Rigatoni al Ragu' Rustico

Love, love Rigatoni!    I like their ability to suck in the sauce like no other pasta, especially the chunkiest meat sauces.  

Rigatoni al Ragu Rustico

All photos - Copyright - ©2012 - La Casa e Il Giardino

"Ragu' Rustico" (rustic sauce)because characterized by typical ingredients of rural Italian kitchens:  mushrooms and hot sausages.

Ingredients

1 lb. good quality Rigatoni

1 lb. mixed mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, criminis and porcini)

1/2 lb. hot Italian sausages                                 

2 cups tomato pulp in chunks

1 clove of garlic

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano

Sprig parsley, chopped

1/2 cup white wine

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

home-made hot sausages

Clean and slice mushrooms. 

In a medium pan saute' mushrooms in oil and garlic. 

Remove skin from the sausage and cut into chunks.   

Add the sausage to the mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes. 

Add the white wine and let evaporate. 

Add the chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper and continue to cook for an additional 15 minutes. 

In the meantime, cook the pasta.  Drain and pour into the ragu'.

Add the Parmigiano and chopped parsley.

mixed mushrooms

Sustainable Eating - Means Branching Out

Changing one's eating habits is not easy. You need a diet that you can't "break" - one that's flexible enough to adapt to new changes.

Try a fruit or vegetable that you did not think you liked when it's in season or at its peak. I have seen people converted to foods from zucchini to asparagus just by tasting them freshly picked and simply prepared.



Pasta with Asparagus - Fettuccine con Asparagi

Ingredients

1 lb. thin asparagus

2 cloves of garlic chopped

4 ripe tomatoes or 1 can plum tomatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil for sauce

1/4 cup of olive oil to saute' asparagus

Salt and pepper

1/2 lb. fettuccine pasta

Cut asparagus into 1 inch pieces.  Throw away hard ends.

In a pan add 1/4 cup olive oil, add cut asparagus, salt and pepper and saute' for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender.

In a medium pot, add 3 tablespoons olive oil and chopped garlic. When garlic is golden, add tomatoes and simmer for approximately 15 minutes, add the asparagus, and simmer few more minutes.  Adjust salt and pepper.

In the meantime, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta and drain. Pour sauce with asparagus over pasta and serve.


Asparagus are not limited to fettuccine.  We also love them with rigatoni.





TOMATO SAUCE (Sugo Semplice o Marinara)

Tomato sauce is definitely one of the main sauces for pasta and rice in Italy.  It's tasty, healthy and low in calories and it is also easy to prepare.  In fact, even less experienced in the kitchen can accomplish this genuine dish with a few simple steps.

It’s the easiest thing in the world to prepare, but for many it is not so.  Caught between busy schedules, people are less and less taken by cooking but the preparation of a simple dish like this is worth showing.

Ingredients

6 fresh tomatoes (or large can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
bunch of fresh basil and parsley
Salt and black pepper

Preparation

Blanch tomatoes by throwing them into a pot of boiling water for a minute or so.  Fish them out and let them cool.  With your fingers or knife peel off the skin.  Cut in half, remove the seeds and chop them.

In a pan, add the olive oil and chopped onion over medium heat.  When onion is golden, add tomatoes, basil, parsley, salt and pepper and simmer gently for 30 to 40 minutes.

The sauce will result chunky or with small tomato pieces.

If you prefer a tomato sauce with a smoother consistency, puree the blanched tomatoes in a blender and then cook them.

Sugo passato

Che profumo di freschezza!

Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino: a classic that never wanes

I know, it may not be original but it is one of those absolute pasta dishes of the Italian cuisine that pleases everyone and not everyone can do.

Ingredients (for 3 persons)

1/2 lb. spaghetti
2 red peperoncini (dry or fresh as preferable)
3 cloves of garlic (or fresh garlic)
1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and black pepper

Preparation:

Bring a good amount of water to boil.

Pour olive oil in a frying pan.  Add chopped garlic and fry over medium heat avoiding it to burn. 
Add the chopped peperoncini, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup of water.  
Simmer gently while spaghetti are cooking.
Drain pasta when ready and toss in pan and mix well.
Serve with a generous amount of Parmigiano Reggiano (if you like).

Orecchiette Alla Rucola



Arugula (Rucola)



In 15 minutes you can prepare this exquisite dish originated in Puglia with the classic orecchiette and the aromatic arugula.

Orecchiette with Arugula

All photos - Copyright - ©2012- La Casa e Il Giardino

Ingredients

1 lb. orecchiette

1 lb. arugula

1/2 cup pignoli (pine nut)

1/2 lb. cherry tomatoes

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Clean and wash the arugula. 

Wash and cut in half the cherry tomatoes. 

Toast the pignoli in the oven. 

Cook the orecchiette in salted water. 

In a pan, add the oil and brown garlic.
Add the arugula (except for 1/2 cup), cherry tomatoes and cook over a medium-high flame for few minutes. 
Add salt, pepper and toasted pignoli.  Drain the orecchiette and mix with  the prepared sauce.
Add a little oil, remaining arugula and mix well.

Pasta e Piselli (Pasta and Peas)

Fresh peas at the market herald spring's arrival.

With their delicate and sweet taste, shelled peas add flavor, texture, and color to any dish.

I especially love them with pasta, as in Pasta e Piselli.

Pasta e Piselli
All photos - Copyright - ©2012 - La Casa e Il Giardino

Ingredients

2 lb. peas in shells (in the alternate 1 package of frozen fresh peas) 1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 large onion chopped 1 tsp. red pepper flakes in oil or tomato conserve 1/2 cup of water 1/2 pound of small shells Salt and pepper  

Shell the peas.

Heat the olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent.

Add the shelled peas, red pepper flakes in oil, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup of water.  Add a little more if needed while cooking.

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.


Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta.

Cook uncovered over high heat until al dente.

Drain pasta and add to the peas.  Mix well and serve.

RIGATONI WITH YELLOW AND GREEN ZUCCHINI - (Rigatoni con Zucche Gialle e Verdi)

As you can see from the photo, the rigatoni are quite large.  In our town, they are referred to as "Maniche di Prete" (Priest's sleeves) or depending which town you go in Abruzzo, they are also called "Maniche di Frate" (Monk's sleeves) or "Maniche di Suora" (Sister's sleeves). 

Images: ©2010 - picasaweb

Ingredients

2 yellow zucchini (sliced)
2 green zucchini
1 lb. Rigatoni pasta
1/3 cup olive oil
1 onion chopped
4 fresh tomatoes (if available) or 1 can of tomatoes
Sprigs of basil and Italian parsley
Parmiggiano Reggiano
Salt and pepper to taste

In a pan add olive oil and saute' onion until golden.  Add chopped tomatoes, basil and parsley.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Add sliced zucchini and continue to cook over low heat until tender.  In the meantime, cook pasta and drain.  Pour zucchini sauce over the pasta and shave some Parmigiano Reggiano.

PASTA ALLA CHITARRA

       I read that the ancient knowledge of making pasta by hand is almost lost. It’s alive and well in my kitchen. The skill was passed along to me by my mother. I also inherited a chitarra to make PASTA ALLA CHITARRA.

Pasta Dough

  1 1/2 cups of unbleached flour
  1 tsp salt
  1 tsp olive oil
  2 eggs

Prepare the dough by placing the flour on a cutting board and make a well.

Add 1 tsp olive oil and  whole eggs into the well. Keep stirring this way until you have formed a sticky dough ball. Dump the dough ball onto a floured surface and knead, incorporating more flour into the dough as needed, until the dough is smooth, elastic, even in color and no longer sticky.

To knead the dough, push down on the ball with the heel of your hand, then give the dough a quarter turn, fold it over onto itself and push away from you again with the heel of your hand. Keep turning and pushing until you achieve the desired consistency.  Once you have finished kneading, cover with a dish and let rest at room temperature for 60 minutes or more.  Once the dough has rested, divide into balls. At this point, you may flatten each ball using a rolling pin

or a pasta machine.  Whichever method is used, the dough should turn into long, silken sheets.  Place the dough sheets on a floured board.  Place each sheet over the chitarra and with a rolling pin press against the chitarra's strings.
(See video) http://youtu.be/SKbvWt4HhzA

SAUCE (SUGO)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
7 oz. Pancetta cut into short julienne strips
2 lb. ripe tomatoes finally chopped
¼ cup small fresh basil leaves
Freshly ground pepper
3 oz. Grated pecorino cheese

Heat the oil in saucepan over moderate heat, add the onion and pancetta and brown for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Just before removing sauce from heat, add the chopped basil leaves and a good pinch of black pepper. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, drain. Serve topped with the sauce and sprinkled with pecorino cheese.  Serves 6.

In Abruzzo, the pasta alla chitarra is generally prepared with meat sauces: beef, lamb and pork. Less traditional are sauces of wild boar and game.

Pasta alla chitarra con sugo di pomodori freschi

 I prefer a simple tomato sauce (sugo semplice).