavor and aroma. Buy the best egg pasta you can. The best I can find are dried noodles made by Cipriani and are sold in long pastel-colored boxes.
Makes 4 first-course servings
1¼ pounds fresh egg fettuccine or ¾ pound dried
¾ cup (1½ sticks) cold butter, sliced
Salt
Pepper
1 cup (2 ounces) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Toss in the pasta. Boil dried pasta according to the instructions on the package, or if fresh, for 30 to 60 seconds, until soft, with the slightest resistance to the tooth.
Drain the pasta in a colander and transfer to a heated bowl. Add the butter and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper and toss. Spoon out into heated bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan. Serve immediately.
If you have a large mortar and pestle (an amazingly useful kitchen item), don’t hesitate to use it to make this pesto. It takes surprisingly little work to make a small amount; and for small amounts, the mortar and pestle is actually more efficient than a food processor. But if you don’t have a mortar and pestle, use a food processor. Make the pesto as close to the time you’ll be using it as possible; otherwise it turns dark.
Makes 4 first-course or 2 main-course servings
Leaves from 1 large bunch basil
Coarse salt (if you’re using a mortar and pestle)
1 clove garlic, minced and then crushed to a paste
¼ cup walnut halves or pine nuts, toasted
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Salt
Pepper
½ pound dried or ¾ pound fresh fettuccine
If you’re using a mortar and pestle, grind the basil leaves with a pinch of coarse salt (the salt acts as an abrasive and breaks up the leaves). Add the garlic and the nuts, a bit at a time, and continue to grind until you have a smooth paste. Work in the oil and cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper.
If you’re using a food processor, combine the basil, garlic, nuts, and cheese and puree until finely chopped. If the mixture won’t turn around in the food processor, add just enough oil to get it to do so. Work the remaining oil in by hand in a mixing bowl. (The food processor makes extra virgin olive oil bitter.)
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil to cook the fettuccine. Cook until soft, with the slightest resistance to the tooth, according to the package directions if dried or for 30 to 60 seconds if fresh. Drain in a colander and transfer to a heated bowl. Toss with the pesto. Serve immediately.
I originally invented this dish as a way to use up leftover cooked pasta, but it’s so good that I now make it from scratch. The soul of this savory gratin comes from using good cheese—I usually use Parmigiano-Reggiano but other full-flavored dry cheeses, such as good Cheddar or aged Gouda, will also work—and heavy cream. Any pasta will do, but large macaroni, called ziti, are especially good.
Makes 4 side-dish servings
1 tablespoon butter, softened
¾ pound dried pasta such as ziti, elbow macaroni, linguine, or fettuccine, or 1 pound fresh
Salt
Pepper
2 cups heavy cream
1½ cups finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or other hard, dry cheese (3 ounces)
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Rub a 4-quart gratin dish or baking dish (large enough to hold the pasta in a layer about 1 inch thick) with the softened butter.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, according to the package directions if it is dried, or for 30 to 60 seconds if fresh, until soft with a slight resistance to the tooth. Drain in a colander. Spread the pasta in an even layer in the prepared dish. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Pour the cream over the pasta, but don’t use enough to drown it; add only enough to cover the pasta when you push down on the pasta with the back of a fork. Sprinkle half the cheese over the pasta.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a crust forms. Gently fold the crusty pasta on top down into the cream so there’s no crust left on top. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese, press down on the pasta with the back of a fork as before, and bake for about 30 minutes more, or until a second crust forms. Serve immediately.
Variation:
For something more elegant, you can make individual servings of pasta gratin by buttering 5-ounce ramekins, filling them with cooked pasta, cheese, cream, and then baking them for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
While recipes for this dish abound, this particular recipe is inspired by one from Justin Schwartz’s wonderful book, Naples at Table.
Makes 6 first-course or 4 main-course servings
4 tablespoons butter
One 4-ounce slice prosciutto (¼ inch thick), cut into ¼-inch dice
1 small onion, chopped
One 10-ounce package frozen peas or 10 ounces fresh baby peas
1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
Pepper
1 pound dried pasta, such as spaghetti or linguine, or 1½ pounds fresh
Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to serve
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the prosciutto and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the peas and cook just long enough to heat them through and, if they’re fresh, lightly cook them, anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes (taste one to determine doneness). Add the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, boil dried pasta according to the instructions on the package, or if fresh, for 30 to 60 seconds, until soft, with the slightest resistance to the tooth.
Drain the pasta and transfer to a heated bowl. Toss it with the pea mixture. Serve in heated pasta or soup plates. Pass the Parmesan at the table.
Dried mushrooms are among the most flavorful of all foods—a few slices of mushroom will go a long way. When shopping for dried porcini, available in gourmet supermarkets, look for mushrooms that still feel flexible through the bag, rather than completely dry and brittle. Look for mushrooms with the largest slices you can find, rather than little chips. You should be able to smell the fragrance of the mushrooms through the bag. Keep unused porcini tightly wrapped in the freezer.
Makes 4 light main-course servings
4 large pieces dried porcini mushrooms, soaked for 30 minutes in just enough water to cover
1 cup heavy cream
Pepper
1 pound dried pasta, such as fettuccine or linguine, or 1½ pounds fresh
Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to serve at the table
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Squeeze the mushrooms over the container you used to soak them in so you catch all the soaking liquid. Pour the soaking liquid into a saucepan, leaving any grit behind in the container. Add the cream to the soaking liquid as well as the mushrooms and simmer gently until the sauce barely begins to thicken. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Boil dried pasta according to the instructions on the package, or if fresh, for 30 to 60 seconds, until soft, with the slightest resistance to the tooth.
Drain the pasta in a colander and transfer to a heated bowl. Pour over the sauce and toss. Serve on heated plates. Pass the Parmesan at the table.
One of the great things about this filling pasta dish is that it can be made with ingredients that most of us usually have on hand. Modeled after a famous pasta dish made in Rome, this version calls for bacon, with guanciale (preserved pork cheeks, the traditional choice) as an alternative. This recipe is easily divided in half (use two eggs, not an egg and a half) to make two main-course or four first-course servings.
Makes 6 first-course or 4 main-course servings
1 pound dried spaghetti
⅓ pound thick-cut bacon or guanciale
3 eggs
Pepper
Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to serve
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package directions, until soft with the slightest resistance to the tooth.
Meanwhile, cut the bacon into ¼ by 1-inch strips, or the guanciale into ¼-inch dice. In a sauté pan over medium heat, cook the bacon or guanciale, stirring occasionally, until the fat is rendered and and the meat is just lightly crunchy, about 8 minutes.
When the pasta is ready, drain it in a colander and transfer it to a heated bowl. Pour in the bacon (with as little or as much of the fat as you like). Crack the eggs and pour over the pasta; toss the pasta immediately (the heat of the pasta will cook the eggs) while seasoning with salt and pepper. Pass the cheese at the table.
This is very much a poor man’s dish, still popular in Rome. Despite its paucity of ingredients, it is very satisfying—the flavor of pepper, of course, predominates; make sure it’s freshly ground. The olive oil is my own addition.
Makes 6 first-course or 4 main-course servings
1 pound dried spaghetti
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup finely grated Pecorino
1 teaspoon pepper, or more to taste
Salt
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package directions, until soft, with the slightest resistance to the tooth. Drain in a colander. Toss it in a large heated bowl with the oil, cheese, and the pepper. Season with salt to taste.
You don’t have to make this dish with spaghetti—any long flat or round pasta will work. Most readers may be familiar with the origin of this dish, which can be politely translated as “streetwalker’s spaghetti.” The idea is that someone with a busy schedule can easily fit this in.
Makes 6 first-course or 4 main-course servings
8 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (see box on Peeling Tomatoes), or two 28-ounce cans plum tomatoes, drained, seeded, and chopped
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
12 anchovy fillets oil-packed or salt-packed (soaked in water for 30 minutes and patted dry), finely chopped (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced and then crushed to a paste
2 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram, or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, finely chopped
¼ cup pitted black olives (not out of a can), coarsely chopped or, if small, left whole
4 heaping tablespoons capers, rinsed
1 small bunch parsley, coarsely chopped
1 pound dried spaghetti
Salt
Pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the spaghetti.
Put the tomatoes in a large sauté pan and cook them over medium to high heat until the water they release evaporates. Add the oil, anchovies, garlic, marjoram, red pepper flakes, olives, capers, and parsley and cook just long enough to heat them through, a couple of minutes.
Cook the spaghetti until soft, with the slightest resistance to the tooth. Drain and put it in the sauté pan with the sauce. Stir thoroughly and serve.
This dish, called spaghetti con vongole o cozze, is popular all over southern Italy. There it’s usually made with clams, but you can also make it with mussels. Be sure to use your best olive oil.
Makes 4 main-course servings
2 dozen clams or 2 pounds mussels, scrubbed; beards removed from mussels
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pound dried spaghetti
Salt
Pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Put the clams in a pot with the wine and cover the pot. Put the pot over between medium and high heat and cook for about 7 minutes for mussels or 12 minutes for clams. If you find mussels that haven’t opened after all the others have opened, throw them out. If, on the other hand, you find clams that haven’t opened, coax them open with the tip of a paring knife—if they’re bad, you’ll know it by the smell.
Pour the steaming liquid into a saucepan (use the lid to keep the clams or mussels in the pot), leaving any grit behind in the pot. Add the oil to the mixture and bring to a simmer.
Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions, until soft, with the slightest resistance to the tooth. Drain in a colander and distribute it among four heated bowls. Season with salt and pepper. (Go easy on the salt since the clams are salty.) Pour the wine/olive oil mixture over the pasta, arrange the clams on top, and serve.
Fusilli with Cherry Tomatoes and Fresh Tuna
The only somewhat laborious part of this dish is cutting the tomatoes in half, but if you don’t, the sauce won’t cling to them and they’ll burst in your mouth in a way that dilutes the vinaigrette. Be sure to buy olives that have been already pitted. The tuna is used raw, but it is partially cooked by the heat of the pasta. When shopping, be sure to tell your fishmonger that you’ll be serving the tuna a little on the raw side.
Makes 4 main-course servings
4 cups baby arugula (optional)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Salt
1 pound fusilli (spirals)
⅔ cup pitted black olives, not out of a can
1 pound fresh tuna, cut into ½-inch dice
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons wine vinegar
Wash the arugula and spin dry (see box on Washing Greens). Chop very coarsely. Halve the cherry tomatoes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fusilli and cook according to the package directions, until soft, with the slightest resistance to the tooth. Drain in a colander.
Transfer the pasta to a bowl. Add the tomatoes, olives, tuna, olive oil, and vinegar. Toss. Serve hot or cold—let cool at room temperature and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
The only possibly time-consuming part to this dish is cleaning the mussels, a chore that must be done near the last minute (or at least within an hour or two) or the mussels will die from having their beards removed.
Makes 4 first-course or 2 main-course servings
1 cup dry white wine
1 clove garlic, minced and then crushed to a paste
1 large pinch saffron, soaked in 1 tablespoon hot water for 30 minutes
2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
½ pound dried fettuccine or ¾ pounds fresh
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Combine the wine, garlic, and saffron and its soaking liquid in a pot about three times the volume of the mussels so there will be plenty of room for them to open. Simmer gently for about 2 minutes and add the mussels. Cover the pot and boil the liquid over medium heat for about 7 minutes to steam open the mussels. Throw out any mussels that haven’t opened.
If you’re using dried pasta, add it to the boiling water now.
Take the mussels out of their shells and reserve.
If you’re using fresh pasta, add it to the boiling water now. Cook the pasta until soft, with the slightest resistance to the tooth, 30 to 60 seconds.
Drain the pasta in a colander and distribute it into heated bowls. Sprinkle the mussels over the pasta and pour the steaming liquid over all. Serve immediately.
Pappardelle with Shrimp, Garlic, and Olive Oil
Pappardelle are the long flat strands of pasta popular in Tuscany. Because it can sometimes be hard to find, you can substitute tagliatelle or fettuccine.
Makes 6 first-course or 4 main-course servings
2 tablespoons pure olive oil
24 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt
Pepper
1 clove garlic, minced and then crushed to a paste
1½ pounds fresh pappardelle or fettuccine, or 1 pound dry
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
In a sauté pan just large enough to hold the shrimp, heat the pure olive oil over high heat until it begins to ripple, add the shrimp and sauté for about 2 minutes, or until they turn pink all over. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the garlic and stir around in the pan to distribute the garlic.
Boil the pasta until soft, with the slightest resistance to the tooth, according to the package instructions for dried, or for about 1 minute for fresh. Drain it in a colander. Toss it with the extra virgin olive oil and the shrimp. Serve immediately.
This classic Tuscan dish is easy to make if you know how to cheat: use wonton wrappers to make the raviolis.
Makes 4 main-course servings
One 15-ounce container ricotta
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
Salt
Pepper
48 square wonton wrappers
4 cups Chicken Broth
In a bowl, combine the ricotta and sage and season with salt and pepper.
Dust a sheet pan with flour. Place 2 tablespoons of the ricotta on a wonton wrapper (work one at a time so the wrappers don’t dry out). Brush the wonton wrapper with water around the ricotta and place another wrapper on top. Press around the sides to form a seal, and set on the sheet pan. Repeat with the rest of the wrappers and ricotta.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Bring the chicken broth to a simmer. Toss the ravioli into the boiling water and wait for it to return to a simmer. Turn the heat down to maintain a simmer (if the ravioli boil, they can split open). Simmer for 5 minutes and gently transfer to heated soup plates with a slotted spoon or spider. Ladle over 1 cup of broth per serving. Serve immediately.
Variation:
Instead of serving the ravioli in broth, try serving them with butter and sage. Omit the sage from the stuffing. When you drain the ravioli, heat ½ cup (1 stick) butter in a sauté pan with 4 leaves of fresh sage. When the butter froths and the froth recedes slightly, pour the butter and sage over the raviolis in heated soup plates and serve.
