Many of you have contemplated adding pasta to your menu but may still be reluctant. Well it’s time to cast your worries aside. I’ve written about pasta in the past and have even lead demos at International Pizza Expo. My goal now is to bring you through the most important part of making it happen — perfect pasta preparation!

Let me start with the very basics. There are two things that must happen before a single noodle can hit the pot of water. First, the water must be heavily salted. If you’ve ever been in the ocean, I imagine at some point you have gotten a mouth full of seawater. I hope you remember what that tasted like because that’s how salty I want your pasta water to taste. You can achieve that by putting 2/3 cup of salt into 4 gallons of water. Secondly, make sure your water comes to a full boil before you place your pasta in the pot. I’m not talking about a slight simmer either. Get the water to a full, rolling boil.

Now, you are ready to cook your pasta but there are a few things that are critical to successful pasta prep. One, don’t overcrowd the pot with too much pasta. Remember if you are using dry pasta, the pasta will absorb the salted water and expand in size. I’ve seen cooks put two parts pasta into three parts water, and before the pasta is fully cooked it has absorbed all the water and can’t continue to cook properly. They inevitably scorch the bottom of the pot and that burnt flavor will permeate through the rest of the pasta and ruin it all. Eight pounds of dry pasta in 4 gallons of boiling water is a good ratio that you should cook in a 5-gallon pot.

The second critical point I want to make is that you must frequently stir and move your pasta around, especially once it first goes into the boiling water. This is what keeps it from sticking together. I like to use an extra long pair of tongs to stir my pasta so I can pull the strands apart from each other. The wider the pasta’s surface, the more opportunity it has to cling to one another. Fettuccini will stick more than linguini, and dry lasagna noodles just love sticking together. I don’t like to waste oil, so I don’t oil my water. Some people say it will prevent your pasta from sticking. I say that simply adding oil to your water won’t achieve that goal and a few minutes later will simply go down the drain. The oil will come in handy after the pasta is cooked, however.

Although these points that I’ve shared with you thus far are all important, this next step, if not followed correctly, will throw all your previous efforts down the drain. You must cook your pasta about 90 seconds less than al dente. Al dente literally means “to the tooth.” As a culinary term that means to the bite, slightly firm or not overcooked. Most Americans and many restaurants overcook their pasta. Since I’m teaching you a method of cooking pasta that will be rinsed and chilled and then dipped in boiling water to order, you must slightly undercook your pasta in order to get it to the perfect texture as you are serving it to your guest.

I remember one of my first jobs as a teenage cook in a diner-type restaurant that had spaghetti on the menu. They would pre-cook the pasta and then store it in water, which is the absolute worst thing you can do! Another foolish thought is to think if you shut the heat off under the pot of pasta, that since the water is not boiling any longer, that the pasta is no longer cooking. Wrong! As soon as your pasta is slightly under al dente, I want you to drain it and immediately rinse it in cold water. This will mean that you’ll have to move the pasta around under the running water. This process should be completed within a couple of minutes.

Do not allow there to be any warm spots at all, otherwise the pasta will continue to cook slightly. While the pasta is still wet from rinsing it, pour about a half-cup of oil over the pasta and massage it in. Now you are ready to store your pasta under refrigeration. I would suggest that with portion bags, you portion out your pasta to the appropriate size (8 to 10 ounces for an entrée-sized portion). This will allow you to stock only what you need for each shift on the line instead of having a large container of pasta where your staff will never consistently portion the same every time. You will have a three-day shelf life on your pasta, so only cook what you anticipate serving for a two-day period. Have a small pot of water (unsalted this time) with a strainer basket on a grill or burner on at all times during meal periods. You will need to replenish the water many times throughout the day. When you get an order for pasta, as long as the water is at a boil, you only need to submerge the cooked pasta in the boiling water for 30 to 40 seconds. Then be sure to drain it well before it goes into the dish to ensure you are not serving a watery pasta entrée.



Although the cooking procedure is the same for all pastas, the cook time will vary from pasta to pasta. For example, thin spaghetti will take approximately seven minutes to cook where angel hair will take only three minutes to cook.

Tip: If you are using fresh pasta, use all the same procedures but know that your pasta will cook in approximately three minutes.

Rigatoni al Filo di Fumo

Yields: 4 Servings

¼ pound pancetta in a chunk about ½ inch thick
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 cups canned plum tomatoes (juices drained), crushed
½ cup frozen peas
1 pound cooked rigatoni
½ pound shredded or chopped fresh mozzarella
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Pare the rind from the pancetta and cut the meat into a small dice. In a large sauté pan set over medium heat, cook and stir the pancetta until it starts to get crisp around the edges.

Add the oil to the pan. Put the garlic through a garlic press into the pan. Add the tomatoes and peas. Raise the heat and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce, breaking up the tomatoes with a fork or spoon.

Add the rigatoni to the pan with the tomatoes. Immediately add the mozzarella and toss to combine.

Divide the pasta among four heated pasta bowls. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese over each serving.

Jeff Freehof owns The Garlic Clove in Evans, Georgia. He is a frequent contributor to Pizza Today and a speaker at the Pizza Expo family of trade shows.

A s one of the basic staples of any Italian menu, a fl avorful meat sauce makes the difference between an okay dish and a top seller. That’s why most operators don’t mind the time and effort it takes to make a savory meat sauce or a richer alternative, Bolognese.

Many recipes for Bolognese call for very little tomato content, focusing instead on beef, pancetta, meat stock, white wine and milk. A bit of tomato paste is added more as an accent than as a base for this sauce — a rich, tender meaty sauce that complements most types of pasta.

However, as with pizza, numerous variations for both meat and Bolognese sauces exist, allowing each pizzeria to come up with its own distinctive dishes.

Rocco Biale, owner of Rocco’s Ristorante Pizzeria in Walnut Creek, California, includes both types of meat sauces on his menu. His meat sauce starts with well-browned ground beef and Italian sausage, and includes highquality canned tomatoes. To prepare the Bolognese, the cooks add heavy cream to the meat sauce at the end of the cooking process.

“I’ve seen a lot of different versions of Bolognese,” says Biale, “but the creambased meat sauce is what we prefer. I like the lighter color, and the cream gives the sauce a little thinner consistency. Although the Bolognese sauce isn’t quite as hearty as the regular meat sauce, the Bolognese has a richer fl avor. It’s my favorite, and it’s what I recommend when a customer can’t decide which sauce to order.

“In general, we haven’t noticed a dramatic change in our customers’ ordering habits recently. We’ve always had family friendly prices for our pasta dishes, ranging from $7 to $9, and customers consider them an economical choice. We also sell sauces by the pint and quart from the hot line. That way, customers can take one home and do what they want with it.”

At Luigi’s Pizzeria Restaurant in Stamford, Connecticut, customers also have a choice between a hearty meat sauce and a creamy Bolognese. Says manager Ryan Reed, “Both sauces have lots of beef, and we make them with a little extra olive oil to carry the fl avor better. We use chopped beef for a heartier texture and appearance. Besides serving it over al denté pasta, we use meat sauce in our lasagna, and serve it over gnocchi. We also offer pasta as a side with our entrées, and we serve it with the meat sauce on request.

“Our Bolognese starts with the same meat sauce. But we make it fresh for every order by adding heavy cream to a serving to fi nish it. Besides being served on pasta, the Bolognese is part of the recipe for some of our specials. Most customers are familiar with our regular meat sauce and the Bolognese, and they’re both pretty popular. But if a customer needs help, our servers are happy to explain the difference between the two sauces.”

At Villa Rosa Pizza, Pasta and More in Chicago, the meat sauce is so well regarded that owners Nancy and Carlos Beidleman have been approached by companies who want to package it and sell it in supermarkets. To the Beidlemans, that just confi rms that their emphasis on quality is the right way to go.



“We make our meat sauce from scratch in 15-quart batches every two or three days,” says Carlos. “Our cook starts it at 10 a.m., but the sauce doesn’t fi nish cooking until 7 or 8 p.m., because it’s slowly simmered to make sure the fl avors blend well. We chill the sauce, then take it out a little at a time to reheat it for orders. Keeping the sauce chilled until the following day or two allows the fl avors to mature, so the sauce tastes better than it would if we served it the night we made it.

“Because our marinara sauce is our most popular, we use it to fl avor the meat sauce. But we always start by cooking the meat and vegetables fi rst, then add the rest of the ingredients that we use in the marinara sauce. We don’t just add meat to the prepared marinara sauce, because we wouldn’t get the same great fl avor.

“We serve a lot of the meat sauce with the eight pastas on our menu. Our generous serving size, about 8 ounces of sauce over pasta, makes people say ‘wow’ when they see it. A lot of them leave with doggy bags and have it for lunch the next day. We sell our sauces separately in 16- and 32-ounce insulated containers, and we also get requests from people to use it on our meatball or the Italian beef sandwiches, even on pizzas once in a while. Although some people could be doing that to get more for their money, I think it’s more a matter of preference because they just like the way our meat sauce tastes.” ❖

Creamy Meat Sauce
Yield: 8 quarts (about 42 servings)

½ cup olive oil
12 ounces minced onions
8 garlic cloves, minced
5 pounds coarsely ground lean chuck
5 pounds ground pork or veal
3 quarts tomato purée
1 quart beef stock
6 ounces tomato paste
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup chopped fresh oregano
¼ cup chopped fresh thyme Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 3 to 4 pints whipping cream

1. Heat olive oil. Add onions and garlic; sauté until onions are translucent.

2. Add ground meats; cook and stir until meat is lightly browned (do not overcook).

3. Stir in tomato purée, beef stock, tomato paste, basil, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, and simmer gently. Skim occasionally to degrease, if necessary. Continue simmering 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until sauce reaches desired consistency.

4. Heat whipping cream before blending into cooked sauce. Cool, cover and refrigerate. Gently reheat and hold on hot line.

Italian Meat Sauce
Yield: 10 quarts (about 60 servings)

2 cups olive oil
1 quart fi nely chopped onions
1 quart fi nely chopped celery
6 cloves garlic, crushed
8 pounds coarsely ground meat (combination of beef, veal, pork)
2¼ quarts beef stock
1 No. 10 can crushed plum tomatoes (or ground Italian tomatoes)
1 No. 10 can tomato purée
1 No. 2½ can tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 bay leaves
1 ounce sugar
Salt, to taste Black pepper, to taste

1. Heat olive oil. Add onions, celery and garlic; sauté until onions are translucent.

2. Add ground meat. Braise over low heat until lightly browned (do not overcook).

3. Stir in beef stock, plum tomatoes, tomato purée, tomato paste, basil, thyme, oregano, bay leaves and sugar. Reduce heat to low, and simmer gently. Skim occasionally to degrease, if necessary. Continue simmering 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until sauce reaches desired consistency.

4. Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper as needed. If necessary, sauce can be thickened with a little cornstarch blended in water.

Cook’s Note: add mushrooms and green peppers to sauce, if desired.

Carol Meres Kroskey is a freelance writer based in Chicago. She has extensive knowledge covering the baking and food service industries for a variety of publications.

Love it or hate it, ricotta just may be the most versatile cheese found in pizzerias today. Not only is it used in pasta dishes, but it can also be found atop pizzas and in rich, delightful sauces and desserts. It’s important to understand what ricotta comes from and how it’s made. Ricotta is Italian for “recooked” — it is made by “cooking” whey. It makes delicious lasagna, ravioli stuffing, gnocchi, cannoli, cheese-stuffed shells and even a great treat that both of my grandmothers used to make me called cheese blintzes (cheese filled crepes). Naturally, I’d be a fool if I didn’t mention how great pizza is with dollops of ricotta baked on it.

Many of us who have been blessed to learn how to make our own homemade fresh mozzarella at International Pizza Expo have learned that fresh milk has an enzyme added to it to separate the curds and whey. It’s that curd that we can buy to then make our own mozzarella. So, what about the whey? Well, it is then cooked to make ricotta.

Like types and styles of pizza crust and sauce, there are many different kinds of ricotta. There’s whole milk and part skim, with an obvious difference in the fat content. But there are also different textures you can find in ricotta cheese. Many ricottas can be a little bit grainy, and they are suitable for making lasagna, ravioli, manicotti or stuffed shells. Personally, I prefer a whipped, smooth ricotta cheese. It’s more versatile and has a much better mouth feel.

In order to use your ricotta cheese for both pasta dishes and desserts, it makes more sense to buy just one type. Ask your vendor to provide you with samples of the various ricottas they carry so that you can try them out for yourself.

For lasagna, manicotti, stuffed shells and ravioli, I like to season my ricotta with salt, pepper, garlic and Italian seasonings. I call my lasagna “Four- Cheese Lasagna” and find it much easier to assemble with all the cheeses in the filling instead of layering each cheese as I’m making the lasagna. For that reason, I add Parmesan, diced or shredded mozzarella and provolone cheeses to my ricotta filling. I fi nd it important to add a few eggs to this mixture to bind it together once it’s cooked.

There is superfine ricotta cheese available with very low moisture designed for use in desserts. This cheese is designed to hold powdered or confectionary sugar well without getting too moist and loose. Mixing three pounds of this ricotta with one pound of powdered sugar and a couple of tablespoons of almond extract makes a perfect cannoli filling. With a pastry bag, I fi ll my cannoli shells and then dip the ends in mini chocolate chips.

I even attempted tiramisu with this smooth ricotta as a replacement for the traditional Mascarpone cheese — and it came out perfect. I like to make a big batch and freeze it. First, I whip four quarts of heavy cream. When it’s almost whipped all the way, I add two pounds of powdered sugar and three small boxes of instant white chocolate pudding powder mix (which acts as a stabilizer).

Next, I fold in six pounds of smooth ricotta. This completes my cream filling. Once that is ready, I brew a double strength pot of coffee and sweeten it with 3 pounds of sugar. I line two full two inch hotel pans with plastic wrap and assemble the tiramisu.

I start by lining each pan with ladyfinger cookies. I drizzle the sweet coffee mixture over the cookies. Next, I layer in some of the cream. I repeat the process until I have three layers of soaked cookies with three layers of the cream. This will fi ll two hotel pans. Then I freeze it all.

In order to get a clean cut on the tiramisu, pop it out of the pan while it’s still frozen and cut each yield into 28 squares. Wrap each piece individually and keep them frozen. Pull a few out per shift. Thaw them in the refrigerator. Serve each piece with a sprinkling of cocoa on top.❖

A Unique Twist
Gnocchi is a little dumpling that is usually made with potato. I find it so much easier to make with ricotta cheese, which yields a light dumpling. Simply add a few ingredients together to make a soft gnocchi dough. Here’s a recipe that’s quick and easy.



Ricotta Gnocchi

1 pound ricotta cheese
1 egg
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¾ cup fl our
1 teaspoon salt

Mix the ingredients together to form a soft dough. If it’s too sticky, add a little more fl our — a little at a time — until you can roll the dough out on the counter.

Roll it out into a rope form and cut even pieces. You can press them with your thumb, roll them over the back of a fork with your finger or roll them over a gnocchi board that puts lines on them. Boil them in salted water for about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain them and immediately toss them in your favorite sauce and serve.

There are virtually hundreds of sauce options. Garlic butter would be great, but if you really wanted to stick with a ricotta theme, you could mix some ricotta with marinara to make a tomato cream sauce. You can even make an untraditional Alfredo sauce by draining the gnocchi, tossing it with some melted garlic butter, a cup of ricotta, ½ cup of Parmesan and ½ cup of cream.

Jeffrey Freehof owns The Garlic Clove in Evans, Georgia, and is a frequent contributor to Pizza Today and the Pizza Expo trade show family.

The trick with fan favorites is delivering on the promise of taste memory while thrilling with twists and signature takes — as long as those twists work. Lasagna is a potluck regular, a secret recipe held tightly by grandma–– and an opportunity for operators. It’s a comfort-food all star, but needs a bit of reinvention to add menu distinction.

When executed well, lasagna is more than the sum of its parts. At its core, it’s a layered dish with pasta, sauce and cheese. Traditionally, it’s a Bolognese sauce, ricottamixture and cheeses. But really, the term lasagna can be loosely assigned to any layered pasta dish, or even one that borrows the ingredients and puts them on a pizza. Just ask the operators featured here.

At 43-seat La Piazza al Forno in Glendale, Arizona, the Chicken Pesto Lasagna outsells its classic Baked Meat Lasagna. “It’s something different, and it’s really, really good,” says its owner, Rachel Piazza. Created by her father-in-law and a menu staple since the restaurant opened in 2007, it’s a four-layered lasagna starring chicken and pesto. Traditional lasagna sheets are topped with a mixture of chicken breast, pesto, ricotta and mozzarella. After four layers, the lasagna is topped with mozzarella and baked. La Piazza prebakes the pans of lasagna, then slices for service. For a 12-ounce portion, diners pay $10. The food cost runs at 30 percent.

Fratello’s Italian Grille, with three units throughout New Hampshire, offers a traditional lasagna, but adds a layer of pepperoni, making it signature with just the simplest of twists. It also menus a seafood lasagna, starring lobster, shrimp and scallops.

“Our seafood lasagna is really popular. It’s been on our menu for nine years, so it’s a regular feature on here,” says kitchen manager Robert Clifford. Although not as stellar a performer as traditional lasagna, the seafood lasagna earns its rightful place on the menu. “The price point is higher because of the seafood, but it’s definitely a unique item on our menu that our diners love,” says Clifford.

Clifford builds the seafood lasagna with a foundation of a lobster cream sauce (sherry wine, shallots, lobster, cream and butter), lasagna noodles, ricotta filling (eggs, herbs, cheeses and ricotta), another layer of noodles, seafood and sauce, shredded mozzarella and another duplicate layer. He finishes the lasagna with shredded mozzarella and prebakes it. He pulls the lasagna out of the oven, portions it for service, then warms up slices per order. Diners pay $21.99 for a portion. The food cost runs at 30 to 35 percent.

“The trick to a successful lasagna is to make sure all of your layers are thin, and that you bind the ricotta mixture with eggs, so it’s not too liquidy,” he says. For Fratello’s traditional lasagna, he starts with a house made Bolognese sauce, layer of noodles, ricotta fi lling (same as one in the seafood lasagna) and a layer of pepperoni. He adds another pasta layer, more ricotta filling, more Bolognese sauce and shredded mozzarella and Parmesan. The lasagna sells for $13.99 and runs a 20-percent food cost.

At Lorenzo’s de Mesilla in Mesilla, New Mexico, owner Lorenzo Liberto adds a local twist to his classic Italian lasagna –– Hatch green chiles. The result? It is the No. 1 selling pasta dish at this Italian restaurant. “My Sicilian grandmother would roll over in her grave if she knew I put green chiles in her recipe, but it works,” says Liberto. “It adds a really fresh taste of chiles that’s not too spicy, but that showcases our local chile.”

He puts the lasagna noodles down fi rst, then adds the ricotta mixture (ricotta, seasoned ground beef, house made sugo and green chile). A layer of mozzarella follows, with a bit of sugo (caramelized onions, garlic, olive oil, tomato, spices and fresh basil), and more ricotta mixture. After four layers, he prebakes it in the oven, portions for service, adds a bit of Pecorino and sugo over top. For a 12-ounce portion, Liberto charges $12.75. The lasagna comes with salad and fresh Sicilian-style flatbread. He runs a food cost for the lasagna of 30 percent.

Brick 3 Pizza in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has captured the familiarity and popularity of lasagna and put it on a pizza — a really great selling pizza. “Our Lasagna Pizza is the second or third best seller out of our 32 pizzas,” says Figo Akcay, partner and general manager of this 52-seat shop that specializes in New York-style pizza.

The newly opened restaurant (April 2009) landed on a simple recipe for this best-seller: the pizza is topped with ground beef, cheddar, Parmesan cheese and mozzarella. That’s it. “It tastes great, but it’s really not a complicated pizza,” says Akcay. “People like the novelty of it, I think. They know what a lasagna tastes like, and then you add that to pizza … well, it works.” Diners pay $16.45 for a 14-inch pie. The food cost runs around 20 percent, depending on the cost of ground beef. 

Double-Layered Cajun Lasagna

1 pound andouille sausage, quartered and sliced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, large diced
2 teaspoons
Cajun seasoning
Olive oil for sautéing
½ cup Vidalia onion, chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
¼ cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
White Sauce (recipe follows)
10 to 12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

White Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose fl our Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups milk
1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
Pinch of cayenne

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, combine sausage, chicken and Cajun seasoning. Cook chicken through, about 8 minutes. Remove meat from skillet with a slotted spoon; set aside. Sauté in olive oil: onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic until tender. Remove from heat; stir in cooked meat and white sauce. In a greased 9x13-inch hotel pan, cover bottom with four lasagna noodles. Spread with ½ of the meat mixture. Repeat layers; cover with a layer of noodles. Spread remaining White Sauce over top. Top with mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake in 325 F oven for 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes before serving or chilling.

Cook’s Note: Can prebake lasagna, cool, then slice. Reheat slices per order.

Katie Ayoub is a frequent contributor to Pizza Today. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

More and more I am seeing a bumper crop of vegetables showing up on restaurant menus –– and I am not talking salads here. From asparagus to zucchini and everything in between (arugula is the hottest green being used as a pizza topping right now), vegetables of every shape and color have become the go-to ingredients that add pizzazz to pizzas (and pumps up that pasta dish to pleasing perfection).


(Broccoli rabe –– also known as rapini –– is a distant cousin to the cabbage and turnip. )

I am seeing rapini (also known as broccoli rabe) and radicchio being used in pasta dishes with delicious effect. as simple as blanching the rapini until it is tender, followed by a quick sauté olive oil and garlic. That’s the prep. toss the cooked and drained pasta (short pasta such as penne, ziti orrecchiette or rigatoni) into the rapini, combine serve.


(This might look like red cabbage, but it’s actually radicchio. This colorful offering can be used in salads, but we have a recipe using it on pizza. )

Another vegetable that works in pasta dishes and as a pizza topping is asparagus. Trim and clean the asparagus, then toss brush with olive oil. Grill the aparagus roast it in the oven). Now cut the spears into 1-inch pieces. Use as is for a pizza topping or toss with cooked pasta.

Since the dog days of August are upon us, here’s a great dish to consider for a late summer special now through the end of September. I make this dish more than a few times during late summer when I have access to fresh, dead-ripe tomatoes and arugula. The dish comes out more or less like a pasta salad. Served with crusty Italian bread, it becomes an entree salad.


(Arugula has a tendency to be gritty, so rinse well before using. )

After you check out my fresh tomatoes and arugula recipe, I have a couple more for you to try as well.


(For the best flavor, choose smaller zucchini. It is younger and boasts more flavor. )

Rigatoni with Fresh Tomatoes and Arugula
Yield: 4-6 servings
(scale up in direct proportion)

3⁄4 pound rigatoni, cooked until al dente, drained, cooled slightly
3⁄4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
½ cup chopped red onion
8 ripe Roma tomatoes (about 3 pounds), cored and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups, tightly packed chopped arugula
1 cup grated Parmesan

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the vinegar and olive oil. Add the garlic, onion, tomatoes and arugula, then toss to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the cooked pasta to the bowl. Toss to combine. Sprinkle on the Parmesan. Toss again. Divide into serving portions.

Arugula, Prosciutto and Fresh Mozzarella Pizza
Yield: One 14-inch pizza
(scale up in direct proportion)

1 14-inch pizza shell
2 cups fresh arugula leaves
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3-4 very thin slices prosciutto (about 2 ounces), shredded
6 ounces pizza sauce
2 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced or cubed
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan Toss the arugula with the olive oil and prosciutto. Set aside. Spread the pizza sauce over the pizza crust. Put the fresh mozzarella over the sauce, spreading it out evenly. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the mozzarella. Bake the pizza until the crust is brown and the cheese has melted. Let the pizza cool for a few minutes, then slice. Just before sending the pizza out, arrange the arugula/prosciutto mixture over the top.

Pizza with Sauteéd Radicchio
Yield: One14-inch pizza
(scale up in direct proportion)
1 14-inch pizza shell
1⁄4 cup olive oil
5 cups coarsely chopped radicchio*
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella

In a large sauté pan, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the chopped radicchio and the garlic. Cook and stir for about 10 minutes or until the radicchio is soft and wilted. Remove from heat. Set aside. Spread the sauteéd radicchio evenly over the pizza crust. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the radicchio. Bake. ❖



You can substitute escarole for the radicchio if the cost of the radicchio is too high. ❖

Pat Bruno is Pizza Today’s resident chef and a regular contributor. He is the former owner and operator of a prominent Italian cooking school in Chicago and is a food critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Prosciutto is more than just Italian ham. It’s a delicacy, prized for its melt-in-your-mouth texture and subtle, complex flavor. A little goes a long way, allowing operators to leverage prosciutto’s sense of place, perceived value and flavor profile. Fabricated from the haunches of a pig, lots of love and attention goes into its production: the meat is salted, air-cured, greased with salted lard and then cured for 12 to 30 months. Prosciutto di Parma is perhaps the most common variety. Pigs raised in Italy’s Parma region for prosciutto, or Parma ham, are fed a diet that includes whey from locally made Parmiggiano-Reggiano, giving it its distinctly rich, sweet-salty flavor. (The longer it’s aged, the deeper and meatier the flavor.)

So how best to show off prosciutto’s rosy color, sublime texture and sweet flavor? Classic appetizers lay thin layers of prosciutto over musky melon, or wrap the paper-thin slices around grilled asparagus spears or luscious figs. Prosciutto stars in antipasto platters, where the complex-flavored ham shares space with pepperoni and fresh mozzarella, roasted red pepper, marinated artichokes and briny olives. But some operators are extolling the virtues of prosciutto beyond its traditional uses, perhaps as a pizza topping or as a high-value ingredient in a signature pasta dish.

At Prosciutto’s Pizzeria, Pub & Restaurant in Cornelius, North Carolina, prosciutto is prevalent on the menu. The Prosciutto’s House Pizza, a gourmet white pizza with an olive-oil and garlic base, combines the meat with feta and mozzarella. Out of 15 specialty pizzas, it ranks among the top-three sellers. “We lay the prosciutto over the dough, and then the cheeses on top,” says Joel Pfyffer, owner operator of this 130-seat restaurant. “The prosciutto crisps up beautifully.”

The Prosciutto’s House Pasta sports cheese tortellini tossed with prosciutto and garlic sautéed in olive oil, mushrooms, grilled chicken and Alfredo sauce. “It’s our No. 1 seller,” he says. “We make the Alfredo sauce in house. The dish has wonderful fl avors in it—from the cheese and garlic to the really good quality prosciutto.”

An entrée portion sells for $13.95 and comes with salad and bread. The dish runs a food cost of $6.50.

“We use prosciutto di Parma, and cut it very, very thin,” he says. “You only need a little of it to make a good impact on the dish. He says the trick is to have someone who knows how to wield a knife well, slicing the prosciutto paper thin. The restaurant goes through 10 pounds a week, storing it in the walk-in until needed. Other uses for prosciutto? “We deep fry it and add it to salads. Or it’s a perfect base for an Italian sandwich,” says Pfyffer.

At 74-seat Vertuccio’s Pizza on the Park in Brooklyn, New York, Chef Gaetano Giuffre goes through a whole leg of prosciutto once a week. It’s showcased on two of the menu’s 20 gourmet pizzas and on one of its focaccia sandwiches. On the Reale Pizza, the dough is topped with San Marzano tomato sauce, Fior di latte mozzarella and chunks of fried eggplant. Once baked, the chef tops the pizza with thin slices of prosciutto di Parma and fresh basil. “By fi nishing the pizza with the prosciutto, you’re maintaining its freshness and wonderful texture,” says Giuffre. The 18-inch pie sells for $21.50 and runs a 30 percent food cost. It falls in the top six or seven out of the 20 pizzas.

Vertuccio’s Prosciutto Pizza sees cherry tomatoes and Fior di latte mozzarella on a pizza. When pulled out of the oven, Giuffre adds wisps of arugula, razor-thin slices of prosciutto and shaved Parmesan cheese. “The flavors are simple, fresh and light,” he says. “The prosciutto adds some depth.” The 18-inch pizza sells for $20 and runs a 30 percent food cost.

The Prosciutto, a sandwich housed between two slices of brick-oven focaccia, boasts prosciutto, arugula, Fior di latte mozzarella and a balsamic dressing, which brings out the prosciutto’s sweeter side. “We want to highlight the delicacy of prosciutto, complementing it with flavors, but not overwhelming it,” says Giuffre. 

Pasta with Prosciutto, Parmesan and Peas

Yields 8 servings

24 ounces tagliatelle or other pasta
1½ tablespoons butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 10-ounce package frozen peas, thawed
8 ounces prosciutto, sliced paper thin and halved
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Cook pasta until al dente in a large pot of boiling, salted water, according to package directions. Reserve 2 cups pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat; add shallot and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add cream, peas and prosciutto; bring to a very gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring. Simmer until peas are heated through, about 4 minutes.

Add lemon juice and zest. Toss pasta with sauce; add Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add some of reserved pasta water to thin sauce as desired. Serve immediately; top with additional Parmesan, if desired.

Katie Ayoub is a frequent contributor to Pizza Today. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

From Messina on the Northeast corner of Sicily to Trapani on the west coast, Sicily has, over many centuries, felt the infl uences of Greek, Roman, and Spanish culture. That minestrone of civilizations has had quite an impact on the cuisine of this fabled island. Often the term cucina povera, or the cooking of the poor, is ascribed to Sicilian cuisine, but that in no way downgrades the pleasure and ingenuity that is so much a part of Sicilian cooking. In fact, Sicilian cuisine bursts with color, flavor, fragrance and goodness.

The gist of this article –– Sicilian pasta sauce –– is but a small dot on the culinary canvas that defines Sicilian food. Important to Sicilian cooking are creations like arancini (crunchy rice balls) and ingredients like sardines, anchovies, tomatoes, eggplant, crushed red pepper, olive oil, olives, clams, mussels, squid, capers, garlic, selected cheeses and fruits (like blood oranges and lemons). But, it is the simplicity of Sicilian cooking that makes it so approachable.

I am putting forth a challenge to every operator reading this article. Add some dishes –– pasta, pizza, appetizers –– with a Sicilian subtext and watch how fast those specialties fl y out of the kitchen. The time for Sicilian cooking to get its due has arrived. So let’s get started with some delicious Sicilian pasta sauces and go from there and see what else we can do with them.

Sicilian Pasta Sauce
Sicilians love to use ridged pasta like rigatoni, ziti and penne, so in this recipe I use an imported rigatoni known as “rigatoni gigantica” because I like the way it flattens after it has been cooked.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings (scale up in direct proportion)
1 pound mild Italian sausage with fennel
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ pound lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups canned plum tomatoes with juices
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound rigatoni
½ cup grated Romano cheese

Remove casing from sausage (discard casing). Warm the olive oil for one minute in a large sauté pan set over medium-high heat. Add the sausage (breaking it up with a fork or spoon) and the ground beef. Cook and stir for 6 to 8 minutes until the meats are no longer pink.

Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano and pepper flakes.

Bring the sauce to a gentle boil. Turn down the heat and simmer the sauce for an hour or more until it has reduced, stirring occasionally.

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water (that has been salted) until al dente (about 14 minutes for large rigatoni). Drain well.

Divide the pasta among six heated pasta bowls. Spoon some of the sauce over each portion. Sprinkle a portion of the romano cheese over each serving.

Chef’s notes: sauce can be made ahead. Cool slightly before covering and refrigeration. Cooled sauce can then be used on pizza. Spread a small amount of the sauce over a pizza shell. Top with grated romano or a blend of mozzarella and provolone. Bake as you would any other pizza.

Pasta alla Norma
This classic Sicilian pasta dish dates back to the late 1800s and was named after Bellini’s opera “Norma.” Eggplant is used frequently in Sicilian cooking. This is a very versatile sauce, so check out the extended possibilities under my Chef’s Notes.

Yield: six servings (scale up in direct proportion)
½ cup olive oil
2 small, firm eggplants (about 2 pounds), trimmed (but not peeled), cut into ½-inch cubes
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced or pushed through a garlic press
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste) 6 cups canned plum tomatoes with juices
1 cup torn basil leaves
1 pound ridged ziti or rigatoni
1 cup crumbled ricotta salata (a salted, dry ricotta cheese)

Warm the olive oil for 1 minute in a large sauté pan set over medium high heat. Add the eggplant and cook and stir until the eggplant softens a bit. Add the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until the onion softens.

Crush the tomatoes by hand or use a hand-held blender. Add the tomatoes to the sauté pan with the eggplant and onion. Add the basil leaves. Simmer the sauce for an hour or more to reduce.

While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta in boiling salted water until it is al dente. Drain well. Divide the pasta among heated pasta bowls. Spoon some of the sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle some of the ricotta salata over each portion.

Chef’s notes 
If ricotta salata is not available, top each pasta portion with dollops of regular ricotta. 
Also, this sauce and method can be used as a pizza topping. Cool the sauce before spreading it on a pizza crust. Bake the pizza. After baking and just before sending it out, top with ricotta salata or dollops of regular ricotta. 
Batches of this sauce can be made ahead and stored, covered, in the cooler. Use with pasta or pizza as suggested. 
Small, firm eggplant (also known as Asian eggplant) does not need to be salted. Eggplant with a lot of seeds can be bitter unless it is salted and pressed to get rid of the bitterness. 
Once this sauce has been made and cooled, it can be used for an appetizer of eggplant bruschetta. Simply spoon a small amount of the cooled eggplant sauce over toasted or grilled ovals of bread. Top each portion with some grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and/or a chiffonade of fresh basil. 

Pat Bruno is Pizza Today’s resident chef and a regular contributor. He is the former owner and operator of a prominent Italian cooking school in Chicago and is a food critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Familiarity breeds intent, and those of us in the food business are quite familiar with that duet of herbs: basil and oregano. Generally, our intent is to use them in every way possible –– sometimes, whether we need to or not. For example, a pizza restaurant that shall go unnamed once used oregano to the point of absurdity. Finally, I called the owner (anonymously) and told him that if he kept laying down a napalm of oregano on my pizza that I was going elsewhere. I love oregano –– when it is used in moderation and in proper balance to the rest of the ingredients.

First, let me address the issue of dried herbs versus fresh herbs. Given the availability, price factor and overall usage, I would opt for fresh over dried every time, and who among us is not guilty of keeping dried herbs around too long? Dried herbs are not like a fine red wine — they do not get better with age. In fact, they lose potency by the week.

When using fresh herbs in, say, a pasta sauce, add them near the end of the cooking time. Putting them in early will alter the taste, since fresh herbs do not hold up as well in heat as dried herbs.

Conversely, if you are using dried herbs in a sauce, put them in at the very beginning. Dried herbs need time (and heat) to rehydrate and round out their flavor. Generally you will need to add three times as much fresh herbs as dried herb in a recipe –– for example, three tablespoons of fresh basil, or one tablespoon of dried basil. You wouldn’t scatter whole peppercorns on a salad. Passing the peppercorns through a mill —grinding — over the salad releases the flavor, making it pronounced and viable. The same is true for dried herbs you put into a pasta sauce (and on pizza when possible), rub the herb between your thumb and forefinger as you add them. This releases the inner flavor of the herb.

So what herbs and spices should you put into use in your restaurant? Consider these:

Rosemary is a very pungent herb and should be used sparingly. I favor its use mostly in soups and with chicken and lamb dishes. Add some rosemary to a dough you would be using to make focaccia (rosemary and onion focaccia is a winner) or to flavor up chicken strips.

Marjoram is a sweet-scented herb that is important in Mediterranean cooking. Sweet marjoram has a decidedly delicate flavor. Oregano is a member of the marjoram family that is more pungent than sweet marjoram, but some cooks like to use marjoram and oregano interchangeably.

Sage is an herb that is not commonly used with pizza (it has a very intense flavor). But, using sage with a butter sauce and ravioli or other pasta sauce can be quite tasty. Use sage in combination with Italian sausage and peppers.

Fennel (dried, not fresh, also known as anise) is an important part of my pantry. I use whole fennel seeds and I have a spice grinder dedicated solely for grinding fennel seeds.

Parsley is definitely an unsung herb, but if you are going to use in cooking (as opposed to using it as a garnish) it should be flat-leaf Italian-style parsley.

Nutmeg is indispensable in cream-based sauces such as Alfredo. It’s best to avoid ground nutmeg. Grate whole nutmeg fresh as needed. Use it sparingly; a little of its intense flavor goes a long way.

Capers, packed in brine, are the best kind to use, but rinse them under cold water before using them in a sauce. Capers are an excellent flavor addition to a spicy red sauce (for pizza or pasta).

Thyme is another undersung herb. I would never be without thyme (I mostly use dried thyme). Thyme would be my first herb choice when using any type of seafood (on a clam pizza, for example, or to flavor the clam broth for linguine with clam sauce).

Cilantro plays an important role when making any type of Mexican dish, including Mexican pizza toppings, salsa and tacos.

Chives work great when added to, say, mashed potatoes. Also chives work great with any type of eggplant dish (caponata, for example).

Tarragon has a hint of licorice flavor. I use it for chicken tarragon, also for tarragon mayonnaise (great with a chicken sandwich).


Penne with Bolognese

Yield: four servings as a pasta course

(scale up in direct proportion)

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup chopped yellow onion
1 pound ground beef
2 teaspoons fennel seed and
1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
¼ cup milk
4 cups canned plum tomatoes, crushed with juices
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled, or ¼ cup fresh finely chopped
½ cup chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
¾ pound penne, rotini or other short pasta

In a heavy pot, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add
the onion. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the meat. Cook and stir for another 4 minutes or until the meat is cooked through. Add the fennel seed and milk and cook for 3 minutes.

Add tomatoes, parsley, oregano and chicken broth. Bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 35 to 40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (The sauce can be prepped ahead to this point and held).

Cook the pasta until it is al dente. Drain well. Divide the pasta among four heated pasta bowls. Spoon on the sauce. Served with grated Parmesan on the side.

Pat Bruno is Pizza Today’s resident chef and a regular contributor. He is the former owner and operator of a prominent Italian cooking school in Chicago and is a food critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.

What exactly is soppressata? In a nutshell, it’s a form of dry- cured salami. A specialty of southern Italy, it is traditionally made using pork (beef is used on occasion). The basic seasonings include cracked red pepper and garlic. Depending on who is making it, some versions are hotter than others (in other words, more red pepper is used). Overall, I love the fragrant, spicy flavor of soppressata.

A number of Italian restaurants in Chicago use soppressata as part of a salumi (cured meats) and cheese platter. And when used as part of this style of antipasti platter, soppressata should be sliced thin (even thinner than pepperoni).

Speaking of pepperoni, soppressata works as a perfect stand-in or substitute for pepperoni –– it can be used on a pizza the same way you would use pepperoni. Romance it a bit, though, by saying something like “soppressata calabrese –– a spicy salami” on your toppings list. Test a few slices to see how much fat it throws off (some fat is a good thing, since it adds to the overall flavor) and if there is excessive “cupping.”

When I am replacing pepperoni with soppressata on a pizza, I find that a coarse chop works great. I scatter the chopped soppressata atop the cheese and across the pizza. It makes for a great presentation and a flavor that is hard to beat. Having said that, I should also point out that, on average, soppressata has a higher food cost than pepperoni.

Beyond using it for pizza, I also use it to kickstart a red sauce by sauteéing chopped soppressata in olive oil and crushed garlic. Then I add crushed all- purpose tomatoes, oregano and basil. That’s it! You’ve got a delicious, gently meaty red sauce.

Soppressata has a variety of uses beyond pizza or the aforementioned meats platter. Try using it in a sandwich, for example. Check out this Panini recipe and see what you think:

PANINI CALABRESE

Yield: 8 sandwiches (scale up in direct proportion)

8 to 12 ounces (about 16 to 24 slices) thinly sliced soppressata (dry-cured Italian salami)

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

8 thin slices prosciutto

8 thin slices fresh mozzarella

8 panini buns or rolls, toasted or grilled

1 cup roasted red bell pepper strips

16 large fresh basil leaves

In a nonstick sauté pan set over medium- high heat, fry the soppressata until lightly crisp and some fat has rendered, about 2 minutes per side. Remove it to a plate.

Lightly brush the buns or bread with extra-virgin olive oil.

Layer each bun this way: the soppressata, 2 slices prosciutto, 2 slices mozzarella, 2-3 strips of roasted red bell pepper strips on one slice of the bread. Top with the other slice and place the sandwich in the pan, pressing down on the sandwich with the palm of your hand. When that side is lightly toasted, about 3 to 4 minutes, flip the sandwich and toast the other side. (Alternatively, use a sandwich press or panini grill.)

Remove the sandwich to a cutting board and open the sandwich. Lay down four basil leaves on each sandwich. Close the sandwiches, then slice them in half to serve.

PASTA WITH SOPPRESSATA AND EGGPLANT

Yield: 4 servings (Scale up in direct proportion)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 eggplant (about 1 pound), trimmed and cut into ½-inch dice

1 cup chopped yellow onion

¼ pound soppressata in chunks about ¼-inch thick

3 cups canned plum tomatoes with juices

¼ teaspoon (or to taste) dried red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 pound farfalle pasta (or other short pasta such as penne, rigatoni)

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Rub a baking sheet or sheet pan with the olive oil. Arrange the eggplant in one layer on the pan. Sprinkle the onion over the eggplant. Roast the eggplant and onion for about 20 minutes until it is barely tender (can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead and held).

While the eggplant is roasting, make the sauce. In a large saute pan set over medium-high heat, cook and stir the soppressata until it throws off some fat and starts to crisp, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Add the pepper. Simmer the sauce vigorously for about 20 minutes or until the sauce is reduced to about 2 cups (can be prepared several hours ahead and held).

Add the roasted eggplant and onions to the tomatoes. Turn the heat down to maintain a low, steady simmer.

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling, salted water until it is al dente. Drain the pasta and turn it out into a large heated serving bowl. Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss to combine. Divide the pasta among four heated serving bowls. Top each serving with grated Parmesan cheese. u

Pat Bruno is Pizza Today’s resident chef and a regular contributor. He is the former owner and operator of a prominent Italian cooking school in Chicago and is a food critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Cajun-Creole cooking is hot (as in trend, but also because customers are taking to spicy-heat dishes like never before). So why not jump on the bandwagon and play along? I am sure your customers will love the variety.

Some of the specialities of New Orleans in particular and Lousiana in general include po’ boys, the famous muffaletta, jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish . . . the list goes on and on.

Critical to most Cajun dishes is the spice mix. There are brands upon brands of ready-to-go Cajun spice mixes, so that’s the easy part. However, should you wish to make your own Cajun spice mix, try this one:

Cajun Spice Mix

3 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons each of cayenne pepper, thyme, oregano, onion powder and garlic powder.

1 tablespoon each sea salt or kosher salt, black pepper and sugar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Makes about 1 cup.

On the other hand, the “Holy Trinity” of Cajun-Creole cuisine is bell pepper, onion and celery. It all depends on what style of dish — pasta, soup, sandwich, pizza — you are going for.

The meats most commonly used in Cajun cookery are andouille sausage, pork sausage (boudin) and chaurice (similar to chorizo).

Here are is a Cajun-inspired sandwich recipe to get you started.

///////// Pasta Jambalaya with sausage and chicken

Serves 4 to 6 (scale up in direct proportion)

1 pound penne rigate, ziti or rotini, cooked in boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water (the starchy water enhances the pasta “sauce”). Drain the pasta and set it aside. Keep it warm.

3 tablespoons olive oil
¾ pound shrimp
¾ pound andouille sausage, diced into ½-inch pieces
½ cup yellow onion, small dice
½ cup green bell pepper, small dice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons Cajun spice mix
½ cup chicken stock or broth
1 cup canned plum tomatoes, crushed by hand and drained
½ cup grated Parmesan

Over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil in a large saute pan for 1 minute. Add chicken, sausage, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Add the Cajun spice mix. Stir and cook until the chicken and sausage and bell pepper are cooked through (about 5 minutes). Add the chicken broth and tomatoes. Cook and stir to reduce a bit. Add the reserved pasta water and cook for another 3 minutes.

Put the cooked, reserved pasta in a heated pasta serving bowl. Add the jambalaya sauce and toss to combine. For each portion, sprinkle on the Parmesan just before serving.

//// Muffaletta //// Olive Salad

Yield: 2 quarts

1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup green “Salad” olives with pimientos
1 cup chopped black olives
½ cup pepperoncini
2 ½ cups roasted sweet peppers, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
¼ cup capers, rinsed
1 teaspoon each white and black pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano,
crumbled
¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf
parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 ½ cups extra-virgin olive oil

Put all the ingredients in a non-reactive container (glass preferred) and mix thoroughly to combine. Cover tightly and refrigerate. Use after 12 hours. It will keep for about 1 month.

The two meats most commonly used in a muffaletta sandwich are hard salami (Genoa works best) and ham. Mortadella is often used, too. The cheese most commonly used is provolone. The meats and cheese should be thinly sliced.

The bread most commonly used is Italian. The shape of the bread should be round, and it should have some height, since it will be sliced in half horizontally. Size varies, but the bread should be no smaller than 8 inches in diameter. The largest muffaletta sandwich that I ever had was made with a 12-inch round loaf.

The assembly goes like this. Slice the bread in half horizontally. Scoop out some of the bread from the center of the bottom half (this helps to hold in the olive salad). Spoon some of the olive salad into the “cavity” of the bottom half of the bread. Lay in the provolone cheese, then the meats. Smear some of the liquid from the olive salad over the meat. Cover with top half of bread. Press down on the bread to flatten the sandwich just a bit. Slice into wedges and serve. u

Pat Bruno is Pizza Today’s resident chef and a regular contributor. He is the former owner and operator of a prominent Italian cooking school in Chicago and is a food critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Cheese-filled ravioli is an Italian staple that we’ve seen on menus for decades. Over the last several years we’ve seen these delightful stuffed pasta pillows get a delectable makeover. As we culinary folks have come to look at stretched pizza dough as an empty canvas where almost anything goes, we have realized the same is true when it comes to stuffing our ravioli. Meats, vegetables, a wide variety of cheeses or any combination of them all is what is thrusting ravioli into the culinary spotlight. Besides amazing fillings, chefs around the globe are creating wonderfully flavored dough as well to use as the outer pasta layer.

A traditional pasta dough is made with 100-percent durum semolina, which is the hardest part of the wheat. When I make ravioli, I usually use the semolina, but on occasion I have simply used flour and eggs, making my dough soft enough to go through the roller but stiff enough that it isn’t too sticky. I love using a food processor to blend my dough quickly. I also have moved from my counter top hand crank unit with the attachable motor to my pasta attachment that provides an awesome strong motor that allows me to zip through rolling out my dough so much faster.

Now, once you’ve decided what kind of dough you’ll make and you’ve chosen your filling, you’ve got so many different ways to
assemble the ravioli. If you’re using a dough roller of some sort, you’ll have a nice even sheet of pasta, which of course is a plus. There are ravioli trays you can use by placing the bottom sheet of dough on them and then spooning your filling over the spots with indentations on them (which are for the filling). You can make the ravioli in the exact same way without using the tray by simply laying the sheet out on your workbench. Now remember some important tips: you must brush some egg wash on the inside of one of the layers of pasta (top or bottom), but not both. The egg wash will act as the glue. Once you placed your filling on the dough and one of the sheets of pasta is egg washed, place the top layer over the bottom layer with the filling. The other important tip is to ensure that there are no air bubbles trapped inside the ravioli. This will almost guarantee the ravioli ripping and letting the filling seep out during the cooking process.

If you’re using a ravioli tray, you’ll roll over the tray with a rolling pin, which will cut and separate the ravioli. If you are not using a tray, simply use a knife or a pizza cutter to cut and separate the ravioli.

I went to a nice restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island, several years ago and ordered the Raviolo, which is a huge jumbo-stuffed ravioli. There were four to my dinner portion, but there was plenty to eat because they were so huge. The chef simply took some four-inch by four-inch pasta squares, egg washed two of the edges, filled the center with a chicken and spinach mixture and folded them into a triangle. This seemed to be an easier process and less time consuming, but I can assure you they did not fall short in the satisfactory department!

Another secret to successful ravioli cooking is to really chill your ravioli well. If the filling is still warm or too soft, the ravioli will tear during cooking and you will lose some of your hard work.

Now that we’ve got some techniques down in regards to the dough and assembly process, let’s talk fillings. You can keep ravioli simple with a ricotta filling, or you can blend many different cheeses together. I have used a six-cheese blend of ricotta, Romano, Parmesan, Asiago, mozzarella and provolone. I love using spinach in ravioli. A smooth Gorgonzola or goat cheese gives a nice touch to ravioli — but you must be aware of how you are blending your fillings. If you use something with strong flavors, like a Gorgonzola or bleu cheese, you really shouldn’t use them straight. Cut them with something smoother and milder like a ricotta, farmer’s cheese or even a mascarpone.

Also, if you’re using proteins or large vegetables in your filling, make sure they are chopped well without any sharp edges that could potentially rip the ravioli. Here’s a list of ingredients that will make awesome ravioli filling:

crab meat
lobster
shrimp
chicken
sausage
sun-dried tomatoes
spinach
portabella mushrooms
ground veal
braised beef
pumpkin
butternut squash

Once you figure out what kind of ravioli filling you want to make, you have the next culinary task of deciding what sauce will best
accompany your pasta. Keep in mind there may be many different sauces that could be a great fit. For example, I love to make a nutmeg and cinnamon cream sauce to accompany my butternut squash ravioli. But an awesome brown sage butter is also amazing with it. Marinara would be a great sauce with a chicken, spinach and cheese ravioli, but so would a creamy pesto sauce or a roasted red pepper and garlic Gorgonzola butter.

As you can see, the possibilities are really endless. u

Jeff Freehof owns The Garlic Clove in Evans, Georgia. He is a frequent contributor to Pizza Today and a speaker at International Pizza Expo.

According to John F. Mariani’s Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, scampi is a Venetian term that dates back to the 1920s. It refers to shrimp cooked in butter, white wine and lemon juice –– but a small lobster or prawn is preferred.

Shrimp scampi first became popular after World War II when many Italian dishes became mainstream. Today, the definition of scampi continues to expand including other proteins as operators get more inventive, serving scampi items alone or plated over pasta, rice, salads and pizza.

Scarpas Brick Oven Pizza in Albuquerque, New Mexico, capitalizes on shrimp scampi’s popularity. The Pesto Pasta with Shrimp Scampi combines garlic sautéed shrimp, roasted red peppers and pine nuts with a creamy pesto sauce over penne; while Pasta Scarpas pairs shrimp scampi with basil, capers, parsley with pesto garlic butter over penne. The Shrimp Scampi Pizza is topped with a garlic cream sauce, mozzarella and Fontina, sun-dried tomatoes, chives and sautéed shrimp.

“Scampi gives people protein options. We get requests for shrimp scampi on items other than pizza –– for example people add scampi to their salads,” says Joe Sommers, general manager, Scarpas Brick Oven Pizza, who estimates that the Shrimp Scampi pizza has a 30-percent food cost.

Joe Moore, owner of Tortora’s in Owens Cross Roads, Alabama, initially only offered shrimp scampi (made with deveined tail-on shrimp, fresh squeezed lemon juice, unsalted butter, salt, pepper, white wine, chopped garlic, chopped parsley, shrimp stock, olive oil and cooked spaghetti) on the special’s menu during spring and summer. “On Friday nights during Lent, they sold at their absolute peak,” he says.

In June he added shrimp scampi to the permanent menu since scampi dishes provide broader menu appeal to attract and satisfy customers. “Even though the actual food cost for shrimp scampi is slightly higher than my standard food cost, it provides substantially greater contribution margins than standard menu items,” says Moore. “This is of even more value when you consider the make/ cook time on a shrimp scampi dish (6 to 8 minutes) versus the make/ cook time of an equally priced medium-sized specialty pizza (8 to 10 minutes).”

While Mark Muscoreil, executive chef of Vero Amore Restaurants in Tucson, Arizona, feels his Shrimp Scampi sells better as a special. “Our daily specials are to please frequent guests. Offering a dish as a ‘special’ encourages the server to talk about it, and recommend it, which ultimately increases ticket sales,” he says.

His Vero Amore Shrimp Scampi sells for $16. To prepare, Muscoreil combines clarified butter with oregano, basil, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper in a sauté pan. Then he sautés butterflied tail-on shrimp. Once cooked, he deglazes the pan with white wine and tosses in cooked linguini. Muscoreil says the food costs versus profit margins on the dish are approximately 78 percent.

Scampi doesn’t have to mean shrimp. Other types of shellfish such as lobster or prawns and proteins such as chicken or veal can easily be prepared scampi-style.

Chef/owner Jim Esposito of Esposito’s Pizza & Pasta in Matawan, New Jersey, offers a sesame-seed crust Margherita pizza topped with mozzarella and chicken scampi, made with pan-seared chicken that’s chopped up and sautéed with garlic, lemon, butter and white wine.

“We sell a lot of shrimp scampi pizza, but I have a seafood allergy so I created an alternative for myself and started offering the chicken scampi pizza,” he explains. “We sell a lot of specialty pizzas and this is among the top five.”

Esposito estimates that the food cost is about 35 percent. “We use a high-quality fresh mozzarella, and the sesame seeds are expensive because half of the seeds fly off while we hand-toss the dough,” he says.

Despite that, Esposito encourages operators to menu scampi. “It’s is a great menu item because most places already have all of the ingredients needed to make it in-house,” he says.

Muscoreil agrees. “Serving scampi is a great way to increase sales due to its high profit margin,” he says. “It’s a hearty, fulfilling meal that people think of as a ‘treat’ when dining out.”u

VERO AMORE SHRIMP SCAMPI

Recipe courtesy of Mark Muscoreil, executive chef, Vero Amore Restaurants

Yield: 1 serving

1 ounce clarified butter

½ teaspoon mixture of dried basil and oregano

½ teaspoon mixture granulated garlic, salt and pepper

1 tablespoon fresh garlic, chopped

Pinch, crushed red pepper

5 large shrimp, butterflied, tail-on

½ cup dry white wine

9 ounces linguini

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Combine butter with dry ingredients in sauté pan. Add shrimp. Sauté until tails turn pink on edges. Add white wine.

Prepare linguini in pasta drop, drain, add to pan. Gently toss all ingredients.

Transfer to bowl. Garnish with parsley.

More Entrées

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Melanie Wolkoff Wachsman is a freelance writer in Louisville, Kentucky. She covers food, business and lifestyle trends.

Amaretti Cookies 

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

2¼ cups blanched whole almonds, plus more for garnishing
2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon pure almond extract
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
15 glazed cherries or other fruit

Lightly oil two large baking sheets; line with parchment paper. In food processor, combine almonds and 1/3 cup sugar. Process until finely ground, scraping down sides once or twice. Set aside. In electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites and salt at high speed until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to medium and gradually add remaining sugar. Return speed to high; beat mixture until stiff, shiny peaks form. Gently fold in ground almond mixture; add almond and vanilla extracts. Roll mixture into one-inch balls, place two inches apart on baking sheets; flatten slightly. Top each with cherry or almond. Bake in 350°F oven until cookies are golden, about 20 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes; transfer to racks to cool completely. Store, wrapped in walk-in for several days or freeze up to three weeks. For service, re-crisp in warm oven.

Cook’s note: For Amarettini cookies (mini versions), make into ½-inch balls; reduce cooking time to 15 minutes.

Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Bruschetta

Yield: about 30 bruschetta (scale up in direct proportion)

4 cups canned plum tomatoes, drained of liquid
2 cups of fresh basil leaves, washed and dried (use paper toweling) and torn
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper (to taste)
2 large French or Italian baguettes, sliced about 1-inch thick to make 30 pieces
6 cloves (about) garlic, peeled
1 ½ pounds fresh mozzarella (fior de latte), sliced a little less than ¼-inch thick

Put the tomatoes in a large bowl. Crush by hand to create a rough puree. Drain off any excess water. Add the torn basil, the olive oil, salt and pepper (can be prepped well ahead and held).

On a baking sheet, arrange the slices of bread. Toast the bread in the oven until golden brown. Rub some of each of the garlic cloves on the toasted side of the bread.

Lay a thin slice of mozzarella on each slice of bread. Spread some of the tomato/basil mixture over the mozzarella. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.

To speed up the process or for a volume situation, slice a baguette or small loaf of Italian or French bread through the middle (horizontally) to form two long pieces. Toast or grill each piece, rub with garlic cloves and set aside. Brush each piece with olive oil. Set aside. To order, top each long slice with tomato/basil/cheese. Cut into individual serving portions (about 2 inches by 2 inches).

Artichoke and Smoked Bacon Pizza

Recipe courtesy of The Loop Pizza Grill

8-inch dough ball
1/3 ounce pesto
1 tablespoon Parmesan/Romano cheese blend
¾ cup mozzarella
7 Roma tomato slices
1/8 cup smoked bacon, cooked and diced
1/8 cup Portobello and white mushrooms, sliced and sautéed
¼ cup quartered artichoke hearts
1/8 cup Kalamata olives
1/8 cup roasted fresh garlic
¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper blend
½ teaspoon basil chiffonade

Roll out dough ball. Top with pesto and all ingredients listed above except for basil.

Bake in a 550 F degree conveyor oven for 5 to 6 minutes.

Top with basil. Serve.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Yield: 4 servings

1¾ cups heavy cream, divided
6 tablespoons unsalted butter?
8 ½ ounces grated Parmesan cheese?
1 teaspoon kosher salt?
Cracked black pepper to taste?

Combine 1¼ cups cream with the butter in a large sauté pan. Heat over a low flame, whisking until the butter melts and the cream comes to a slow simmer. Remove the pan from the heat. Boil the pasta until slightly undercooked (it will continue to cook while you finish the sauce). ?Drain the pasta and add it to the pan (do not rinse it). Add the remaining ingredients. Heat the pasta and sauce over a low flame, tossing gently, until the cheese melts and incorporates into the sauce and the sauce thickens, about 1-2 minutes. If holding, right before service, add a touch more cream to loosen.

Lasagna is a staple in many pizzerias and restaurants across the nation. It rounds out your menu and accompanies your pizza, pasta and salads perfectly. Great lasagna can be a feature on your menu that can truly set you apart from your competitors.It really surprises me how many restaurants serve less than mediocre lasagna with watery or grainy textures, leaving customers highly disappointed, let alone wondering if they even want to come back at all. Get creative with some tantalizing ingredients and let your culinary chops take your restaurant to the next level.

The good news is that it’s actually easier, in my opinion, to assemble great lasagna than it is to put together a bad one. It all starts with quality ingredients. You’ve got to have a great ricotta. Find a firm and smooth ricotta that is not too watery with a grainy texture.
Your lasagna noodles may seem to be less expensive if you’re buying dry lasagna that you’ll need to boil, but I prefer using fresh/frozen pasta sheets. It makes the preparation time and assembling super fast.Remember when you have to take the time to boil lasagna noodles, it costs money and takes longer to assemble, so consider full pasta sheets. The lasagna sheets fit into a two-inch half pan perfectly. You just layer them with your lasagna cheese mixture and marinara. When I make a larger lasagna, I use a two-inch full pan instead of a half pan and simply lay two pasta sheets side by side and assemble it in the same way. I like to use a large ice cream scoop to portion my cheese so it is always consistent.
When I make my Four-Cheese Lasagna, I simply mix my high quality ricotta, mozzarella, provolone and Parmesan, with my raw eggs, garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Once that is complete, it’s easy to whip together a pan of lasagna. Since we sell quite a bit of lasagna, we actually make four full size pans at a time which will last three to four days under refrigeration.

Before you cover your pan of lasagna with foil to go into the oven, I put a couple of deli sheets between the sauced lasagna and the foil. This will prevent the acid from the tomato sauce from eating through the alumi- num leaving bits of it on top of your lasagna. I know a little extra iron in the diet can’t hurt, but I’ve never heard that aluminum is a healthy alternative. I bake my lasagna fairly low at 325 F for 45 minutes to an hour, or the inter- nal temperature reaches 165 F.
Another important tip: if you try to serve your lasagna right when it comes out of the oven, it will be very difficult to cut and serve without it kind of fall- ing apart.
This is why I like to let my lasagna cool and set up under refrigeration. Once it’s cool, I cut and portion it, heating four to six pieces at a time. This ensures that I don’t have lasagna sitting on the steam table too long.
If you want to serve lasagna in your restaurant and it’s a slow start, consider reheating each piece to order. If it is very thick, you may want to microwave it in an individual casserole dish for three minutes and then finish it with some marinara, mozzarella cheese and then into the oven for two minutes. As I’ve shared, I make a four-cheese lasagna and then offer meat sauce as an add-on for an extra fee. This alleviates the need to make both a cheese and a meat lasagna.

Now it is time to put on your chef hat and think outside the box. Now that you’ve mastered making great lasagna with the techniques that I’ve shared, it’s time to think about chang- ing things up a bit. Feel free to change out your sauce and even add some dif- ferent ingredients. Here are some great crowd pleasers:
Chicken & Sausage Florentine Lasagna. This is an all white lasagna, meaning it is made with the cheese blend and Alfredo sauce instead of tomato sauce. I place cooked sausage (sliced coin-shaped or crumbled) sautéed spinach and diced or shredded cooked chicken breast in between the layers of the lasagna when I assemble it. When ready to serve each piece, make sure it’s hot and then top it with a little more Alfredo and some of your mozzarella cheese and give it a two- minute bake in the oven.

Eggplant and Roasted Pepper Lasagna. You can layer either some of your breaded fried eggplant or grilled eggplant and colorful roasted peppers in with your lasagna, or you can make a lasagna layering just the eggplant, peppers, sauce and lasagna cheese and leave the pasta out altogether. This is more of a layered eggplant Parmesan but because of having the layers of the ricotta cheese blend, it can be consid- ered a pasta-free eggplant lasagna.

Here’s an outrageous appetizer that I created about 12 years ago: fried lasagna sticks. You’ve got to start with cold baked lasagna. Cut some squares carefully into planks and then the planks into sticks. Lay them out on a sheet pan with parchment paper ensuring that the sticks are close, but not touching and freeze them solid. With the standard breading proce- dure, (flour, egg wash and then bread crumbs) bread them and flash fry them for about 60 seconds. Carefully layer them in a pan with deli paper between each layer. You can keep them frozen until you fry them to order or keep them under refrigeration. They fry fairly quickly. I serve them with a side of marinara and Alfredo sauce. I showed this idea to Olive Garden in their culinary center in Orlando about 15 years ago and they implemented it a few years ago. This is one of my best selling appetizers of all time!

Jeff Freehof owns The Garlic Clove in Evans, Georgia. He is a frequent contributor to PizzaToday and a speaker at the Pizza Expo family of trade shows.

Hot, hearty and comforting, baked pasta will assuage any winter blues. John Coletta, executive chef/managing partner at Quartino in Chicago, Illinois, has prepared and served many baked pasta dishes for nearly seven years.
The most popular is lasagna al forno, made with bolognese meat ragu,house-made ricotta and tomato sauce. he creates the pasta in-house, making the traditional meal the way he grew up eating it. “The lasagna is prepared individually allowing for a highly personalized food experience,” he says.

Coletta also prepares baked capellini with fresh ricotta and baked orecchiette with house-made sausage. He enjoys preparing the pastas, saying, “baked pasta dishes are comforting and impressive expressions of the chef.”

Angel Fabian, corporate executive chef for Vero Amore Restaurants, which has locations in Tucson and Marana, Arizona, prepares baked linguini marinara, composed of house-made mozzarella, house-made marinara and is finished with Parmesan.
The Vero amore lasagna is a popular two-meat, three-cheese lasagna. his baked bowtie pasta and cheese elevates macaroni and cheese with the inclusion of Piave and sharp white cheddar cheeses and prosciutto.

“We take our time with these dishes to ensure the best possible flavor, tex- ture and appearance,” says Fabian. “We bake our pasta dishes slowly to allow all of the flavors to develop. we use only the highest quality local and imported ingredients available.”

Cedric Arwacher, chef/owner at Pasta Folies, in Miami, Florida, pays tribute to world flavors through his baked pastas. For example, Thai fusion lasagna incorporates shrimp, shallots, soy sauce, basil, red pepper, bean sprouts, paprika and lime. The indian fusion lasagna marries carrots, zucchini, onions, eggplant and red peppers, together with creamy curry.

“Baked pastas are great for the restaurant business because you can do a lot of prep work ahead of time and the flavors become richer as you let them marinate,” says Arwacher.

Generally, baked pasta dishes have comparable food costs to non-baked pasta dishes. however, labor costs tend to be higher with baked pastas due to the time needed to produce consistent dishes.

“There are many precautions needed in order to achieve moist and flavorful baked pasta,” says Coletta. He recommends placing the completed pasta and its serving vessel into a water bath and then into the oven; covering the casserole with oiled aluminum foil, and baking at 375 F to prevent the pasta dish from drying and/or burning.

Operators must remember that there is carry over cooking when the baked pasta is removed from the oven. “Pasta is always best eaten al dente,” says Coletta. “It is always best to under cook the pasta realizing that the pasta continues to cook even after being removed from the oven.”

When it comes to serving baked pasta, Coletta says that the “ideal scenario” is to assemble the pasta at the moment when ordered by a customer.  An alternative is having several baked pastas assembled in advance prior to baking.

Fabian prepares the dishes’ components and stores it separately until the dish is ready to be cooked to the customer’s order. “Air is dough’s biggest enemy. Keep the pasta covered and dry,” he says.

To keep pasta from becoming chewy, diligence with your prep and following the recipe exactly is necessary. “when using fresh pasta, allow it to rest according to the recipe, be sure not to over work the dough and serve immediately,” says Fabian.

Different pasta varieties offer different textures. while Coletta prefers using fresh baked pasta, he says dried pasta made from durum wheat semolina, and dried pasta made from grano tenero flour are nice alternatives to using fresh pasta.

Fabian prefers using hearty pastas such as dumplings, gnocchi and macaroni. Thicker pastas tend to absorb flavors and sauces better than thinner versions. “I stay away from thinner delicate pastas like angel hair pasta,” he says.

“And,” Fabian continues, “try to be patient. You can’t rush a good pasta dish.”

Baked Capellini with Fresh Ricotta
Recipe courtesy of John Coletta, Quartino

Yield: 4 to 6 servings
1 tablespoon salt
1 pound dried capellini
4 cups Besciamella Sauce
9 teaspoons grated Parmigiano-Reggia- no, divided
Salt and pepper
4 large eggs, beaten and strained 3 tablespoons whole milk
¾ cup fresh whole-milk ricotta

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking dish with butter.

In a covered pasta pot over high heat, bring water to a boil. Add salt and capellini. Cook, uncovered, until pasta is almost al dente. Scoop out about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and set aside. Drain pasta.

In a large sauté pan over low heat, combine 1/3 cup reserved pasta water and 2 cups of Besciamella sauce. Simmer. Add capellini and, using pasta tongs, toss to coat evenly. Add 3 tablespoons of Parmigiano-Reggiano and toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove from heat. Add eggs and toss to mix well.

Sprinkle dish with 3 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano. Add capellini. Whisk milk into remaining Bescia- mella sauce and spread evenly on top. Distribute ricotta equally over top and sprinkle with remaining Parmigiano- Reggiano.

Bake until top is golden, about 35 minutes. Serve immediately.



Baked Ziti with Sausage

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup onion, coarsely chopped
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
3½ cups tomato puree
2 teaspoons dried oregano 2 teaspoons dried basil
8 ounces ricotta
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ cup grated Parmesan
1 pound ziti or penne pasta
½ pound mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups)

In a large sauté pan, warm olive oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add onion and sauté, stirring for about 2 minutes.

Add Italian sausage and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, or until sausage is cooked through. Remove from heat and drain off excess grease.

Add tomato puree, oregano and basil. Cook sauce at a steady simmer while preparing the rest of the dish.

In a large bowl, combine ricotta, salt, parsley and Parmesan. Set aside (refrigerate if any unused for longer than 30 minutes).

Cook pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until about half cooked. Drain pasta and set aside to dry further if you have time.

Add pasta to ricotta cheese mixture and stir well to combine. Pre- heat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove sauce from heat and allow to cool about 5 minutes. Add sauce to the pasta and ricotta mixture and combine well.

Pour pasta sauce mixture into a 4-5 quart ovenproof dish.

Level top with the back of a spatula or spoon. Spread mozzarella evenly. Bake until cheese is golden brown. May be pre- pared ahead and reheated for service.

Melanie Wolkoff Wachsman is a freelance writer in Louisville, Kentucky. She covers food, business and lifestyle trends.

If we extend the logic that sausage is one of the most popular pizza toppings and that bacon is a pork product, then there’s no good reason why bacon shouldn’t be pursued with more vigor when an array of pizza toppings are menu listed. However, bacon can also play an important flavor role in pasta dishes, sprinkled on salads, and used effectively in sandwiches, so if you are don’t have bacon in your restaurant, it’s time you started bringing home the bacon.

Bacon, as we know it, the sliced strips that we love with eggs, has some very close relatives that need to be recognized. For example, Canadian bacon (it’s closer to ham than bacon –– lean and slightly sweet –– but it is a pork product) and pancetta. Pancetta (pahn CHEH-tah) is Italian bacon that is cured (but not smoked the way American bacon is) with salt, pepper and spices.

So when we consider the range of possibilities above, the options for expanding the flavor profile of pizza, pasta, salads and sandwiches are virtually endless.

Here are a couple of tasty tidbits relative to pancetta. If you have a BLT on your menu, why not try a PLT (pancetta, lettuce, tomato)? Simple sauté thin slices of pancetta (cut off the roll, since pancetta usually comes rolled), until just heated through and beginning to crisp up. And I will always use pancetta when making spaghetti carbonara because of its deeper flavor and it is less fatty than regular bacon.

While I am high on pancetta, there are tons of ways that regular bacon can be used and here are a few tips on how to get it right. Generally, the only time I sauté bacon is when I want some fat that I need to incorporate into a particular dish. Most other times, I use a microwave oven to prep bacon. To microwave, use a microwave safe plate and sandwich strips of bacon between layers of paper toweling. I can prep a whole lot of bacon in a very short time using a microwave oven, aAnd I can control the crispiness a lot easier using the microwave.

Of course, you can lay strips of bacon on a sheet pan and cook it in the oven (conveyor or deck, it doesn’t matter). Watch it, though, because the fat it throws off can be quite a lot. I know some restaurants that deep-dry strips of bacon. This causes the bacon to curl and get very crispy, but this method works great for crumbles to use on a salad or even as a pizza topping.

I know this may sound elementary, but you simply cannot use raw bacon as a pizza topping (it won’t cook right, and it throws off too much fat). Can you use Canadian bacon as a topping without first cooking it? Yes, but I like to dice it or cut it into chips (more coverage, less curling) and broadcast it over the pizza.

Also on the subject of Canadian bacon, there is still a great market for a Hawaiian pizza, which uses chunks of pineapple and ham, but I like to replace the ham with Canadian bacon as a topping. Here’s are a couple of recipes that are as simple as it gets.
The beauty of this pizza is the sweet and sour flavor profile. Also, this pizza works with any number of cheeses. I use provolone to enhance the smokiness. However, a blend of mozzarella works just fine. As does Asiago or fontina cheeses.

Hawaiian Pizza
Yield: One 14-inch pizza

One 14-inch pizza shell
8 ounces ground tomatoes or pizza sauce
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
8 ounces shredded provolone
½ cup diced Canadian bacon
6 ounces pineapple tidbits or chunks

Spread the sauce over the pizza shell. Sprinkle on the red pepper flakes. Add the provolone, then the bacon, followed by the pineapple. Bake and serve.


Potato, Bacon & Provolone Pizza

One 14-inch pizza shell
Yield: One 14-inch pizza
3/4 pound red skin potatoes sliced almost paper thin (about 35 slices)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large clove garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Rosemary
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
6 strips bacon, cooked crisp and coarsely chopped
5 ounces shredded provolone

In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the olive oil, garlic and rosemary
Arrange the slices of potatoes on the pizza crust in a circle, working toward the center, overlapping the slices.

Sprinkle the parmesan over the potatoes. Sprinkle on the bacon. Add the grated provolone evenly over the crust. Bake.


Spaghetti Carbonara
Yield: 4 servings (scale up in direct proportion)

1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente, drained, kept warm
½ pound bacon, sauteed crisp, remove the bacon from the pan, drain off half the fat from the pan, coarsely chop the bacon. Reserve
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
8 ounces grated Parmesan
4 large eggs, lightly beaten

Over medium-high heat, add the cooked spaghetti to the saute pan that the bacon was cooked in. Toss the pasta to coat with the bacon fat. Add the crushed garlic and pepper. Stir well. Turn the heat to medium.

In a bowl, fold the Parmesan into the beaten eggs and stir just to combine. Fold the egg and cheese mixture into the pasta, stirring quickly, until the eggs just coat the pasta, but do not scramble. Serve at once in heated pasta bowls.
Note: pancetta can be substituted for the bacon.


Spinach Salad with Bacon Dressing
Yield: About 4 servings (scale up in direct proportion)

12 ounces fresh spinach, stems removed, washed, patted dry, torn
2 hard boiled eggs, each sliced into 6 pieces and set aside
8 slices bacon
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dijon-style mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
5 large white mushrooms, scrubbed, sliced

Put the spinach into a large bowl. Sauté the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and transfer to paper towels to drain.

Transfer about 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat to a small saucepan. Add the vinegar, sugar and mustard to the bacon fat. Over low heat, whisk to combine. Add salt and Add the mushrooms to the spinach. Crumble the bacon over the spinach Add the bacon dressing and toss to coat the spinach leaves. Add the slices of hard-boiled eggs.

Baked ziti is a great do-it-ahead pasta dish that is loaded with gusto. It can be made ahead and held for two to three days (in the cooler, covered) and the flavor will actually intensify. There are several ways to portion and serve this dish. You can simply scoop a portion out of the pan (in block form, kind of like lasagna), dress it with some hot marinara sauce and sprinkle some grated Parmesan over the sauce and serve.

Another nice presentation is to scoop a portion of the pan and spread it over the plate so it is in one layer instead of piled up. Dress with hot marinara sauce and cheese before serving.

Other flavor options that I like to explore with this versatile dish is to add sautéed spinach to the ricotta cheese mixture. I have also done this dish with mushrooms and peppers. Sauté the mushroom in olive oil until they give up their moisture and crisp up a bit. The peppers I would use would be canned roasted red peppers. In other words, should you wish to make a second version of this tasty dish it would be Baked Ziti with Vegetables. In that case, leave out the sausage and add spinach, mushrooms, peppers, even artichoke hearts. Go for the gusto.

BAKED ZITI WITH SAUSAGE

Serves 6-8 (scale up in direct proportion)

3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup coarsely chopped yellow onion
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
4 cups tomato puree or all-purpose ground tomatoes
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
2 teaspoons dried basil, crumbled
8 ounces ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 Pound ziti pasta
1/2 pound mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups)

In a large skillet or sauté pan, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the onion and saute, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the sausage and cook and stir for 5-6 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked through. Remove from the heat and drain off the excess fat. Add the tomato puree, oregano, and basil. Cook the sauce at a steady simmer while preparing the rest of the dish.


In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, salt, parsley and parmesan. Mix thoroughly.


Cook the pasta until it is not quite al dente (it will finish cooking in the oven). Preheat the oven to 400 F.


Take the sauce off the heat and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Add the sauce to the pasta and ricotta mixture and combine well.


Pour the pasta-sauce mixture into a 4- to 5-quart baking dish or hotel pan. Level the top with the back of a spatula or spoon. Spread the mozzarella evenly over the pasta and bake until the cheese starts to speckle brown and the sauce bubbles, about 15 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

8 ounces chicken, cut into strips

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, diced

2 ounces broccoli

2 lemon wedges

2 ounces white wine (Chablis works well)

10 ounces penne, cooked al dente

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 ounce pecorino Romano cheese

In a mixing bowl, combine sea salt and pepper. Lightly dredge chicken in it, then grill about halfway through.

In a large skillet, heat extra virgin olive oil. Sauté chicken in oil; lightly brown on both sides. When chicken changes color, add garlic. Continue to sauté, stirring constantly until garlic is lightly browned.

Add sun-dried tomatoes, broccoli and wine. Reduce by 1/4 to 1/2. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Add penne. Toss with butter and cheese.

This is the time of year that many of us (especially those of us living in the Midwest) go bananas over fresh tomatoes. If I had the time, I would write another cookbook called “101 Ways to Use Fresh Tomatoes.”

So this time of year I am constantly coming up with new ways to use fresh tomatoes. And when I do so, my ideas seem to come in bunches of threes, as in three ingredients. In this instance it happens to be pasta, tomatoes and arugula. The pasta being fettuccine, the tomatoes, being fresh plum or Roma, and the greens being arugula. I really like the way that the flavors complement each other: the peppery bite of the arugula balancing against the sweetness of the fresh tomatoes. Throw a balsamic vinaigrette into that mix (along with the pasta, of course) and you end up with a dish that is pure flavor harmony.

You don’t absolutely need to use fettuccine, but the thicker cut of this pasta balances nicely with the other ingredients. Thick spaghetti can be used and, if you can find it, a cut of pasta known as malfadine (a flat, ribbon-shaped pasta with wavy edges) works equally well.

A couple of thoughts about the arugula: Try to buy it with bigger leaves (as opposed to baby arugula, which can be mostly stems), because it holds up better when gentle heat is applied. On the other hand, I will give you an option: if arugula is not your thing (or if it is too costly), substitute with baby spinach. Either way you go, I believe that the simple goodness of this dish will please your customers.

Fettuccine with Fresh Tomatoes & Arugula
serves 4-6 (Scale up in direct proportion)

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chopped red onions
8 ripe tomatoes (about 3 pounds) cored, seeded, cut into bite-size pieces
1 ½ cups tightly packed, chopped or torn, arugula
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound fettuccine
1 cup grated Parmesan

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the vinegar and olive oil. Add the garlic, onion, tomatoes and arugula. Add salt and pepper. (The recipe can be made to this point and held at room temperature for several hours.)

Cook the pasta until it is perfectly al dente. Drain well. Working quickly, add the pasta to the tomato and arugula mixture. Toss to combine. Divide the pasta into serving portions. Top each portion with an equal amount of Parmesan cheese.


Tip: If you are offering a lunch buffet, this dish works effectively as a pasta salad (room temperature, not cold). However, in this instance use penne pasta.

Fontina and Asiago are two important Italian cheeses, and both are fortunate enough to carry a dual citizenship. Born in Italy –– fontina in the Piedmont, Asiago in the Veneto –– they have been successfully replicated in the United States by skillful cheesemakers in Calfornia and Wisconsin.

In Italy, fontina and Asiago are made using partially skimmed, unpasteurized cow's milk. However, the taste characteristics are a bit different. Fontina (aka fontina d'Aosta) has a delicate yet somewhat earthy/herby flavor. Fontina-type cheeses are also sold under the name Fontinella.

Named after the village of Asiago in the northern Veneto, in the shadow of the Dolomites, Asiago is much milder in flavor. In Italy, though, Asiago can be purchased "fresco," or young (aged two to three months); “mezzano” or semi-hard (aged three to five months); or “vecchio,” which is hard and sharp (aged nine months or longer). The taste goes from mild to sharp as the cheese ages.

The fontina and Asiago produced in this country, though made with part-skim milk, are excellent cheeses, but do not share the overall taste depth as that of their Italian counterparts. Having said, that, I am a big fan of American-made Asiago for a couple of reasons: It is readily available through food distributors, and it is a lot less expensive than the imported brands. The Asiago and fontina produced in this country is (generally) aged from two months to at least five months (Asiago leaning toward the longer ageing time).

In the U.S., the flavor of Asiago is quite close to that of a well-made provolone, which makes it a perfect cheese to use on a salad or as part of an antipasti. And I would employ fontina in the same way; however, these two cheeses have a lot more life in them that that. Fontina is an excellent melting cheese, so it works great in pasta dishes and in panini. Asiago, and some Fontinaellas that are semi-hard, can be used as a grating cheese. And either cheese can be cubed and served as part of an antipasto platter or on a fruit and cheese tray. Note, too, that some cheese producers sell Asiago as part of a shredded five-cheese blend, which really punches up the flavor of a signature pizza.


FETTUCCINE WITH FONTINA & ASIAGO

Serves 4 (can be scaled up in direct proportion)

3/4 pound fettuccine

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup coarsely grated Asiago cheese

1 cup finely diced Fontina cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until it is al dente. While the pasta is cooking melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. The pan should be large enough to hold all the pasta after it has been cooked. Add the cream, and bring to a steady simmer for 2 minutes.

Blend in the four cheeses. Cook and stir until the cheeses have melted into the cream. Add the cooked and well-drained pasta to the cheese sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve at once in heated pasta bowls.

Probably the two words that best describe fusilli are "spirals" and "springs." However, as it happens when Italian words are put under the microscope of translation, something else always shows up. So, for example, in the region of Calabria, fusilli are known as fischietti, or "little whistles.” Other variations include spinach fusilli and, one of my favorites, an elongated type known as fusilli lunghi (think of it as spiral-shaped spaghetti).

The descriptive names of pasta are interesting, but it is the shape of the pasta that tells the full story. In the case of fusilli, the spiral shape is important in that there are more edges and surfaces to pick up and hold the sauce. Also, as it goes with a "short" pasta like fusilli, there is the opportunity to use it in pasta salads.

Many casual Italian restaurants employ the idea of picking a pasta (spaghetti, rigatoni, linguine, fettuccine, fusilli, etc.) and pairing it with a choice of sauces (marinara, garlic and oil, meat, alfredo, etc.). I like this approach, since it gives your customers (and it holds special appeal for children) a chance to be more creative. Fusilli matches up nicely with just about any sauce, but (and you knew there was a but coming, right?) I have my favorites, several of which I would like to share with you.

First, however, a few pointers on Perfect Pasta Cookery is in order. As always, it is wise to spend a few cents more to buy a quality pasta, one that was made with 100 percent pure durum semolina.

Next, regardless of the shape, pasta must be cooked al dente. Shapes, sauces, and styles don't mean a thing if pasta is overcooked.

Next, never put oil in the cooking water. It just makes the pasta slippery, destroys the pasta-starch connection, and ultimately prevents a good bonding of the sauce and the pasta. Pasta will never stick together if you use a quality brand and plenty of water (5 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon of salt for 1 pound of pasta).

Next, never rinse pasta after it has been cooked. If you rinse the pasta you remove the essential starch clinging to the pasta, and it is this starch that helps the sauce adhere to the pasta. If I see a soupy mess of sauce in the bottom of a bowl of pasta, I know that the pasta was rinsed.

Next, never drown the pasta in sauce. You are not doing the pasta or the sauce any favors (and you are increasing your food costs). More is not better when it comes to saucing pasta.

Okay, now that I have those suggestions out of the way, let's get into several of those recipes that I mentioned earlier.



Fusilli with Turkey Bolognese



Makes about 1 quart of sauce, and four generous pasta course servings (can be scaled up in direct proportion).



3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup chopped yellow onion

1 pound fresh ground turkey (breast meat only)

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

1/4 cup milk

1 quart plum tomatoes with juices, crushed

3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled

1/2 cup canned chicken broth

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

3/4 pound fusilli cooked al dente



In a 4-quart pot, heat the oil over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the ground turkey and continue to cook and stir until the turkey is just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add the fennel seed and milk and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, parsley, oregano and chicken broth. Bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the sauce, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 35 to 40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 





Fusilli Lunghi with Shaved Fennel and Sausage in Cream Sauce

Makes 2 servings (recipe can be scaled up in direct proportion)



1 small bulb fresh fennel (about 3/4 pound)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 pound fusilli lunghi cooked almost al dente

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese



Trim and clean the fennel by cutting off the feathery top. Cut the bulb in half lengthwise and cut away the small triangular core. Using a mandoline or sharp knife, shave each fennel half into paper-thin slices. Place the fennel in cold water and set it aside.

In a sauté pan or skillet large enough to hold all of the pasta after it has been cooked, warm the olive oil over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the sausage, crumbling it into small pieces. Cook and stir until the sausage has been cooked through. Drain off any excess fat from the pan.

Pour the whipping cream into the pan. Bring the cream to a steady boil. Reduce the heat. Drain the reserved fennel and add it to the pan. Simmer the sauce for 7 to 8 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the cooked and drained pasta to the pan with the cream and sausage. Cook and stir for 2 minutes to heat the pasta and coat it with the sauce. Divide the pasta between two heated serving bowls. Sprinkle half the Parmesan over each serving.

Whenever possible, I prefer to finish a pasta dish mantecata, that is, add the cooked pasta to the sauté pan in which the sauce has been cooking. By doing it this way the pasta has a chance to blend with the flavors of the sauce.

This is such an easy dish to put together. The various components –– chicken, pesto sauce and toasted pine nuts –– can be prepped ahead. Making the pesto sauce takes a bit of time, but there are several very good ready-to-go pesto sauces that work just great should you wish to take that route.

The secret to the goodness of this dish is to not overcook the chicken. I prefer poaching the chicken breasts as opposed to grilling — it allows the essential moisture (hence, flavor) of the chicken to not fly out the window. However, should you choose to go with the grilling, it does make for a nicer presentation. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil before and after grilling. Cut the breast into strips and place these on top of the pasta. After you have tossed the pasta with the pesto sauce, garnish with some extra toasted pine nuts. This is a dish that tastes as good as it looks.


Fusilli with Chicken and Pesto

4 to 6 servings (scale up in direct proportion)

1 pound fusilli pasta
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped fine
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6-8 ounces each), grilled or poached, cut into bite-size pieces (or use pre-cooked chicken chunks)
1 cup pesto sauce (see recipe below)
½ cup toasted pine nuts
grated Parmesan

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain, reserve and keep warm.

In a large skillet or sauté pan set over medium-high heat, warm the oil for 1 minute. Add the garlic, cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the chicken to the pan and cook until just heated through.

In a large bowl, toss the cooked pasta with the chicken. Add the prepared pesto sauce and toss to combine.

Portion the pasta into heated pasta bowls. Top each portion with some of the pine nuts and grated Parmesan. Serve at once.


Pesto Sauce
Makes 1½ to 2 cups

2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Put the basil, garlic, cheeses, and pine nuts in a food processor. Pulse the machine a number of times until the ingredients are thoroughly combined. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil. Process until smooth (it will be a bit on the thick side, but do not add any more oil). Turn the sauce out into a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Use some or all of the reserved pasta water to thin out the pesto until it is creamy (the starch from the pasta water is the secret to a smooth and creamy pesto sauce).

I could (and often do) make a meal of crusty Italian bread, Gorgonzola cheese, and a lusty Italian red wine (such as Barolo, Chianti Riserva or Barbaresco).

The Gorgonzola I would select would be Gorgonzola naturale, which has a more assertive flavor than Gorgonzola dolce (aka dolcelatte), which is delicate. I could also, instead of having an overly rich dessert to finish off a fine Italian meal, have Gorgonzola with fresh fruit like pears, figs or grapes. In this instance I would select the milder Gorgonzola dolce.

The point I am making is that Gorgonzola, which is considered one of the great blue cheeses of the world, is so elegantly adaptable and extremely versatile it offers many levels of enjoyment.

The town of Gorgonzola is near Milan (it is actually a suburb of that city now). As the story goes (and there are others), it was in Gorgonzola that the herds were rested during their annual pilgrimage from summer pastures in the mountain to the plain. This meant that every year, and this goes back to ancient Roman times, Gorgonzola found itself awash in a flood of milk –– more milk that it could possibly consume –– so it was turned into cheese.

As mentioned, Gorgonzola is a blue-veined cheese, and it is made from cow's milk. Way back when, the blueing of Gorgonzola occurred naturally, picking up its characteristic mold (both on the inside and the outside of the cheese) from the walls of the damp caves in which it was stored.

Gorgonzola (and other blue cheeses) is not afforded that type of luxury today. The demand for these cheeses is so great, that the blueing (greenish-blue striations) comes about by pricking the cheese with long needles (copper, brass, and stainless steel is the material), which in effect speeds up the veining process. This pricking of the wheels of cheese allows oxygen to enter and feed on the commercially manufactured mold-producing bacteria (the bacteria is mixed into the curds early in the process; the idea of the piercing simply speeds up the whole process). Generally speaking, Gorgonzola is aged for six months. 

American Gorgonzola has earned high marks on my cheese-tasting score pad. While it has little in common with Italian-made Gorgonzola (softer texture and more assertive flavor on the Italian side), I am very much at home with a well-made domestic Gorgonzola, and I use it in the same manner as I would a Gorgonzola dolce.

Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

Though this cream sauce works great with tender, chewy nubbins of gnocchi, it goes just as well with a number of short pastas like cavatappi, rotini or rigatoni.

Serves 4 as a pasta course

1 pound gnocchi, cooked al dente, drained well, set aside

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

11/2 (one and one-half) cups heavy whipping cream

3 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

1/2 (one-half) cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large sauté pan set over medium heat, melt the butter (do not brown). Add 1 cup of the whipping cream and raise the heat to medium-high. Bring the cream to a steady simmer to reduce it a bit.

Meanwhile, process the remaining half-cup of cream and all of the Gorgonzola in a blender or food processor and add it to the cream in the sauté pan. Cook the sauce over low heat for another minute or two.

Add the cooked gnocchi to the sauce to coat. Sprinkle on the Parmesan. Toss well. Serve at once.

We’ve all seen those menus in restaurants –– Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese — where the heat level of certain dishes is marked by a small chile symbol. Usually, one chile is mild, two chiles means hot and three chiles, well, have a pitcher of milk handy to douse the fire. What in the devil’s name is it that fires up the heat in those dishes? The simple answer is chile peppers in one form or another.

Back in 1912 Wilbur Scoville developed a method to measure the heat level of chile peppers. Without getting all scientific about it, the heat of chile peppers is now measured in Scoville units. Sweet bell peppers have no heat at all — zero Scoville Units. At the other end of the scale, the habañero pepper averages 375,000 Scoville units (there are some peppers that go even higher on the Scoville scale, but for our purposes here, they would be of little use, considering that those chile peppers are so hot your taste buds would have to wear asbestos suits to survive).

Jalapeño, poblano, ancho, pasilla, Anaheim, chipotle, serrano: all of these chile peppers are in a Scoville range that is quite acceptable and can be used (common sense prevailing) to lay some interesting heat on various pasta dishes and pizza, which brings me to that little jar of crushed red pepper flakes on the table in many Italian restaurants, often referred to as the “Pizza Pepper” or “Pizza Picker Upper.”

Cajun and Creole restaurants go with bottles of hot sauce on the table (there is a Cajun restaurant in Chicago that has a “Wall of Fire,” something like a thousand bottles of different brands of hot sauce). My point is that it’s pretty easy to fire up any dish on your menu (or the customer can add their own heat with some of that “pizza pepper,” also known as crushed red pepper flakes, which is a blend of chiles (ancho and cayenne), seeds and all.

But don’t fry your brain in the process. All you have to do is sample different crushed red pepper flakes, chile powders and hot sauces in various dishes before turning up the heat for your customers. Medium heat to one person might be too mild for another and vice versa. When I have chili, I want the heat level to be at the point where my nose runs and my eyeballs sweat. One the other hand my wife wouldn’t touch chili that hot with a 10-foot fire extinguisher. To heat his own, I say.

Two Pasta dishes that cry out for crushed red pepper flakes include linguine con vongole (linguine with clams) and Orecchiette with rapini (“small ears” pasta with rapini a.k.a. broccoli rabe). I am including a recipe for one of those dishes.

As far as stoking the fire on a pizza, it’s as simple as adding a dash or two of hot sauce or crushed red pepper flakes (to taste) to your basic pizza sauce. Be sure to make your customers aware of the fact that this is a special sauce that carries some heat. Note that fact on your menu and list the pizza accordingly. For example, you can use “Pizza Arrabbiata” or “Pizza Diavolo.” The first translates as “angry” or “hot.” The second as “Devil,” as in hot as the devil.

Linguine with White Clam Sauce

Yield: 4 servings (scale up in direct proportion)

1½ cups minced or chopped canned clams
2 cups clam juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
2 teaspoons dried thyme, crumbled
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound linguine



Put the clams and clam juice in separate bowls or containers.



Put the olive oil in a saucepan set over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring, until the garlic is lightly browned. Add the clam juice, parsley, red pepper flakes and thyme to the saucepan. Salt and pepper, to taste. Bring the sauce to a simmer.



Cook the linguine in a large pot of boiling, salted water until it is al dente. Drain.
Just before you drain the pasta, add the clams to the saucepan just to heat through (if you add the clams too early they will get rubbery).



Divide the pasta among four heated serving bowls. Pour an equal amount of the sauce and clams over each portion. Serve with crusty Italian bread for sopping up the sauce.

Chef’s Notes: You can make this into Linguine with Red Sauce by cutting the amount of clam juice in half and adding a cup of marinara sauce to the clam juice.




Pizza Areeba!

Makes one 14-inch pizza (scale up in direct proportion)

8 ounces basic pizza sauce
1 tablespoon chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce*
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1 14-inch pizza shell

10 ounces cooked hot Italian sausage crumbles
4 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese

4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)



Mix the pizza sauce with the chipotle peppers and cilantro. Spread the sauce evenly over the pizza crust. Top the sauce with the sausage crumbles. Blend the Monterey Jack with the cheddar. Spread the cheese evenly over the sausage and sauce. Bake. Garnish with cilantro just before serving, if desired.



Use caution when working with the chipotle peppers. Remove them from the can with a fork, place them on a plate and chop them using a knife and fork. If you have to touch the peppers with your hands, use protective gloves. The smoky flavor of the chipotle is what makes the sauce. However, if canned chipotle peppers are not available, use fresh jalapenos.



I buy chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in my local supermarket. A little amount goes a long way.

Macaroni and cheese (also known as mac ‘n’ cheese) is the quintessential American comfort food. Yes, American –– American to the core because it was a creation of our third president, Thomas Jefferson (Jefferson was really big on food and wine, a real gourmand).

How popular is macaroni and cheese? Consider that Kraft Foods sells something like a million-plus boxes of its macaroni and cheese each and every day. And, believe it or not, there are mac ‘n’ cheese fanatics across the country, and each and everyone of them has the best recipe ever (similar to the idea that everybody you talk to has the best chili recipe). Just say the words “macaroni and cheese” to a neighbor, friend, or even a casual acquaintance, and you will open a discussion on the spot. And don’t even get it into your head that macaroni and cheese is just for kids, or that it should be only on the kid’s menu (though invariably it does show up there).

How about mac ‘n’ cheese as a side dish? Yes, many restaurants will offer it as such and other than, say, some type of potato, it is a popular choice. However, several months ago I was dining at a rather nice restaurant in Chicago and was pleased to see that macaroni and cheese was listed as an entrée. OK, so they gussied it up with some classy cheeses and prosciutto and charged a good buck for it, but it was quite delicious.

Macaroni and cheese has but two main ingredients. It sounds simple to make. How far wrong can one go? Pretty darn far, I say, unless you pay attention to the macaroni and the cheese. How so? Some cuts of macaroni work better than others. And ditto for the cheese (or cheeses).
The classic pasta cut for mac ‘n’ cheese is elbow, but any “short” pasta cut can be used (rotini, tubetti, gemelli, mini-penne, cavatappi). Important, too, is that a quality brand of pasta be used.

As far as the cheeses go, the signature cheese for this dish is sharp cheddar (but mild cheddar works fine too). Also important to this dish is the sauce, which is generally a bechamel or white sauce spiked with a bit of dried mustard. Some onion also helps to boost the flavor.

Is it necessary that all mac ‘n’ cheese dishes be baked? No, but a short bake does enhance the flavor profile. Can individual portions of mac ‘n’ cheese be made ahead and finished to order? Yes, definitely, but you need to be right on the money with the cooking of the pasta (mushy macaroni and cheese is not good for the image of this classic dish).

What add-ins are possible to, say, make a gourmet macaroni & cheese offering? As noted earlier, prosciutto works beautifully, and so does smoked ham. Crumbles of cooked Italian sausage works great. Add in pancetta or bacon and you will have a modified version of pasta carbonara. Cooked chicken? Yes. Tuna? Yes. Vegetable add-ins like peas work too. But don’t get carried away. The overall goodness of this dish lies in its simplicity.

Here are two very delicious yet simple macaroni and cheese recipes. One version is perfect for a kids’ menu while the other is more suitable for adults (but there is no reason why either can’t cross the age line).

Pasquale’s Macaroni & Cheese

This is my version of mac ‘n’ cheese: Italian style. I use cavatappi pasta instead of elbow macaroni. I use a combination of cheeses instead of the usual sharp cheddar. But the all-important classic flavor kicks –– dry mustard and cayenne–– are still included.

Yield: 6-8 servings (scale up in direct proportion)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
1 ½ teaspoons dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 pound cavatappi pasta
1/4 pound each of shredded provolone, Asiago, and mozzarella (about 1 cup of each cheese)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (or Panko)
1 tablespoon dried oregano, crumbled.

In a heavy saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking, for 3 minutes. Add the milk in a steady stream, whisking steadily, and bring to a boil. Add the mustard, cayenne, and salt. Whisk to combine. Simmer the sauce until it thickens, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until it is still a bit short of al dente (firm, actually). Drain well. Butter a shallow 3- to 4-quart baking dish.


In a large bowl stir together the cooked pasta, the white sauce, provolone, Asiago and mozzarella. Transfer the mixture to the buttered baking dish. Smooth off the top.


In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan, breadcrumbs and oregano. Layer this mixture evenly over the pasta. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

Cook’s Note: Instead of baking the mac ‘n’ cheese in one large baking dish, you can portion (before baking) individual servings in smaller baking dishes. Top with the panko or bread crumbs and bake. Reheat to order.


Quick ‘n’ Easy Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Yield: 4 servings (but can be done in individual portions)
12 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked, drained, held
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 cup milk
1½ cups grated mild or sharp cheddar

Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk into the butter. Add the dry mustard. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add the milk and continue to cook and whisk for about 4 minutes, or until the mixture thickens. Fold in the cheese and stir with a spoon until the cheese melts. Stir in the cooked macaroni and combine thoroughly. Can now be portioned for individual servings. Sprinkle some toasted fresh breadcrumbs on top before serving.


Cook’s Note: This recipe goes together fast, and no baking is needed, so it’s perfect for a Kids’ menu.

Macaroni and cheese has been an American staple since the middle of the 19th century. In recent years, and with the idea of comfort food being an important part of the cuisine scene, macaroni and cheese has been making the rounds of some of the best restaurants across the country.

Recently, at a new restaurant in Chicago, I came across one of the more lavish versions of macaroni and cheese: it contained lobster meat. Talk about adding contemporary luxury to an old-fashioned dish. In this upscale mac 'n' cheese dish, the chef used a combination of mascarpone and fontina cheeses. The pasta was orzo.

Mac 'n' cheese is a menu item that is not age specific. Pre-teens, teenagers, young adults and adults of all ages enjoy this dish. 

The fact is that two basic ingredients — macaroni, cheese — can be the foundation for building an interesting and delicious array of creative dishes. How so? Think about the many different shapes and cuts of pasta on the market. Now think about the great variety of cheeses on the market. Once you have digested all the potential permutations that those two ingredients offer, think about what can be added to raise the level of simple mac 'n' cheese to another tier of interest.

To move forward on that last statement, here are two basic macaroni and cheese recipes for your consideration and pleasure. As you review these recipes keep in mind a few things. Yes, you can throw cooked pasta and grated cheese together and call it macaroni and cheese, but with the addition of a few simple ingredients you can raise the bar of enjoyment much, much higher.

Mac 'n' Cheese with Prosciutto

Makes 6 servings (recipe may be scaled up in direct proportion)

3/4 pound pennette (small penne) or elbow macaroni

1 3/4 cups grated fontina or asiago cheese

1 cup whipping cream

1 1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 pound prosciutto, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Lightly oil a 12-inch deep-dish pizza pan, or a baking pan that measures about 12 x 8. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until it is not quite al dente. Drain.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3/4 cups of the cheese, cream, milk, prosciutto, and Parmesan. Add the cooked macaroni and toss to combine once more. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the mixture to the pizza pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese over the top. Bake in a preheated 400 F oven until the cheese melts and begins to brown lightly.


PREP POINTER

Cook the pasta ahead and toss with some olive oil. Allow to cool. Hold in plastic containers, covered, in the cooler. It will keep for 4 to 5 days.

Mac 'n' Cheese with Cheddar & Bacon

Makes 6 generous servings

A tempting combination of cheese, cheese sauce and bacon. It is made in three stages: cooking the pasta, making the topping, making the cheese sauce.


3/4 pound elbow or short macaroni

1/4 pound bacon, fried until crisp and coarsely chopped

Topping:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups Japanese bread crumbs (panko)

1/4 pound shredded sharp Cheddar cheese


Cheese Sauce:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 pound shredded sharp cheddar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 cup chicken stock or broth

1 teaspoon salt

ground pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until almost al dente. Drain and reserve. For the topping, melt the butter and combine it with the bread crumbs and the cheddar. Mix well. Set aside.

For the cheese sauce: In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour. Cook the roux, stirring for about 3 minutes. Off the heat and whisk in the milk and the cream. Put the pan back over the heat. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly, until it begins to thicken. Fold in the cheddar, mustard, chicken stock, salt and pepper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the pasta, cooked bacon and cheese sauce. Transfer the mixture to a lightly oiled 3- to 4-quart baking dish. Level the top with the back of a spoon.

Spread the topping over the macaroni. Bake in a preheated 400 F oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling.



PREP POINTERS 

§ The topping can be made ahead and stored in the cooler, covered, for 2 to 3 days.

§ The cheese sauce can be made ahead and held for 2 days in the cooler, covered. Reheat, adding chicken stock if necessary to achieve proper consistency.

OPTIONAL EXCITEMENT

§ Using the cheese sauce as your base, and blending in other flavors and ingredients, opens up an array of possibilities. 

§ Varying the cheeses, for example, by replacing the cheddar with a taco blend (available from food suppliers) creates an interesting Mexican style macaroni and cheese. I might choose to blend some cayenne pepper to the cheese sauce to zip things up a bit.

§ Adding a four-cheese Italian blend will turn the basic mac 'n' cheese into a decidedly Italian treat. To enhance that idea a bit more, I would incorporate some finely chopped pepperoni into the cheese sauce.

§ Swirling tomato puree in with the cheese sauce adds color and another dimension of flavor.

§ For a Mediterranean spin, fold in sun-dried tomatoes and olives to the basic recipe.

§ Grilled vegetables — eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers — added to the cheese sauce brings in the idea of vegetarian.



CREATIVE CHEESE BLENDING

To create your own signature macaroni and cheese dish, use various combinations of cheeses. Here are some suggestions.


§ Cheddar, mozzarella and Swiss

§ Gruyere, Emmentaler, and blue

§ Cheddar, mozzarella, Monterey Jack

§ Mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan

§ Havarti, Gruyere, Swiss

§ Flavored Jack, Cheddar, Mozzarella

§ Mascarpone, Fontina, Parmesan

Béchamel and mornay sauces fall into the white sauce category. Mastering both of these sauces opens up a wide and wonderful world of flavors that you can use to enhance pasta and pizza creations. But first some background information is in order.

Food historians are pretty much in agreement that the original white sauce, known as balsamella, originated in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. In fact, the classic lasagna from Bologna demands that a balsamella sauce be part of the recipe.

Here are the bases recipe for a béchamel (balsamella) sauce, a Mornay sauce, and several variations on each of those. You will soon find out the many creative possibilities that come from these two sauces. 

Important tips: The secret to a good béchamel sauce is the roux, or the cooking and blending of the flour and butter. Also, the thickness or thinness of the sauce is determined by the amount of milk used, and the amount of cooking time.


Béchamel Sauce

(Makes about 2 1/2 cups)



1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon salt



1. In a heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat, cook the onion with the butter just until the onions are softened. Stir in the flour. Cook and stir the roux for about 3 minutes.

2. Add the milk in a steady stream, whisking steadily until the sauce smooths out. Add the salt. Simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes, or until it is thickened to the consistency you desire.



Sauce can be kept for several days, refrigerated. Cover the surface with a buttered round of parchment paper to prevent a skim from forming.



Mornay Sauce

Generally speaking, a Mornay sauce is made by simply adding some type of cheese to a béchamel sauce. In a more luxurious and richer interpretation, the following recipe will serve you well.

1 cup béchamel sauce

1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter



1. Heat the béchamel until it simmers. Turn the heat to low. Stir in the Gruyere and then the Parmesan.

2. Thin the sauce to the consistency desired by using the heavy cream. Off the heat and swirl in the butter.



Now for some ideas on how to use these two sauces. Macaroni and cheese is a hot food trend, so jump on the trend train with this delicious recipe.



Maccheroni al Forno (Baked Macaroni & Cheese)

Makes 6 to 8 servings



6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups milk

1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 pound cavatappi or rotini pasta

1/4 pound shredded provolone cheese (about 1 cup)

1/4 pound grated Asiago cheese (about 1 cup)

1/4 pound shredded mozzarella (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

1 tablespoon dried oregano



1. Make the bechamel sauce. In a heavy saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking, for 3 minutes. Add the milk in a steady stream, whisking steadily, and bring the sauce to a boil. Add the mustard, cayenne, and salt and whisk to combine. Whisking the sauce, simmer until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

2. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water. When it is al dente, drain it well. Set aside. Butter a 4-quart baking pan.

3. In a large mixing bowl, stir and combine the béchamel sauce, the pasta, provolone, asiago, and mozzarella. Transfer the mixture to the buttered baking pan. Smooth off the top.

4. In a small mixing bowl, combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs, and oregano. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the pasta. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.



Note: The recipe can be made ahead up to the point of baking. Cover and refigerate. Bake as needed.



Bruno’s Brunch Pizza

Makes one 12-inch pizza



This is a great-tasting breakfast or brunch pizza. The béchamel sauce can be made ahead, or simply use about 1 cup of the béchamel or mornay sauce from the base recipe.



Béchamel Sauce



3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup milk

1/8 teaspoon salt



The Rest



1 teaspoon unsalted butter

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 12-inch pizza shell

4 3-inch-diameter slices Canadian bacon

1/2 pound mild cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)



1. Make the béchamel sauce following the steps in the base recipe. Set aside.

2. In a small non-stick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat until it just starts to foam. Stir in the eggs and scramble just until the eggs are set. Set aside.

3. Spread the béchamel sauce evenly over the pizza shell up to the border (leave about 1/4 inch of border). Arrange the Canadian bacon slices evenly over the pizza.

Spread the eggs evenly over the bacon. Sprinkle on the cheese. Bake.



OTHER IDEAS



• Use either the béchamel sauce or the mornay sauce to make a white pizza. Spread either sauce over a pizza shell. Top the sauce with grilled vegetables and bake. 

• Also, fresh spinach that has been sautéed in garlic and olive oil (that would be the prep) work well on a pie featuring béchamel sauce. Make sure that the spinach is not too oily, though. Chop the spinach, then sprinkle it over the sauce. Finish the pizza off with a shower of grated Parmesan before sending it through the oven.

• Seafood, such as grilled or cooked shrimp, works fine with a béchamel sauce, since one of the offshoots of a béchamel is a sauce Nantua. By thinning out the basic béchamel sauce with clam juice, for example, you have a version of sauce Nantua. This approach gives the sauce and the overall goodness of the pizza a good kick in the flavor. 

• The flavor profile of the béchamel sauce can be increased by simmering chopped onion in lightly salted water for about 8 minutes. Drain. Saute the onion in butter. Now puree the onion/butter mixture. Then incorporate it into the béchamel sauce. This is a modified sauce soubise, and would work particularly well with a veggie pizza.

Manchego and feta are two of the more interesting and important cheeses in the Mediterranean flavor. Manchego is Spain's most famous cheese, and is made in the plain of La Mancha. Only the milk of La Manchega sheep can be used to make manchego.

Feta is a Greek cheese. All real manchego is imported; all feta is not. Domestic feta is made with cow's milk, while imported feta is made with sheep's milk. Though imported feta can be overpowering and not particularly friendly to the typical American palate, it is still the preferred feta in areas where there is a large Greek or Middle Eastern population.

Manchego is produced in Spain, where its color ranges from white to pale yellow depending on the age of the cheese. It is a pasteurized product made of sheep's milk and is usually not sold before 13 weeks, then further aging up to 3 years. The flavor ranges from subtly salty to piquant, depending on the age of the cheese. Younger cheeses tend to be milder and nuttier; older cheeses are quite a bit more assertive in flavor. Older Manchego has grating characteristics similar to that of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

For a fast and easy appetizer or small plate offering, I like to lay slices of manchego over thinly sliced jamon serrano (Spanish equivalent of prosciutto). Drizzle olive oil lightly over the top and serve with rounds of crusty bread.

Feta is produced domestically - primarily in California and Wisconsin - and it is mainly white in color. To give feta its trademark saltiness, the brine is pickled in salt and water. The longer the salting, the harder the cheese becomes. Before using, saltier fetas should be rinsed under cold water or soaked in a bit of milk to temper the flavor. 

Feta means "slice" in Greek. Sheep's milk feta has a sharper, more pungent, intense flavor. Feta made from cow's milk is much milder and has a more granular texture than its sheep's milk counterpart. Domestic feta is available in flavors (tomato and basil, for example). Some feta is made from goat's milk, but it is hard to find.

In its simplest use, chunks of feta are drizzled with quality olive oil (a Greek olive oil would be my preference) and served with olives (kalamata would be my choice) and crusty bread.

In a more elaborate way, use it to make this delicious Greek salad:

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Serves 2

4 ounces cavatappi or rotini pasta cooked al dente, drained, rinsed

3/4 pound bulb fresh fennel, trimmed, cored, washed

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup oil-cured olives, such as gaeta or kalamata, pitted and chopped

1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Julienne the fennel bulb. In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta with the fennel, lemon juice, olive oil, and ground pepper. Toss to combine.

Split the salad into two portions and arrange on chilled plates. Sprinkle on the feta cheese, olives and flat-leaf parsley.

Manicotti is a tube of macaroni that is stuffed and baked. In a more enlightened fashion, and ignoring the fact that you would have to look long and hard to find the word "manicotti" on a menu in Italy, this is a delicious pasta dish that offers the creative cook a wide range of interesting possibilities.

The name manicotti (mah-nee-KOH-tee) derives from the noun mancia, which translates to sleeve, hose, or pipe. So, it is the shape itself that determined the naming of this dish. In that regard, it is the idea of the pipe shape, the hollow that can be filled, that stirs the creative juices.

In my unyielding stance to advance the knowledge and understanding of Italian dishes, there is this: In the Lombardy region of Italy, there is something called a crespelle. Crespelle are “pancakes” rolled around a filling of chopped meat and slathered with a cheese sauce.

In effect, this variation can justifiably be called manicotti. In fact, you will see recipes that are called manicotti, but there is no pasta used. Instead a crepe (a.k.a. very thin pancake) is used to hold the filling. Once the crepes are made and filled, they are sauced and baked in the same fashion as manicotti made with pasta.

I am not recommending (unless you operate a very high-end Italian restaurant and wish to make a statement) that you get into the idea of using crepes to make manicotti. The process of making crepes can be labor-intensive and difficult. Even though I might favor the idea of manicotti made with crepes (I make them this way on occasion for family and friends), the best route to take is to use packaged pasta shells.

For the record, there is a family resemblance between manicotti and cannelloni. Both use, in one fashion or another, pasta tubes that are 4- to 5-inches long, and they both end up getting stuffed and baked.

Bare Necessities

An interesting aspect of manicotti is the fact that your operation most likely already has all the ingredients necessary to add it to your menu. On the other hand, if you are now serving manicotti, I have a few tips and techniques that you might want to try.

For basic manicotti you will need the pasta tubes, a filling for the pasta tubes, and a sauce. The filling for the pasta would be a combination of cheeses, or a meat filling. The sauce used with classic manicotti can be a basic marinara sauce, spaghetti sauce, or meat sauce.

Before getting into the recipes, here are a few tips and important methods used in the making of great manicotti.


Cook the pasta tubes in boiling water to which you have added salt (2 teaspoons of salt to 4 quarts of water). Add the pasta to the boiling water, stirring gently. Cook the pasta until it comes up just a bit short of being al dente. Keep in mind the pasta will spend additional time in the oven, which means it is better to undercook it than to overcook it. Drain the pasta at once. Now you can lay the tubes out on sheet pans to cool and dry. This is your prep for the pasta, and you can do as many as you will need for anticipated orders that day or the next day. The pasta not used should be covered with plastic wrap and put in the cooler.
Stuff the pasta with the filling — cheese is the traditional filling for manicotti.
The next step relates to how you plan to serve the manicotti. I like to prep individual orders. The way I do this is to spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of an individual serving dish (I use an oval au gratin dish). Now arrange one portion of the filled pasta tubes in the dish. Next, cover the pasta with sauce. Now sprinkle some shredded mozzarella over the sauce.
Now I can hold this until an order comes in. To order, I slip the au gratin dish into the oven to heat it through entirely and to lightly brown the mozzarella. Refresh the top a bit with a sprinkle of grated cheese before sending it to the dining room.
If you have prepped too many orders, no problem: cover each dish with plastic wrap and put them in the cooler for serving the next day. Two days is the maximum shelf life.


Making Manicotti

An ample serving size would be three manicotti; go to four manicotti for a very generous serving.

Stuffings can be prepped ahead and keep covered in the cooler. Shelf life is three days. Manicotti varies in size relative to the manufacturer, so filling yield noted is approximate.


Meat Filling

For a meat filling, I take cooked meatballs (before they go in the sauce) and chop the meat. Then I stuff the meat into the pasta tubes.


Cheese and Prosciutto Filling

Enough to stuff 12 manicotti tubes


2 cups ricotta

2 medium eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 pound prosciutto, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan

3 cups shredded mozzarella

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

In a mixing bowl, beat the ricotta until it is creamy. Add the eggs, prosciutto, grated Romano, mozzarella and parsley. Beat to combine. Can be scaled up in direct proportion.

Cheese and Spinach Filling

Enough to stuff 12 manicotti tubes

2 cups ricotta

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1/4 cup grated Romano

3 cups shredded mozzarella

2 medium eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup fresh spinach, chopped

In a mixing bowl, beat the ricotta until it is creamy. Fold in the Parmesan, Romano, and mozzarella. Beat in the eggs and the spinach. Can be scaled up in direct proportion.

Use your imagination for other fillings. For example, try spinach and chicken, roasted eggplant with roasted bell peppers, or Italian sausage and other blends of cheeses (Asiago, fontina, provolone).

Mascarpone (mahs-kar-POH-neh) is not actually a cheese (no starter or rennet is used to produce it), but it is always included in the cheese family when the subject of relatives come up. And in the Italian arsenal of cheeses it stands tall. A rich and lush cow's milk cheese, mascarpone is double or triple cream, which means heavy-duty milk fat (up to 75 percent). 

The beauty of this cheese lies not only in its richness and incomparable goodness, but also in its versatility. As you will note below, I have used mascarpone in a simple application pertaining to a couple of pasta dishes. However, mascarpone is an essential and important ingredient when making tiramisu (though a lot of places, because of the cost, cut it out of a tiramisu recipe and go only with whipped cream).

Mascarpone will hold its own in a simple dessert in which fresh berries are folded into it. I like to add some confectioners's sugar to mascarpone, whip it until it is creamy-smooth, then layer it in a parfait glass with slices of fresh strawberries.

Another way I use mascarpone is to swirl a tablespoon (or two) into a tomato sauce for pasta. The mascarpone gives the tomato sauce a luxuriously rich flavor (the idea is that it cuts some of the acidity in the tomatoes). 

Domestic brands of mascarpone are every bit as good (and a lot less expensive) as imported brands, so buy locally. 

Fusilli with Mascarpone and Prosciutto

The silky richness of the mascarpone cheese mingling with the sweetness of the prosciutto is the flavor center of this dish. The mascarpone is dropped over the cooked pasta in tablespoons, and mixed into the pasta just to coat. The complement to this dish is the elegant prosciutto di parma; it stands on its own delicate flavor, so no cooking is necessary.

Serves 4 as a first course

3/4 pound fusilli or other spiral-shaped pasta

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

1/2 pound prosciutto di Parma, sliced thin and chopped coarse

freshly ground pepper to taste

Cook the pasta until it is al dente. Drain, thoroughly. Put the cooked pasta into a sauté pan set over medium-high heat. Add the butter and stir to combine. Add the Parmesan and stir once more to combine. Add the mascarpone, dropping it in dollops over the pasta, toss gently just to combine. Add the prosciutto and combine with the pasta. Portion among four heated pasta bowls. Serve.

You can use this basic idea to create a pasta dish with four cheeses. Once the pasta has been cooked, add it to the sauté pan. Add the butter. Blend in a combination of cheeses (I use ¾ cups of mascarpone, 1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola, 1 cup grated Asiago, and 2 ounces Parmesan). Cook and stir until the cheeses have blended. You don't need to use any heavy cream (that's a dish for another time); the combination of cheeses will carry the dish Portion among four heated pasta bowls. Serve.

It’s that time of year when tomatoes actually taste like tomatoes. In Chicago, where I live, it’s not easy to get great-tasting fresh tomatoes year-round. In fact, the window around here for vine-ripened tomatoes is open for only about four months of the year. So when those dead-ripe red beauties show up in the Farmers’ Markets around Chicago, I make it a point to use them in as many ways as possible.

One of my favorite ways to use fresh tomatoes is in a Caprese salad, in which slices of beefsteak tomatoes get layered with fresh mozzarella and fresh basil. I could easily turn a Caprese salad into a Pasta Caprese salad by adding cooked pasta and a splash of extra-virgin olive oil to the mozzarella and tomatoes (chopped, not sliced, in this case).

Those ideas are simply a preface to this Mediterranean Pasta Salad. The “Mediterranean” part of this salad has to do with the fresh tomatoes. The tomatoes thrive in the company of cucumbers, fresh basil, capers and cheese. I like the briny-salty flavor of feta for this salad, but chunks of aged provolone work great, too.

One of the secrets to a pasta salad — any pasta salad — is that you should rinse the pasta after cooking (this is the only time you should rinse pasta). Rinsing the pasta in cold water removes the starch from the surface of the pasta, so the pasta has a cleaner taste and works better with an oil and vinegar dressing.

You can make big batches of this salad ahead, but I would not push the shelf life beyond two days.


Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Makes 4 servings (scale up in direct proportion)

8 ounces of farfalle, rigatoni or other short pasta
1 large cucumber, seeded, chopped
3/4 cup Nicoise or oil-cured olives, pitted and halved
1 cup torn fresh basil leaves
2 cups diced, seeded dead-ripe fresh tomatoes, Roma or plum preferred
3 tablespoons capers, drained, rinsed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 pound feta cheese, crumbled, or aged provolone, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cook the pasta is abundant salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, rinse in cold water. Set aside to dry for a few minutes. (Note: Pasta can be cooked a day or two ahead. Rinse the pasta and spread out on sheet pans. Refrigerate, covered.)

In a large bowl, combine the cucumber, olives, fresh basil, tomatoes, capers, vinegar and olive oil. Toss gently to combine. Add the cheese and toss again. Add salt and pepper to taste. Salad can be served at room temperature if need be, or it can be refrigerated for at least 1 hour before serving.

Here’s the story: An overgrown crimini mushroom goes by the name of portobello. To put it another way, once the brown crimini gets to be around 4 to 6 inches in diameter it becomes a portobello. Here, we are dealing with a big brown mushroom with broad appeal, and one that can be used in more ways than any other fungi out there.

The portobello mushroom can be grilled, roasted, sauteed, stuffed, used as a “sandwich,” and as a bird bath (just kidding). The word “versatile” comes immediately to mind when working with portobellos. And because of it’s texture and density, the portobello has been labeled as “vegetarian meat” or the “steak of veggie burgers.”
The name portobello more than likely comes from the Italian word “cappellone,” which means “big hat.”

When purchasing portobello mushrooms, look for those that are firm and solid; limp caps will not do. Also the underside of the mushroom (where the gills are) should not be overly dark or shriveled, since that indicates that the mushroom is headed over the hills.
As it goes with all mushrooms, the portobello should not be subjected to excessive washing or submerged in water. When working with the portobello, simply snap off the stem, tap the cap on a work surface to shake off any matter that might have found its way into the gills, then brush the cap with a soft brush or a damp paper towel.

Now we are ready to use this versatile mushroom. Let’s focus first on how to use the portobello on pizza and in pasta dishes, then move on to other possibilities.

Because of its high water content, it would be a good idea to precook portobellos before using them as a pizza topping. To do this, simply brush the cap and underside with olive oil, line them up on a sheet pan, cap side up, and roast them in the oven. Once cooled, you can slice the caps into strips and use them as a pizza topping or as part of a pasta dish (see recipes below). The wonderful thing about portobellos is that the longer they are cooked (within reason), the “meatier” they get.

Portobello caps also take quite nicely to grilling, so again you would brush both sides of the mushroom with olive oil and grill until cooked through (4 to 5 minutes on each side relative to how hot the grill is).

However, beyond using just olive oil in the prep process, the addition of garlic, herbs, onions and peppers to the cooking process greatly enhances the overall flavor. Try out these recipes:

P & P Pizza (Portobello & Peperoni)
Yield: one 14-inch pizza (scale up in direct proportion)

5 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 Portobello mushroom caps, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 clove garlic, minced
1 14-inch pizza shell
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces shredded mozzarella (or mozzarella and provolone blend)

In a large saute pan set over medium high heat, add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the red and green bell peppers, the mushroom slices and the garlic to the pan. Stir and cook for about 5-6 minutes until the peppers soften a bit. This is the prep.

To order, brush the pizza shell with the remaining 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over the crust. Add the cooked mixture of peppers and mushrooms. Sprinkle on the shredded mozzarella. Bake.

Note: Peperoni (one p) as in peppers, not pepperoni (with two Ps) as in, well, pepperoni.


Pasta and Portobello
Yield: 4 as a pasta entreé (scale up in direct proportion)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups sliced portobello mushrooms (2-3 caps, relative to size of caps)
1/3 cup chicken broth
4 fresh plum or Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3/4 pound short pasta (penne, rigatoni, farfalle)
Chiffonade of fresh basil
1 cup grated ricotta salata

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan set over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are tender (6-8 minutes). Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile cook the pasta in boiling salted water until it is al dente. Drain the pasta, and toss with the mushroom and tomato mixture. Divide the pasta among four heated pasta bowls. Sprinkle an equal amount of fresh basil and ricotta salata over each portion. Serve at once.

Note: Ricotta salata is a mild and nutty sheep’s milk cheese that I like to use when I want a milder version of Romano cheese. If you can’t get ricotta salata, use Romano.


Portobello Pizzas

In this recipe I use the cap as a pizza crust, so think outside the crust here for a moment and have some fun.


The prep is the roasting of the caps. Remove the stem of the mushroom and brush the mushroom clean. Brush both sides of the mushroom with olive oil. Roast the caps in the oven, cap side up, for about 8 to 10 minutes in a 400 degree F. oven. Set aside.

Now you can stuff the caps with just about anything that you might use as a pizza topping. For example, cooked Italian sausage, pepperoni, peppers, mushrooms, olives, etc.

Try this: Paint the inside of the mushroom cap with your pizza sauce. Sprinkle some grated Parmesan or Romano cheese over the sauce. Put a patty of cooked Italian sausage in the cap. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella over the sausage. Bake in the oven until the cheese is melted. Figure one cap per person as an appetizer.

When I had my cooking school in Chicago, I had to make big batches of this pasta dish for the students because they gobbled it up pretty fast. The idea behind this dish is that the spinach gets “cooked” only from the ambient heat of the pasta, and that technique keeps the dish fresh and lively. This is an easy, two-step dish, one that any restaurant can send out to the table in no time flat.

Serves 4- 6 (Scale up in direct proportion)

12 Ounces fresh baby spinach leaves, stemmed if necessary
½ pound Asiago or fontina cheese, shredded
6 ounces roasted red bell peppers, drained (if using canned) and sliced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces cavatappi pasta (or other short pasta, such as fusilli or rotini)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup toasted pine nuts

In a large bowl, combine the spinach, Asiago, roasted peppers, olive oil and garlic. Toss to combine. Set aside. (Can be prepped up to this point 3 hours ahead and held at room temperature.)

Cook the pasta in an abundant amount of boiling salted water until it is al dente.

Drain the pasta. Working quickly, add the pasta to the bowl with the spinach. Add the Parmesan cheese. Toss again. Divide the pasta among serving bowls. Sprinkle some pine nuts over each portion.

Serve at once.

Note: In service, I would have the spinach mixture ready to go. I would cook a pasta portion (about 3 ounces dry), drain it and then toss the pasta with a portion of the spinach mixture.


To toast the pine nuts, place 1 teaspoon olive oil in a small nonstick skillet, then add the nuts. Stir to coat them with the oil. Over medium heat, cook and stir until they are golden brown. The gap between toasting the nuts and burning them is very close, so keep a close watch.

While I have some space to do so, here are some of the basic steps for perfect pasta cookery

1. Pasta must be cooked in plenty of boiling, salted water. You will need 5 quarts of water and 2 teaspoons of salt for 12 ounces to 1 pound of pasta.

2. Never put oil in the cooking water. If you use plenty of water the pasta will never stick together. Also, oil in the water makes the pasta slippery, destroys the pasta-starch connection and ultimately prevents the good bonding of the sauce to the pasta (the starch that rises to the surface of the pasta during cooking helps to grab the sauce once the pasta is drained).

3. Drain the pasta as soon as it is al dente (and please, please, do not rinse it with water). It will continue to cook a bit due to its interior heat, so don’t push it to the limit.

To understand how best to use olives on pizza or in pasta dishes or antipasti, we must first look at the various types of olives available, their characteristics and overall usage. And then there is the question of pit or no pit. For example, some restaurants will set a small plate of olives on the table for a nibble while you look over the menu, order a cocktail or a glass of wine. Sometimes these olives are pitted, sometimes not. Caution: if you are going to serve olives for this purpose, do not mix pitted olives with olives containing pits (if you plan to do so, check your insurance policy for dental coverage for patrons who break a tooth).

OLIVE GLOSSARY
While there are many more types of olives available, these are the select group in common usage for restaurants in the U.S. Also, keep in mind food costs; there is quite a price span between, say, the canned black ripe olive from California, and the Gaeta from Italy. Also, olives that are cured and blended with herbs generally cost more (but you can’t beat the flavor).

Type: canned black ripe olives.

Provenance: California.

Description: This is the olive commonly used as a pizza topping. These black olives are processed in a lye curing solution to leach the bitterness out. After this step in the curing process, the olives undergo a series of water baths, followed by a process that gives the olives their stable color. Black ripe olives have a firm texture and a mellow taste. Available pitted, whole, sliced or chopped.
Usage: This is a very versatile olive. I use the sliced type as a pizza topping, whole (pitted) in salads as part of caponata, and for just plain snacking.

Type: Green ripe olive. Same as the black ripe olive, except the green ripe olive has not been exposed to air, so it retains its natural color.
Usage: Use in the same way as the black ripe olive. On occasion, I will make a blend of black ripe and green ripe as a topping for pizza, as well as in caponata.

Type: Kalamata.

Provenance: Greece (varieties of this olive that are grown in California are spelled calamata). Description: Brine-cured, almond shape, eggplant-colored (shading to black) olive that is cured in red wine vinegar. A soft, meaty, fruity olive that is a well-known favorite.
Usage: More expensive than the black ripe olive, but given a choice I would use this olive on pizza since it has a deep olive-rich flavor that holds up well under the heat of the oven. Kalamatas are also a good choice for pairing with, say, feta cheese for a Greek-style appetizer, a Greek pizza (see recipe) or in a Greek salad.

Type: Gaeta.

Provenance: Italy (a town between Naples and Rome).

Description: Some versions are very mild, while some are quite strong (relative to the curing process). Dry-cured are deep black in color and are quite wrinkled. Brine-cured have a smooth skin and lose some of their color, giving the olives a violet cast. Gaetas are often given a tumble with rosemary and other herbs to enhance the overall flavor.
Usage: I love this olive. I use it as part of an antipasto, in salads, in a pasta dish, and on fish. I would use this olive, too, to make a tapenade (olive spread) for crostini. And when enhanced with rosemary or herbs it becomes an incomparable snacking olive.

Type: Nicoise.

Provenance: France.

Description: A small brown-green-black olive (generally it is not pitted) that is quite tasty.
Usage: Snacking and indispensable to a classic salade Nicoise.

Type: Manzinilla (a.k.a. Queen).

Provenance: Spain and California. Green, lye-cured, fermented in salt brine.

Description: A meaty olive that is often stuffed with pimento.
Usage: Use in salads, cold pasta salad, and some chicken dishes. Indispensable to the olive salad that is critical to a well-made muffaletta.

Pat Bruno is Pizza Today’s resident chef and a regular contributor. He is the former owner and operator of a prominent Italian cooking school in Chicago and is a food critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Pasta Puttanesca
Yield: 4 servings as a pasta course (scale up in direct proportion)

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
5 anchovy filets, lightly chopped
12 Gaeta or kalamata olives, stoned and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
2 teaspoons crushed red chili flakes
1 quart canned whole peeled plum tomatoes
1 pound spaghetti
½ (one-half) cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large sauté pan, warm the olive oil over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the garlic. Cook the garlic until it just begins to turn golden brown. Discard the garlic.
Add the anchovy fillets and mash them to a paste with a fork. Add the olives, capers and red pepper flakes. Turn the heat to low.
Crush the plum tomatoes by hand, and drain off excess water. Add the tomatoes to the pan with the anchovies and capers. Turn the heat to medium-high. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes.
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain. Portion the pasta among four heated pasta bowls. Ladle an equal amount of sauce over the pasta. Top each dish with an equal amount of Parmesan. Serve.


Greek Pizza
Makes one 14-inch pizza (scale up in direct proportion)

1 14-inch diameter pizza shell
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound fresh baby spinach, washed, drained, chopped
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
½ cup stoned brine-cured green olives
½ cup stoned brine-cured black olives
1 cup (about ¼ pound) feta cheese, crumbled


Brush the pizza shell with the olive oil. Toss the spinach with the red onion and spread it evenly over the pizza shell. Combine the two olives and sprinkle them evenly over the spinach. Sprinkle the feta cheese evenly over the pizza. Bake and serve.

2 tablespoons butter

1 small red onion, chopped

1 small yellow onion, chopped

4 ounces Portobello mushrooms, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

7 ounces bacon, cooked and crumbled into large pieces

12 ounces chicken breast, grilled and sliced

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup Romano cheese

¼ cup Asiago cheese

salt and pepper, to taste

16 ounces penne

Sauté onions, mushrooms and garlic in butter until ingredients are soft and yellow onions are translucent. Add bacon and chicken, then add heavy cream. Bring mixture to a boil, then begin cooking penne separately.

Add cheeses, salt and pepper. Stir and let simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Drain penne, then add it to the Carbonara mixture and coat with sauce. Serve.

Food history tells us that ravioli is Genoese (think Genoa and Liguria) in origin. According to the great food writer, Waverley Root, until the beginning of the 19th century, this form of pasta was called rabiole, which in Genoese dialect means things of little value or, in this instance, kitchen leftovers. The story goes that on shipboard, in days of sail, making use of leftovers was important; if they were thrown away, a ship might risk running out of food if the voyage was unexpectedly prolonged. So, on Genoese ships, those leftovers were chopped or minced and stuffed into envelopes of pasta.

To buy or to make your own is the burning question when it comes to ravioli. My quick answer is "buy." Time saved is money earned. Making your own ravioli can be very labor intensive, so have your distributors sample out frozen ravioli for your taste tests. There are some excellent brands of frozen ravioli out there, and the depth of filling choices seems to get better and better as time goes by.

On the other hand, if you want to make your own ravioli it does set you apart from the pack. Also, it gives you the opportunity to create a few signature ravioli specials that will give your customers something to talk about.

Here are some ideas when working with ravioli-buying or making your own-to keep you on top of the pasta game.

• When making ravioli, always make the filling first, this will eliminate the possibility of the pasta dough drying out and not sealing properly.

• When cooking frozen ravioli, take them directly from the freezer to the boiling water. Do not allow them to thaw. Generally speaking, frozen ravioli will take 8 - 10 minutes to cook.

• If you are making your own ravioli in big batches and wish to freeze them, follow these steps: Dust a sheet pan lightly with flour. Lay the cut and sealed ravioli on the sheet to dry. Turn then over after 10 minutes. Put the sheet pan into the freezer. Within 2 hours the ravioli will be frozen. Portion the ravioli in freezer bags. Seal the bags and return them to the freezer. If stored and sealed properly, ravioli will hold up well in the freezer for 2 months.

• The pasta "envelopes" that hold the filling can be made using freshly made pasta (test batch below). Another viable and perfectly acceptable short cut is to use wonton skins. Wonton skins come in two sizes: 6-inch and 3-inch. Either size works fine.

• Using a metal ravioli form is one way to fill, cut and seal ravioli in a timely way. These forms are readily available in specialty cookware stores. Using this form, one person can make no fewer than 200 (or more) ravioli in about 6 hours.


Homemade Egg Pasta for Ravioli

1 ∏ cups all-purpose flour

2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

Carefully measure the flour and put it in the workbowl of a food processor. Break the eggs into the bowl. Run the processor until the dough balls up and cleans the sides of the work bowl. This will make a 1-pound ball of dough, or enough pasta, when sheeted to make 22 ravioli, each about 2 inches square.

Once you have made your pasta sheets, spoon the filling onto one sheet of the dough in heaping teaspoonfuls about 1 inch from the edge and spacing the centers of the filling mounds about 2 inches apart. Moisten the dough around the mounds lightly with water. Drape another sheet of dough over the mounds of filling. Cut and seal three sides of each ravioli by pressing down on the dough with your fingers, forcing out any air through the open end of the dough. Press and seal the fourth side. Ravioli are now ready for freezing or cooking to order.

Black Bean Ravioli with Chipotle Cream Sauce

Filling

2-3 dried pasilla or chipotle chilies

2 cloves garlic, peeled

π cup chopped yellow onion

2 cups canned black beans, drained and rinsed

π cup chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

Place the chilies in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak until very soft, 15-20 minutes. Drain and remove stems. Place the chilies, garlic, onion, beans and cilantro in a food processor. Process until smooth.

Make and form the ravioli as directed above.

Chipotle Cream Sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/3 cup chipotles in adobo sauce

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 cups whipping cream

salt to taste

π cup fresh coriander (cilantro)

In a skillet set over medium heat, warm the oil for 1 minute. Add the chipotles and garlic. Stir and cook for 2 - 3 minutes, crushing the chipotles with a wooden spoon. Stir in the whipping cream. Raise the heat to medium-high an simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce is reduced to about 1 ∏ cups. Add salt to taste.

Arrange the cooked ravioli on heated pasta plates or bowls. Drizzle the sauce over the ravioli. Sprinkle on the cilantro.


Chicken and Spinach Ravioli using Wonton Skins

12 ounces fresh spinach

1 pound chicken breast, cooked and finely chopped

∏ cup finely chopped roasted red peppers

π cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

About ∏ package 3-inch wonton skins



1. Cook the spinach in a small amount of water. Drain and pat dry.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the spinach roasted red peppers and Parmesan cheese.

Salt and pepper to taste.

3. Form the ravioli by laying half of the wonton skins on a sheet pan. Brush the wonton

liberally with water. Put about 1 heaped tablespoon of the filling on each of the skins.

Place the other skins over the filling, and press down firmly with your fingertips to

seal the edges. Run a pastry cutter around all sides to further seal the ravioli.

4. Freeze as directed above, or hold in the cooler for that day's orders.


Makes 26 to 28 3-inch ravioli. Recipe can be scaled up in direct proportion.

Love it or hate it, ricotta just may be the most versatile cheese found in pizzerias today. Not only is it used in pasta dishes, but it can also be found atop pizzas and in rich, delightful sauces and desserts.

It’s important to understand what ricotta comes from and how it’s made. Ricotta is Italian for "recooked" — it is made by "cooking" whey. It makes delicious lasagna, ravioli stuffing, gnocchi, cannoli, cheese-stuffed shells and even a great treat that both of my grandmothers used to make me called cheese blintzes (cheese-filled crepes). Naturally, I’d be a fool if I didn’t mention how great pizza is with dollops of ricotta baked on it.

Many of us who have been blessed to learn how to make our own homemade fresh mozzarella at the International Pizza Expo have learned that fresh milk has an enzyme added to it to separate the curds and whey. It’s that curd that we can buy to then make our own mozzarella. So, what about the whey? Well, it is then cooked to make ricotta.

Like types and styles of pizza crust and sauce, there are many different kinds of ricotta. There’s whole milk and part skim, with an obvious difference in the fat content. But there are also different textures you can find in ricotta cheese. Many ricottas can be a little bit grainy, and they are suitable for making lasagna, ravioli, manicotti or stuffed shells. Personally, I prefer a whipped, smooth ricotta cheese. It’s more versatile and has a much better mouth feel.

In order to use your ricotta cheese for both pasta dishes and desserts, it makes more sense to buy just one type. Ask your vendor to provide you with samples of the various ricottas they carry so that you can try them out for yourself.

For lasagna, manicotti, stuffed shells and ravioli, I like to season my ricotta with salt, pepper, garlic, and Italian seasonings. I call my lasagna “Four-Cheese Lasagna” and find it much easier to assemble with all the cheeses in the filling instead of layering each cheese as I’m making the lasagna. For that reason, I add Parmesan, diced or shredded mozzarella and provolone cheeses to my ricotta filling. I find it important to add a few eggs to this mixture to bind it together once it’s cooked. 

There is superfine ricotta cheese available with very low moisture designed for use in desserts. This cheese is designed to hold powdered or confectionary sugar well without getting too moist and loose. Mixing three pounds of this ricotta with one pound of powdered sugar and a couple of tablespoons of Almond Extract makes a perfect cannoli filling. With a pastry bag, I fill my cannoli shells and then dip the ends in mini chocolate chips. 

I even attempted Tiramisu with this smooth ricotta as a replacement for the traditional Mascarpone cheese — and it came out perfect. I like to make a big batch and freeze it. First, I whip four quarts of heavy cream. When it’s almost whipped all the way, I add two pounds of powdered sugar and three small boxes of instant white chocolate pudding powder mix (which acts as a stabilizer). 

Next, I fold in six pounds of smooth ricotta. This completes my cream filling. Once that is ready, I brew a double-strength pot of coffee and sweeten it with 3 pounds of sugar. I line two full two-inch hotel pans with plastic wrap and assemble the tiramisu. 

I start by lining each pan with ladyfinger cookies. I drizzle the sweet coffee mixture over the cookies. Next, I layer in some of the cream. I repeat the process until I have three layers of soaked cookies with three layers of the cream. This will fill two hotel pans. Then I freeze it all. 

In order to get a clean cut on the tiramisu, pop it out of the pan while it’s still frozen and cut each yield into 28 squares. Wrap each piece individually and keep them frozen. Pull a few out per shift. Thaw them in the refrigerator. Serve each piece with a sprinkling of cocoa on top.

A Unique Twist

Gnocchi is a little dumpling that is usually made with potato. I find it so much easier to make with ricotta cheese, which yields a light dumpling. Simply add a few ingredients together to make a soft gnocchi dough. Here’s a recipe that’s quick and easy.

Ricotta Gnocchi

1 pound ricotta cheese

1 egg

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

¾ cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

Mix the ingredients together to form a soft dough. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour — a little at a time — until you can roll the dough out on the counter.

Roll it out into a rope form and cut even pieces. You can press them with your thumb, roll them over the back of a fork with your finger or roll them over a gnocchi board that puts lines on them. Boil them in salted water for about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain them and immediately toss them in your favorite sauce and serve. 

There are virtually hundreds of sauce options. Garlic butter would be great, but if you really wanted to stick with a ricotta theme, you could mix some ricotta with marinara to make a tomato cream sauce. You can even make an untraditional Alfredo sauce by draining the gnocchi, tossing it with some melted garlic butter, a cup of ricotta, ½ cup of parmesan and ½ cup of cream.

Rigatoni (ree-gah-tOH-nee) is a large, tubular-shaped pasta. Rigato means with lines or ridges, so most all rigatoni, which is one of the largest tubular pastas in the maccheroni family, has ridges on its outer surface. It comes in a few different sizes, but the two constants connected with rigatoni are the ridges and its hollow shape. In Italy, rigatoni also goes by the name of denti di cavallo, which translates to "horse's teeth."

The idea of the ridges on the pasta goes beyond aesthetics however, since the ridges help to pick up and hold some of the sauce, which is a distinct advantage in any case when it comes to pasta shapes and types.

On the other hand, the cooking of pasta does not necessarily relate to shape or type at all, rather a few simple steps-10 in all--so let's have a refresher course on the proper way to cook pasta.

Perfect Pasta Cookery

1. Always start with a quality brand of pasta, one that is made with 100 percent durum semolina flour.

2. Pasta must be cooked in plenty of boiling salted water. Figure 4 to 5 quarts of water and I tablespoon of salt for each pound of pasta.

3. Salt the water (pasta is inherently a bland product) as suggested above, after the water comes to a boil. The salt adds flavor to the pasta; it does not encourage the water to boil sooner, as some cooks seem to believe.

4. Plunge the pasta into the rapidly boiling water. As soon as the pasta softens a bit give it a good stir.

5. When the water comes back to a boil (putting a cover on the pot speeds this up), stir the pasta again, and once or twice while it is cooking.

6. Never put oil (of any kind) in the cooking water. It just makes the pasta slippery, destroys the pasta-starch connection, and ultimately prevents the bonding of the sauce and the pasta.

7. Pasta will never stick together if you use a quality brand of pasta and cook it in plenty of water.

8. Drain the pasta as soon as it is al dente. It will continue to cook a bit due to its interior heat, so don't push it to the limit.

9. How do you know when pasta is perfectly al dente? The best way is to bite into it. Al dente-to the tooth-is the ultimate test. (Cooks who prep a lot of pasta can also tell by look and feel.)

10. The only time cooked pasta should be rinsed is when it is to used for a cold pasta salad. The reason for not rinsing pasta otherwise is that the fine film of starch that rises to the surface of the cooked pasta actually enhances the flavor and helps the sauce to cling to the pasta.


Pasta Prep

Once the pasta has been cooked and drained, spread it out on a sheet pan. Separating the pasta in this manner allows it to cool faster and prevent further cooking through heat transfer. Allow the pasta to cool. Cover the sheet pan with plastic. Date stamp. Place in the cooler.

An option, after the pasta has cooled, is to scale and portion into individual servings.

To order, drop the pasta into a hot water bath (no salt in the water bath, since the pasta has already gone through that step) just to heat it through. Drain, sauce, serve.

When I am working the line as the pasta cook, I like to finish a pasta dish mantecata, that is, add the cooked pasta to the sauté pan into which a ladle or two of sauce has been simmering. By doing it this way the pasta has a chance to blend with the flavors of the sauce.

Rigatoni is a versatile cut of pasta in that it works beautifully with almost any type of sauce — marinara, Bolognese (meat), cream — and can be paired with seafood and vegetables, as well as baked.


Rigatoni al Filo di Fumo
Serves 4 as a pasta course

This is an adaptation of a dish served at Topo Gigio, a favorite restaurant of mine in Chicago. The "filo" designation in the recipes comes from the thread or string that the cheese forms in the finished dish. The "fumo" part is originally related to the use of smoked mozzarella, which can be used in place of fresh mozzarella if desired.

1/4 pound pancetta in a chunk about 1/2 inch thick

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3 cups canned plum tomatoes (no juices), crushed

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 pound cooked rigatoni

1/2 pound shredded or chopped fresh mozzarella

4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Pare the rind from the pancetta and cut the meat into a small dice. In a large sauté pan set over medium heat, cook and stir the pancetta until it starts to get crisp around the edges.

Add the oil to the pan. Put the garlic through a garlic press into the pan. Add the tomatoes and peas. Raise the heat and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce, breaking up the tomatoes with a fork or spoon.

Add the rigatoni to the pan with the tomatoes. Immediately add the mozzarella and toss to combine.

Divide the pasta among four heated pasta bowls. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese over each serving.


Rigatoni con Asiago e Spinaci
Serves 4-6

The idea behind this dish is that the spinach gets "cooked" only from the ambient heat of the pasta. This is an excellent dish to serve family style, or as part of a pasta buffet.


12 ounces fresh spinach, washed, heavy stems cut off, leaves torn

1/2 pound Asiago (or Fontina) cheese, shredded

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1 pound rigatoni

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


In a large serving bowl, combine the spinach cheese, olive oil, garlic, and pepper. Toss to combine.

Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain. Working quickly, add the pasta to the bowl with the spinach and cheese. Toss to combine. Add the Parmesan and toss again.

Note: I can change the flavor profile of this dish by adding chunks of grilled chicken.

The idea behind this delicious pasta dish is that the ricotta is actually the sauce that coats the pasta. To this end, I like to add a tablespoon or two of the hot water from the pasta pot to thin the sauce just a touch. Various steps can be prepped ahead as indicated in the recipe. So, to order, it is simply a matter of assembling and plating.

Yield: 4 servings (scale up in direct proportion)

1 pound rigatoni
½ cup chopped pancetta

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup finely chopped onion
2 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves, sliced into 1/4-inch strips
1 ½ cups part-skim ricotta cheese
½ cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Cook the pasta in 5-6 quarts of boiling, salted water until al dente. Just before the pasta has finished cooking, scoop about 1 cup of water out of the pot. Scoop out the pasta and reserve, but keep the water in which the pasta was cooked warm.



Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, cook the pancetta over medium-high heat, stirring, until the fat is rendered and it is slightly crisp. Add the olive oil, onion and chicken to the sauté pan. Cook and stir until the onion is soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Keep warm, over low heat.



In a large pasta serving bowl or mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, basil, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.


Add the pasta to the bowl with the ricotta mixture. Add the onion and chicken mixture. Add a small amount of the reserved pasta water; just enough to make a loose “sauce.” Toss to combine. Portion. Serve.

Chef’s Notes: The idea of using the water in which pasta is being cooked is a simple yet effective technique that bears delicious results. The point being that the starch that is thrown off during the boiling of the pasta is a pleasing “secret ingredient” that creams and smoothes out a sauce. I use this technique quite effectively when making a pesto sauce. Also, if pancetta is not available, or you feel the cost is too high, substitute bacon. But drain off excess fat from the sauté pan before adding the onion and chicken. 

Yield: 4 servings

3 tablespoons butter
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 bail leaves, chiffonade
½ tablespoon green chilies, chopped
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
1 medium tomato, medium sized dice
2/3 cup crimini mushrooms, sliced
Sausage tortellini
Salt & pepper to taste

Warm pan to medium-high heat. Add butter. Once melted add onions, garlic and peppers. Sauté until onion is translucent.

Add mushrooms, tomatoes and basil to pan; continue to sauté 1-2 minutes. Add cream to pan. Bring to a simmer and hold for 2-3 minutes.

Add grated cheese, stirring to incorporate. Add pasta and toss to coat. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly until pasta is warmed through. Serve on heated plate and garnish with basil leaves.

Simply defined, ravioli is stuffed or filled pasta. Genoa, Italy, lays claim to the ravioli. Their dialect word "rabiole," which means "something of small value," derives from the idea that centuries ago on long voyages Genoese sailors would stuff various leftovers between sheets of pasta.

Square is the traditional shape for ravioli, but round and half-moon shapes seem to be gaining in popularity. For the record, "raviolini" is the word for small ravioli, and "raviolo" is the singular. Every region in Italy has some type of ravioli.

Genoese (veal, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, chard), Romagna (cheese, beef), San Giuseppe (marziapan), Capri style ( cheese filled), on and on it goes.

What types of seafood should be considered if you are thinking about making your own ravioli? Crab, shrimp and lobster work quite well. Also, any flaky white-fleshed fish (whitefish, cod, Pollock, flounder).

I will warn you upfront that making your own seafood ravioli is tricky and labor intensive. Also, controlling the consistency can be troublesome unless you stay on top of it. It is possible to purchase seafood ravioli (check with your local distributor), and it will likely come in frozen, so there is a good shelf life.

On the other hand, just one or two really great seafood ravioli dishes can make your restaurant popular. And a unique pasta dish of this kind is the stuff that newspaper food sections thrive upon, so free publicity could be just a ravioli away. The key in either case (buying the ravioli ready to go, or making your own) is to pair the ravioli with a dynamite sauce.

In addition to pairing the ravioli with a great sauce, another important consideration is the seasoning of the seafood itself. Some seasonings take to ravioli like (excuse the expression) a duck to water, and once the customer’s fork gets beyond the pasta covering the stuffing, you need to make a tasty impression.

Let's look at some of those considerations. Crabmeat ravioli would be a good place to start. You have a choice of buying fresh crabmeat, or canned crabmeat. I would opt for the canned version (probably more expensive than the fresh crabmeat), simply for purposes of handling and shelf life. Then, to enhance the flavor profile, I would pair the crabmeat ravioli with a crabmeat sauce.

Another example would be ravioli with whitefish. Try this test-recipe.



Pasta Dough for Ravioli *



3 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons milk

4 large eggs



1. Combine the flour, milk, and eggs in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the dough forms a ball. Cut the ball of dough into four equal pieces.

2. Roll out a sheet of dough that is about 12 inches wide by 20 inches long. Cut the sheet into two pieces that are about 6 inches by 20 inches. Roll out the remaining dough in the same manner. Keep the sheets of dough covered with a damp towel to prevent them from drying out.

3. Spoon the filling onto one sheet of the dough in heaping tablespoonfuls about 1 inch from the edge and spacing centers of the filling about 2 inches apart. (Inexpensive ravioli forms can be purchased, and that makes that part of the process go a lot smoother.)

4. Moisten the dough around mounds lightly with water. Loosely drape the second sheet of dough over the mounds of filling. Seal between the rows, lengthwise and crosswise, by pressing down on the dough with the tips of your fingers, forcing out any air. Press and seal completely. Using a ravioli cutter or a fluted pastry wheel, cut the dough into 2-inch squares between and around the filling. You should have 24 ravioli, each about 2 1/2 inches square.



* You can use this recipe for any type of seafood (or non-seafood) ravioli.



Filling

12 ounces whitefish or cod fillets

1/4 pound ricotta cheese

1/4 pound grated Parmesan

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel



1. Poach the fish in lightly simmering water for about 4 minutes. Drain. Pat dry with paper towels. Mince the fish and combine with the remaining ingredients.

2. Make the ravioli as instructed in steps 3 and 4 above.

3. Cook the ravioli in gently simmering, salted water, until al dente. Serve with sauce.



Sauce

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1/4 pound whitefish or cod fillets

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 cups canned plum tomatoes, drained, crushed



1. Put the oil in a sauté pan set over medium high heat. Add the onion and parsley. Cook for about 2 minutes to soften the onions. Add the fish. Pour in the wine and raise the heat to cook off the wine. Add the tomatoes. Cook the sauce for 25-30 minutes over medium-high heat to reduce, stirring occasionally. The fish will disintegrate, giving body to the sauce.



You can expand the repertoire of seafood ravioli simply by changing the stuffing and the sauce. Some examples would be:



1. Use sea scallops instead of whitefish as a stuffing. Serve with a crabmeat sauce made with onions, garlic, thyme, clam juice, and plum tomatoes.

2. Use lobster meat as a stuffing. Serve with a lobster sauce made with olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, clam juice, and plum tomatoes.

3. Use shrimp as a stuffing. Saute peeled and deveined shrimp in olive oil, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the shrimp turn pink. Cool and chop (or pulse in food processor). Season the shrimp with thyme, Parmesan cheese, and cayenne pepper. Serve with a spicy sauce (the same sauce used with the lobster above).

3. A more contemporary application would be open-faced raviolo (one large per order). Cut the sheeted pasta dough (or use lasagne noodles) into squares that are about 5 inches by 5 inches. Cook the squares in boiling salted water. Drain. Pat dry. To order, lay one of the cooked squares on a lightly buttered, oven-proof, single-serving dish. Place the filling on the pasta. Lay another square of pasta over the filling (do not seal). Sauce and bake the ravioli until the filling is heated through and the sauce is hot.

This recipe is very close to how my mother did her meatballs, but there are as many recipes for meatballs as there are Italians. This recipe makes 18 meatballs, each about 2 inches in diameter.
Makes 6 servings
(scale up in direct proportion) ½ pound ground pork
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup cubed day-old Italian or French bread
½ cup milk 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoons dried basil, crumbled
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten

In a large mixing bowl, combine the pork and beef. In a small bowl soak the bread in the milk. Squeeze the bread to drain the excess milk. Tear the bread into small pieces and add it to the meat. Add the oregano, basil, salt, pepper, parsley, Romano, and egg. Mix thoroughly. Form the meatballs by rolling them between your palms. Arrange the meatballs on a sheet pan fitted with a drain tray (I use pizza screens). Bake the meatballs in the oven (may also be fried), turning them once, until they are cooked through and brown on all sides–about 15-18 minutes. Set aside. Can be refrigerated or frozen and used as needed. However, one of the ways to enhance a red sauce and the meatballs as well is to put the meatballs in a simmering red sauce.

Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 cups canned plum tomatoes, drained and crushed
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon each dried oregano and basil,
crumbled Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 ½ pounds spaghetti

In a large saucepan warm the olive oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the onion, garlic, and parsley and cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add the tomato puree and the crushed tomatoes, sugar, oregano and basil. Bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat. Add cooked meatballs (and any juice they give off) to the sauce. Simmer the sauce for 35-40 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until it is al dente. Remove 1/4 cup of the pasta water from the pot and add it to the sauce (the starch from the pasta water helps to make the sauce creamier). Drain the pasta well. Divide the pasta among six heated pasta bowls. Ladle sauce over the pasta. Put two meatballs for each serving atop the pasta. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on the side.

Have fun with this “five-course” summer special: appetizer, salad, pizza, pasta and dessert. I have a lot of recipes to cover, so let’s get right to it. Each of these recipes can be scaled up in direct proportion. ❖

APPETIZER
Mozzarella Cheese Puffs
These golden puffs are flavorful and fun. Kids, especially, love these. You just might have to move them from a special to the regular menu.
Makes 12 puffs

2 cups fl our
½ teaspoon salt
8 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1 pound shredded mozzarella

Combine the fl our and the salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter. Fold in the mozzarella cheese. Add the fl our mixture and combine thoroughly. Shape the mixture into small balls (around the size of a golf ball) by rolling them in the palms of your hands and place on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the balls puff and are golden brown. Serve with a warm marinara dipping sauce.

SALAD
Bean and Tuna Salad with Radicchio
A cool, light and refreshing salad that works particularly well in the summer months. Put layers of thinly-sliced fresh tomatoes on the plate to form a flavorful and colorful base on top of which you can portion the salad.
Yield: 4 servings

2½ cups canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups coarsely chopped radicchio
1⁄4 cup red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons fl at-leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup water-packed Albacore tuna, drained, flaked
1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar Salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium-size bowl, combine the beans, radicchio, onion, parsley and tuna. Toss gently to combine. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar until completely blended. Add salt and pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss gently. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

PIZZA
Pizza alla Funghi (Mushroom Pizza)
Earthy, flavorful, delicious. Call it a “Mushroom Lover’s” Pizza if you care to.
Yield: one 14-inch pizza

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ pound shiitake mushrooms
½ pound portobello mushrooms, sliced about 1⁄4-inch thick
½ pound cultivated (white domestic), sliced about 1⁄8-inch thick
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 14-inch pizza shell
8 ounces shredded mozzarella or combination of mozzarella and Provolone

In a large sauté pan set over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil for 1 minute. Add the garlic and the mushrooms and cook and stir until the mushrooms give off their liquid, about 4 minutes. Add the oregano and combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn the mushrooms out of the pan and reserve (can be made several hours ahead). Spread the mushroom mixture evenly over the pizza crust. Sprinkle on the cheese. Bake.



PASTA
Baked Macaroni & Cheese
Mac ‘n’ Cheese is one of the hottest dishes around, and this is my version of this classic dish. I use a combination of cheeses instead of the usual sharp cheddar. But the all-important flavor kicks — dry mustard and cayenne — are still included.
Yield: 6-8 servings

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1⁄4 cup all-purpose fl our
4 cups milk
1 ½ teaspoons dry mustard
1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
1 Pound cavatappi or similar corkscrew shaped pasta
1⁄4 pound shredded provolone cheese
1⁄4 pound shredded Asiago cheese
1⁄4 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1⁄4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 tablespoon dried oregano, crumbled

In a heavy sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the fl our and cook, whisking, for 3 minutes. Add the milk in a steady stream, whisking steadily, and bring to a boil. Add the mustard, cayenne, and salt, and whisk to combine. Whisking the sauce, simmer until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Set aside. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until it is almost al dente. Drain well. While the pasta is cooking, preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a shallow 3 to 4-quart baking dish. In a large bowl, stir together the cooked pasta, white sauce, provolone, Asiago, mozzarella, and 1 cup of the Parmesan, then transfer the mixture to the buttered baking dish. Smooth off the top with a spatula. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, oregano, and remaining 1⁄4 cup Parmesan and sprinkle it evenly over the pasta. (This recipe can be prepared several hours in advance, covered and put in the cooler. Bring to room temperature before baking.) Bake the pasta in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden and the cheese is bubbling.

DESSERT
The standard trinity of Italian desserts consists mainly of tiramisu, cannoli, and gelato, so maybe it’s time to think outside the box. Here’s a quick and easy dessert that offers relief from that boring old box.

Ricotta all’Espresso
This is a dessert you can count on for whipping up (no pun intended) real fast. Creamy and rich-tasting with a mousse like consistency, it’s one that adults and children alike will enjoy. If you don’t have espresso in-house, simply use strong black coffee (or even instant espresso coffee).
Yield: 4 servings

2 cups ricotta cheese (not low-fat)
3⁄4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1⁄4 cup espresso or strong black coffee, cooled
2 tablespoons sambuca (optional)
½ cup finely chopped pistachios

Put the ricotta, sugar, coffee and optional sambuca in a food processor or blender and process until creamy and thick. Spoon the mixture into tall serving glasses and refrigerate, covered, for at least 2 hours, until thoroughly chilled.

Just before serving, sprinkle some of the chopped pistachios on top of each serving.

Another option to jazz up this dessert would be to fold mini-morsel chocolate chips into the cheese after it has been chilled.

Pat Bruno is Pizza Today’s resident chef and a regular contributor. He is the former owner and operator of a prominent Italian cooking school in Chicago and is a food critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Say hello to the family of "little cakes" better known as tortelli, tortellini, and tortelloni. Tortelli looks like a stretched out ravioli (a specialty of Parma, Italy). Tortellini is a small ring-shaped pasta that is filled with meat or cheese (usually), and is a specialty of Bologna and Modena in Italy. (As an aside, cappelletti, or "little hats", and anolini are first cousins to tortellini, the difference being, more or less, the shape.)

Stories abound as to the idea of the shape of tortellini. The one most accepted is that the shape of this pasta was inspired by Venus's navel. Another story suggests that tortellini was born when a cook molded his pasta directly in the navel of a Bolognese woman. Ah, the myth and magic of stories about food. Other great stories about this tasty pasta can be found in The Food of Italy by Waverley Root.

A Bolognese food writer wrote that "tortellini is a happy marriage between the envelope [the pasta] and its stuffing, a paste of prosciutto, mortadella, veal, and Parmesan cheese."

That stuffing of meats and cheese, by the way, is a classic, and one that you are not apt to find outside of Bologna.

I have been fortunate enough to have indulged in tortellini in several restaurants in Bologna and have yet to find anything here that even comes close. Don't take that critical comment too much to heart. The tortellini (and tortelloni) that I ate in Bologna were made by hand. Yes, by little Italian ladies with nimble fingers.

In "The Food of Italy," Root marveled at the sight of women turning out handmade tortellini "six-thousand of the little rings every hour." I share a similar experience. One day I was in a restaurant watching women, nimble fingers flying, making tortellini faster than you could imagine. That same afternoon I was in a pasta factory where machines were pumping out tortellini by the thousand every few minutes.

That leads me to the question of whether you should attempt to make your own tortellini or should you buy them ready made. I say you should buy and not make your own. There are hundreds of top-notch pasta companies that make excellent tortellini. The intense labor involved in making your own is not worth it, and then there is the consistency factor to deal with. In many cases you will have a choice of buying either fresh tortellini or frozen tortellini (also, some companies sell a dried, packaged tortellini). Obviously the frozen tortellini has a longer shelf life, so whether you go with frozen or fresh will relate directly to usage. If you can turn the fresh tortellini, say, three times a week, then that might be a good way to go. 

The other consideration for buying your tortellini from a quality maker relates to the stuffing choices. Like favorite toppings on a pizza — pepperoni and sausage — the favorite fillings in tortellini are meat and cheese. Cheese noses out meat in that race, for some reason.

OK, so if you do decide to make your own tortellini, my advice is to buy wonton wrappers. The wrappers come frozen and the size of each square sheet works great (once you get the hang of it) for making and stuffing your signature tortellini.

There is another aspect to tortellini that many operators miss: Using tortellini in a pasta salad. If you are doing, say, a lunch buffet, or offering catering options, tortellini is the ideal pasta for those two situations (in addition to offering it in your regular pasta line up).

Here are a few simple ideas relative to saucing and serving tortellini.

# Tortellini with pesto sauce. This is an arrangement that doubles your pleasure and doubles your fun (as in easy to make and a pleasure to enjoy). Cheese filled tortellini are served either warm or cold (pasta salad) with a pesto sauce. By purchasing the tortellini and the pesto sauce it becomes a simple one, two, three operation.

# Tortellini en brodo. This is tortellini in soup. I like to use a chicken broth that has been flavor enhanced with carrots and celery. Cook the tortellini (the smallest you can find) ahead. Then, simply drop several into a bowl of the broth just before serving.

# Tortellini in Meat Sauce. For this dish I would use a cheese-filled tortellini. Try this meat sauce recipe. The yield will be about 1 1/2 quarts, or enough sauce for 1 1/2 pounds of cooked tortellini.


MEAT SAUCE

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/2 pound sweet or mild Italian sausage

3/4 pound ground chuck

2 quarts tomato puree

1 tablespoon dried oregano, crumbled

1 tablespoon dried basil, crumbled

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large pot set over medium heat, warm the olive oil for 1 minute. Add the garlic, onion and parsley. Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the sausage and the ground chuck. Cook and stir until the meat is no longer pink (about 4 minutes). Add the tomatoes, oregano, basil, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. 


Mediterranean Pasta Salad 

Serves 4 to 6

This is a great tortellini recipe for a pasta buffet, deli operation, catering or delivery. The shelf life is 3 to 4 days, covered and kept in the cooler. 


1 pound tortellini, cooked al dente

1 cup cooked (if frozen; rinsed if bottled) artichoke hearts

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup Nicoise or oil-cured olives (pitted)

1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 pound dead-ripe Roma or plum tomatoes, chopped coarse

1 cup torn radicchio

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large serving bowl combine all of the ingredients. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Look beyond cultivated white mushrooms to add flavor, texture and variety to menu items

Diners who like mushrooms really like them, giving operators a chance to promote specialty pizzas like the “Champignone”, which is offered by Pizza Bubamara in Chicago. This pie combines cremini, portobello and straw mushrooms.

At three-store Old Venice Pizza Company in Jackson, Mississippi, a “’Shrooms Pizza” complements common cultivated white mushrooms with enoki, shiitake and portobello mushrooms.

Furthermore, Old Venice’s customers can enjoy the same flavorful variety of domestic and wild mushrooms over pasta, says general manager Bill Steinriede.

“A lot of people have never heard of shiitake or enoki mushrooms,” he says, “but when they try them, they love them.”

To prepare the wild mushroom pasta dish, Old Venice chefs sauté sliced white, shiitake and portobello mushrooms, and combine them with a balsamic cream sauce that’s served over fettuccini noodles.

“The enoki mushrooms, which are very small, come in bunches,” Steinriede says. “We leave them whole, and add small bunches to the pasta at the end, because they don’t take long to cook. The enokis help to give this dish a distinctive look and flavor.”

Steinriede says a popular appetizer at Old Venice is a battered, fried portobello mushroom topped with cream cheese and served with marinara sauce.

“Grilled portobellos make a great sandwich, too,” he says. “We serve ours with prosciutto ham, tomato and provolone, with a sprinkle of vinaigrette on top. Because portobellos are a meatier mushroom, they’re a good substitute in a dish like vegetable lasagna. We sauté portobellos, eggplant and zucchini, and layer them with tomato basil sauce, lasagna noodles and cottage, feta and cream cheeses.”

Leon Slayton, executive chef at Polidoro Italian Grill in Newcastle, Delaware, also uses portobellos, both alone and in combination with white and shiitake mushrooms. Slayton prepares mushrooms by slicing and sautéing them in olive oil and a splash of wine.

“Portobellos have a stronger flavor, so they go well with burgundy or marsala,” he says. “Shiitake and button mushrooms are complemented better by chablis.

“Our customers really enjoy portobellos,” Slayton continues. “It’s a meaty mushroom with a ‘steaky’ texture. We use raw sliced portobellos on salads, and we marinate them in a mixture of soy sauce and burgundy before grilling them for portobello sandwiches.”

Polidoro also is earning rave reviews for its most popular appetizer, a crabmeat-filled whole portobello. Slayton runs marinated portobellos through the impingement oven for 5 minutes to precook them, then allows them to cool before placing them back in the marinade. When an order for the appetizer comes in, he adds crabmeat and tops it with provolone before returning the portobello to the impingement oven to bake 5 more minutes. He plates the portobello on Asiago cream sauce and garnishes it with diced Roma tomatoes.

No Help Necessary

According to David Cohen, executive chef for the four Willow Street Wood-Fired Pizza locations in Los Gatos, California, mushrooms are flavorful in themselves and do not require help from other ingredients.

“Mushrooms are a wonderful food with infinite uses,” he says. “Although most of them can be used raw, I really don’t like to use them that way unless they’re very thinly shaven, because their texture can be overpowering. I occasionally make an Asian cole slaw that includes thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms. They add an ‘iron-y’ flavor and good texture. That iron flavor also complements meats.

“But, in my opinion, sautéing brings out the real flavor and texture of the different varieties. When mushrooms are caramelized properly, they’ll have a golden color, surface crunchiness, and a soft center filled with the released juices. I like to quickly sauté mushrooms, bind them with a little butter, and add a little thyme and a splash of wine — that’s the food of the gods.”

Willow Street’s menu includes a three-mushroom angel hair pasta, which combines shiitake, oyster and button mushrooms that are sautéed with cream sherry, garlic, shallots and spinach and served over al dente pasta.

“Customers may not be adventurous,” Cohen says, “so to get people to try new mushrooms, I try to provide dishes that include one or two familiar varieties, as well as an ‘exotic’ one. Oyster mushrooms have a delicate flavor, so I wouldn’t use them with a cream sauce, but they’d be great in a risotto, for instance.”

Cohen isn’t afraid to experiment with different mushroom varieties, because none will go to waste if customers don’t immediately respond to new dishes. “We make a mushroom ‘burger’,” he says. “It’s an alternative to our portobello sandwich, and it’s a great way to use up extra mushrooms. To prepare it, we slice and dice a variety of mushrooms, and bind them together with some cooked barley or other cooked grain. We can then make patties that can be cooked like a hamburger. Both mushroom sandwiches are great options for vegetarians.”

If you don’t want to add different mushrooms to your ingredient list, you can still indulge mushroom fans as they do at Barry’s Spot in Chicago. There, diners can get extra mushrooms for their pasta for an additional $1.19. That’s a nice revenue boost for the addition of an ounce or so of warmed sliced mushrooms — and it keeps mushroom lovers coming back for more.

Expert Advice

Leon Slayton, executive chef at Polidoro Italian Grill in Newcastle, Delaware, provides this tip for cooking with mushrooms:

“To infuse the mushrooms’ flavor into any dish, you have to start with a very hot pan, and add just a bit of butter or olive oil. When the mushrooms hit the hot pan, they release the juices that contain their flavor. When you add a cream or red sauce, that flavor infuses the sauce. Even regular white button mushrooms can make a huge difference in a dish’s flavor when they’re sautéed properly.”


Wild Mushroom Pesto Penne

Courtesy of Executive Chef David Cohen

1 teaspoon butter

1 1/2 to 2 oz. sliced assorted wild mushrooms*

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced shallots

2 to 3 tablespoons basil pesto

dash of cream

1 tablespoon butter

8 ounces cooked penne pasta

fresh basil, chopped

Parmesan cheese, grated

Heat butter in sauté pan and add mushrooms, sautéing until mushrooms release their juices. Add garlic, shallots, and pesto and heat through. Add just enough cream to bind the ingredients, then add butter to finish the sauce. Toss with pasta and garnish with basil and Parmesan.

*Use 3 to 5 mushroom varieties, but avoid delicate, soft mushrooms, such as enoki or chanterelles. Cohen recommends firmer mushrooms, such as a combination of crimini, portobello and shiitake mushrooms, but notes that morels and button mushrooms also work well.