Pasta Semplice

 

Try your hand at these easy dishes

 

The power of pasta has never been more eloquent. Pasta in every size, shape and form is being dressed, tossed and turned with just about every kind of sauce you can possibly imagine.

The popularity of pasta may stem from the versatility of this wonderful food. Each individual shape plays a different tune with the teeth. Each and every sauce clings and wraps itself around each crevice and curve. Pasta is touted as one of the healthiest foods to eat. And when teamed with vegetables, or garlic and olive oil, it becomes a dieter's dream food.

Pasta creations can be simple in approach and easy to prepare. Working with no more than five basic ingredients you can generate a dish that is flavorful and pleasing in every way.

Keep in mind that salt and pepper are used to taste in each of the recipes below.

 

 

Linguine with White Clam Sauce

To make this dish:

 

     Brown thin slices of garlic in olive oil.  Add clam juice and dried thyme.  Meanwhile, boil the pasta until it is al dente.  Just before the pasta is done, add canned chopped clams to the clam juice. Drain the pasta and toss it with the clam sauce.

Presto!  You now have linguine with clam sauce.  Not counting the pasta, you will use five very basic ingredients.

By adding just one more ingredient — tomato puree — you now have linguine with red clam sauce. And, should you wish to rev up the flavor of either of these dishes, simply add crushed red pepper flakes.

 

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

To make this simple creation (spaghetti with garlic and olive oil), you will need five ingredients in all: extra-virgin olive oil, chopped garlic, flat-leaf parsley, red pepper flakes and spaghetti.

 

                  Brown sliced garlic in olive oil and discard the garlic.  Add the flat leaf parsley and the red pepper flakes to the olive oil. Cook the spaghetti until it is al dente. Drain. Toss the spaghetti with the oil and garlic sauce.

The key to this tasty pasta dish is the olive oil; it must be extra-virgin and used with abundance. For example, I use 1/2 cup of olive oil to 1 pound of cooked pasta.

To create another fine-tasting pasta dish from this basic recipe, you simply add broccoli rabe (rapini) that have been boiled in salted water, drained and chopped. Add it to the pan with the garlic and oil.

 

 

Pasta all Genovese

Pasta Genovese is the working name for pasta with a pesto sauce. Purchase a very good ready-made pesto sauce. Follow the makers' directions for using the sauce. You will find many of these pesto sauces are concentrated and they can be cut with hot water.  Cook the pasta (trenette is the classic shape, but you can use spaghetti, fettuccine, or spaghettini) and drain it. Toss the pasta with the pesto sauce. Serve.

To step this simple dish up a notch, scatter toasted pine nuts over the top just before sending it out. You can also sprinkle  Romano cheese over it.

This dish can be served hot or cold, so in the summer months I would turn it into a cold pasta salad.

 

 

Spaghettini with Tomatoes and Basil

 

We are once again working with four basic ingredients: 

 

                    1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

                    2 cloves garlic, crushed

                    3 cups canned plum tomatoes with juices

                    3/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves

                    1 pound spaghettini

 

                  In a sauté pan large enough to hold all of the pasta after it has been cooked, brown (lightly, do not burn) the garlic.  Add the tomatoes and chop them coarsely, or crush by hand, before using them. Simmer the sauce over medium high heat to reduce the liquid. This will take about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until it is al dente. Drain.  Toss the cooked pasta with the tomato sauce. Add the fresh basil leaves. Toss again. Serve.

                  Cook’s Note: Serving grated Parmesan on the side is highly recommended.

 

Penne all’Arrabbiata

 

Turn the preceding recipe into yet another flavorful, spicy and popular pasta dish with the flick of a wrist and a change in pasta shape.  "Arrabbiata" translates to "angry." The idea here is that the sauce gets fired up with red pepper flakes.

In the recipe for spaghettini with tomatoes and basil, replace the spaghettini with penne or rotini pasta. Then, simply add 2 teaspoons (or to taste) crushed red pepper flakes. To amp up the flavor even more, sprinkle grated Romano cheese over the pasta just before sending it out.

By adding chopped anchovy fillets, capers, and chopped black olives to this sauce, you can create pasta puttanesca.

 

—Pasquale “Pat” Bruno, Jr.