Cook Like a Rock Star - Anne Burrell [42]
4 Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the corn to the pan with tomatoes and bacon and stir to combine; add another ½ cup stock if the liquid level is very low.
5 Drop the pasta in the boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it’s tender but toothsome.
6 Drain the pasta and add it to the veggies along with about ½ cup reserved cooking water; toss vigorously to combine. Remove the pan from the heat, toss in the arugula, drizzle with the big fat finishing oil, and sprinkle with the Parmigiano. Serve immediately.
I love being corny!
Tagliolini with Salsa Cruda & Ricotta Salata
SERVES: 6 TO 8 • TIME: ABOUT 1½ HOURS WITH PREMADE PASTA DOUGH, MOSTLY UNATTENDED
I first encountered this sauce while working in Umbria, and it’s one of my favorite summertime pastas. To me, this is Mother Nature’s last blast, her crescendo before fall. This is where you take everything she has to give, all those glorious summer ingredients, and toss them together to let the wonderful flavors marry. Then you just barely heat everything up, never actually letting the veggies cook, so they maintain their fresh flavors. Punctuate this with a salty grate of ricotta salata and say, “Mmmmm …”
MISE EN PLACE
2 pounds heirloom tomatoes, assorted colors preferably, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch dice
1 red onion, cut into ¼-inch dice
1 zucchini, cut into ¼-inch dice
1 bunch of pencil asparagus, cut into ¼-inch rounds
2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
5 sprigs of fresh oregano, leaves chopped
8 basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade
¼ cup red wine vinegar
Pinch of crushed red pepper
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 recipe Chef Anne’s All-Purpose Pasta Dough, cut into tagliolini or 1 pound fresh tagliolini
Big fat finishing oil
1 cup coarsely grated ricotta salata (dried salted ricotta cheese)
1 In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, zucchini, asparagus, garlic, oregano, basil, vinegar, red pepper, and olive oil and season generously with salt; taste to make sure it’s delicious and adjust the seasoning if needed. Let the sauce sit for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to marry.
2 Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
3 Add two-thirds of the sauce to a large wide pot and bring to medium-high heat—the idea is to heat up the sauce without really cooking it so you maintain the raw integrity of the veggies.
4 Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until it is tender but still toothsome, 2 to 3 minutes—you don’t want any limp noodles. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce, along with ½ cup reserved pasta cooking water, and stir vigorously. If the pasta needs it, add the reserved sauce (if it’s not needed, then you have lunch for tomorrow!). Cook the pasta together with the sauce until the pasta water has evaporated. Give the pasta a drizzle of big fat finishing oil and stir vigorously again. Divide among individual serving dishes and top with the ricotta salata.
Summer in a bowl!
Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe Pesto & Sausage
SERVES: 4 TO 6 • TIME: ABOUT 30 MINUTES
When people think pesto, they think basil. But I like to mix pesto up and use broccoli rabe—one of my very favorite vegetables. Broccoli rabe makes a delicious starting point for pesto. Add some sharp cheese and pistachios and you’ve got an amazing way to transform an old classic. I stick with a traditional combo—bitter rabe and sweet sausage over orecchiette (translated as “little ear”)—but I tweak it just enough to make it fresh and fabulous!
MISE EN PLACE
FOR THE PESTO
Kosher salt
2 bunches of broccoli rabe, tough lower stems removed, coarsely chopped into 1-inch lengths
½ cup chopped pistachios
¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano
Extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup mascarpone
FOR THE PASTA
Extra virgin olive oil
½ pound Italian sausage, sweet or spicy,