Discuss to the very best cooks in Italy, and so they’ll let you know the key to nice pasta is an ingredient many American cooks throw out — the starchy pasta cooking water. They at all times reserve a cup or two to stir into the skillet with al dente noodles to assist the opposite components adhere whereas thickening the sauce.
It’s a way we had in thoughts as we developed our recipes for single-pot pasta — each to complement the sauce and to ease cleanup. The starch launched by the pasta offers the sauce physique, and the pasta absorbs extra of the sauce’s flavors so every chew is seasoned by.
On this recipe from our e-book “COOKish,” which limits recipes to only six components with out sacrificing taste, sweet-tangy cherry or grape tomatoes are balanced by the savory meatiness of Italian dry salami (pepperoni and sopressata have been our favorites).
We be sure that to buy complete, not pre-sliced, salami so it may be minimize into small cubes, which in contrast to slices stay separate as they prepare dinner in order that they brown throughout. Small chunks of fontina cheese stirred in on the finish soften with the residual warmth of the pasta and sauce, making the dish wealthy and creamy.
All of it makes for a homey, satisfying meal in lower than half an hour, adopted by only some minutes of cleanup.
Gemelli with Tomatoes, Salami and Fontina
https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/gemelli-tomatoes-salami-cookish
Begin to end: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 to six
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces pepperoni OR sopressata, minimize into ¼-inch cubes
2 pints cherry OR grape tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
Kosher salt and floor black pepper
1 pound gemelli pasta OR fusilli
4 ounces fontina cheese, minimize into ½-inch cubes
In a big pot, warmth the oil till shimmering. Add the salami and prepare dinner, stirring, till it crisps. Add the tomatoes, onion, fennel seeds and ½ teaspoon pepper. Cowl and prepare dinner, stirring, till a lot of the tomatoes have burst; crush any which can be nonetheless complete. Add 4 cups water, ½ teaspoon salt, then boil. Stir within the pasta. Cowl and prepare dinner, stirring often and sustaining a vigorous simmer, till the pasta is al dente. Off warmth, stir within the fontina, then season with salt and pepper.
Non-obligatory garnish: Chopped contemporary flat-leaf parsley
EDITOR’S NOTE: For extra recipes, go to Christopher Kimball’s Milk Avenue at 177milkstreet.com/ap
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