Chèvre-Tomato Spaghetti
(with blue cheese)
Pasta con Quatro Formaggi
Spaghetti Carbonara
(with prosciutto • with pork sausage • noodle patties)
Pasta and Cheese Roll in Tomato Sauce
Macaroni and Cheese
Basil Lasagne
Whole-Wheat-Noodle Casserole
Macaroni with Mustard-Cheese
Orzo Soufflé
Angel-Hair Soufflé
This combination of tomato and goat cheese is just delicious. Chèvre softens in an especially creamy way; it seems to relax into the sauce. Make the sauce in a pan that’s large enough so that you can pour the drained spaghetti into it and let it cook for about 2 minutes, long enough to soak up some of the flavor.
4 to 6 servings
1 recipe Light Tomato Sauce (p. 67)
½ cup chèvre, cut in chunks
¼ to ½ teaspoon Tabasco, or to taste
1 pound spaghetti
When the sauce is finished, add the chunks of cheese to it and let them soften. Season to taste with Tabasco: it should be quite spicy.
Cook and drain the spaghetti. Then add the drained spaghetti to the pan and let it cook for a few minutes more.
VARIATIONS
Instead of chèvre, use ½ cup blue cheese and eliminate the Tabasco.
The only requirement for the four cheeses in this dish is that one of them be Parmesan. Evan Jones, in his World of Cheese, makes it with Bel Paese, Fontina, Gorgonzola, and Parmesan. It’s not traditional, but I like to use a goat cheese in this dish. It doesn’t quite melt; it softens and becomes thick. But by all means go ahead and experiment: this is an excellent opportunity to use up all the leftover cheese in the refrigerator.
4 to 6 servings
½ cup butter
1 pound penne or ziti
¼ cup goat cheese, in chunks
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup grated Romano cheese
¼ cup shredded Gruyère cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. Cook and drain the pasta and add to the melted butter. Then mix in the cheeses, one at a time, turning the noodles thoroughly as you go. Serve very hot with lots of freshly ground black pepper.
The trick is not to wind up with scrambled eggs, and that can be managed only if you add the egg mixture to the hot noodles very slowly, tossing them like a demon all the while. Some books specify bacon in a carbonara, and others pancetta. It’s not traditional, but I like to use real Smithfield ham, because it tastes better and it never becomes fatty and flabby as bacon does.
4 to 6 servings
4 eggs
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ pound baked Smithfield ham, cut in slivers
1 pound spaghetti
1 cup mixed grated Parmesan and caciocavallo cheeses
In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the cream, salt, pepper, and ham.
Cook the spaghetti, and when it is drained return it to the pot over a turned-off burner. Give the egg mixture another stir and then begin to mix it gently and slowly into the spaghetti, keeping it moving all the while so that the eggs don’t cook. Add the cheese and continue to toss the noodles until everything is blended. Serve immediately with more grated cheese.
VARIATIONS
Instead of the Smithfield ham, use ½ pound prosciutto cut in slivers, or ½ pound cooked pork-sausage meat.
(One of the pleasant aftermaths of Spaghetti Carbonara is a plate of sautéed pasta patties. I can’t give proper measurements for this dish because you just use whatever you have left over, but you’ll wind up with patties that are crisp and brown on the outside, chewy on the inside, and just delicious with roast pork or broiled chicken. To make the noodle patties: Melt a stick of butter in a heavy skillet. Then pull off clumps of the cold leftover spaghetti in pieces about the size of a medium cookie. When the butter is nice and hot, place 3 or 4 patties in it. Let them brown on both sides; the eggs and cheese will hold them together as they cook. Take them out of the pan and drain them on paper towels while you make the rest of the patties.)
PASTA AND CHEESE ROLL IN TOMATO SAUCE
This is an amusing variation on a jelly roll. I love the tiny acini di pepe, which look like peppercorns, but you could use any other really small pasta. Try pastina, or orzo, or star-shaped stellini. They have to be light enough so that they don’t drag down the soufflé mixture.
4 to 6 servings
¾ cup acini di pepe.
6 eggs, separated
¼ cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1½ cups Light Tomato Sauce (p. 67)
Butter a 15 by 11-inch jelly-roll pan. Line the pan with parchment or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang of about 2 inches at each end. Butter the paper well to prevent the eggs from sticking.
Cook and drain the pasta.
Beat the egg yolks until they are light and lemon-colored, then gradually stir in the pasta, butter, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft, unwavering peaks. Fold the whites into the yolk mixture quite thoroughly. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan, smoothing it with a knife or a rubber spatula so that it is the same thickness overall. Sprinkle it evenly with mozzarella and bake it in a 375° oven for 15 minutes, until it is firm and puffy. Take it out of the oven and turn the oven temperature down to 325°.
With most soufflé-roll mixtures, you would now quickly invert the pan onto a towel and peel off the paper. But you want to keep the mozzarella on the inside of the roll; so, instead, you grasp the extended ends of the parchment paper or foil, lift it out of the pan, and lay it on a large cooling rack. Let it cool for 10 minutes, and then use the paper to help roll it up, starting with one long side. As you roll, peel off the paper. You may have to use a small, sharp knife to help you along.
Slice the roll into 10 rounds. Arrange them in an overlapping row in a buttered baking dish. Cover them with tomato sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan, and heat at 325° for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
This is a great American classic, one of our best dishes. It has to be gooey, made with a really rich béchamel and with a Cheddar that sings with flavor. I love it when the cheese on top gets burnt and chewy, and I love to scrape up the dried bits that stick to the pan.
4 to 6 servings
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon Tabasco, or more to taste
½ cup heavy cream or crème fraîche
½ pound macaroni elbows or double-elbows
¾ pound grated Cheddar cheese
Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, and stir it with a wooden spoon or spatula for around 3 minutes, until the roux is frothy and the taste of raw flour is gone. Meanwhile, heat the milk in another pan. Add the warm milk gradually to the roux, stirring hard all the while. Turn up the heat and cook, stirring, until the sauce is just at the boiling point. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for a few minutes. Now add the pepper and Tabasco. Don’t be afraid of the Tabasco: it will help to bring out the taste of the cheese. Stir in the heavy cream or crème fraîche and simmer a little longer, until the flavors are blended.
Cook and drain the macaroni.
Mix three-quarters of the grated cheese into the simmering sauce. As soon as it melts, combine it with the drained macaroni, and pour it into a baking pan. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese, and bake for 20 to 30 minutes in a 350° oven.
A thin and elegant version of lasagne, just two layers of noodles with basil-flavored ricotta in between. Serve it at lunch, with a cool white wine and a green salad.
3 or 4 servings
½ pound lasagne noodles
½ cup Pesto (p. 66)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
Put the lasagne into a large pot of boiling water.
Meanwhile, using a wooden spoon or the food processor, beat the pesto, ricotta, egg, and Parmesan cheese until they are well blended. Butter a shallow baking dish. Drain the lasagne when just done al dente and make a layer of it in the baking dish. Cover it with the ricotta-pesto mixture and then with a second layer of lasagne. Over this, spread all the mozzarella and sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 350° oven for 25 minutes.
I love the texture of whole-wheat noodles. They seem to have so much character. This is a good oven dish, a different way to have a starch dish with steak, sausages, or fried chicken.
6 servings
1 pound whole-wheat noodles
1½ cups cottage cheese
1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ pound Gruyère or Cheddar cheese, shredded
Cook and drain the noodles. Combine the noodles, cottage cheese, yogurt, mustard, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Turn the noodles into a buttered baking dish and sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top. Bake in a 350° oven for 30 minutes.
This is a natural to serve at a barbecue with hamburgers or hot dogs. The mustard adds a wonderful tang, and if you’re watching your weight, you can simply use low-fat cottage cheese.
6 to 8 servings
1 pound macaroni
2 cups cottage cheese
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cook and drain the macaroni.
Combine it with the other ingredients and toss well. Although part of the appeal is in the contrast between the hot noodles and cold cheese, this dish can also be mixed ahead of time and served cold or, rather, at room temperature.
When the soufflé rises, it lifts the very thin strands of pasta and bits of prosciutto with it. Use your imagination when you pick the cheese. I’ve suggested Cheddar, Gruyère, or Parmesan, all of which have good character and melting qualities. But you might want to try a fresh mozzarella or delicate Fontina instead.
4 servings
4 ounces angel-hair pasta
6 egg yolks
¾ cup shredded Cheddar, Parmesan, or Gruyère cheese
¾ cup finely diced prosciutto
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon Tabasco
8 egg whites
Cook and drain the pasta.
Put the egg yolks in the bowl of your mixer and beat them until they are thick and butter-colored, as long as 5 minutes. Stir in the cheese, prosciutto, pepper, Tabasco, and the cooked pasta.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they form-soft peaks that just bend over. Stir a large spoonful of the white into the yolk mixture, and then fold in the rest of the beaten whites gently but thoroughly, using a rubber spatula.
Pour the mixture into a buttered 2-quart soufflé dish and smooth the top with the spatula. Draw a circle with your finger on top of the soufflé about 2 inches in from the rim. This will make the center rise higher than the sides to form a cap. Bake in the center of a preheated 375° oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
The secret of this soufflé is the egg! The yolks and their treatment are all-important. It is made without the usual béchamel base, so that you have to beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, and then fold them into the rest of the mixture so that they stay full of air. Then relax and let your soufflé do its thing. Serve as soon as it comes out of the oven, making sure that everybody gets a big piece of the browned crust as well as some of the creamy center.
4 servings
6 egg yolks
1½ cups cooked orzo, drained
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or ¾ cup grated Gruyère cheese, or ½ cup grated Cheddar cheese
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Several dashes Tabasco
8 egg whites
Put the egg yolks in the bowl of a mixer and beat them until they are thick and lemon-colored, as long as 5 minutes. Beating the eggs very well allows you to make the soufflé without a flour thickening. Add the orzo, the grated cheese, salt, pepper, and Tabasco.
In another bowl, preferably copper, beat the egg whites with a wire whisk or an electric mixer. Beat until they are stiff but not dry. Do not overheat until they stand upright as though you were making meringues. Stir a large spoonful of white into the yolk mixture. Then fold in the rest of the whites, cutting lightly through the center of the mixture with the side of the spatula, pulling it up and over and then cutting down again.
Pour into a buttered 2-quart soufflé dish and smooth the top with the spatula. Draw a circle with your finger on top of the mixture about 2 inches in from the rim. This will make the soufflé form a cap that rises higher than the rim. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for about 25 minutes, and serve immediately.
