Spaghettini di Cacio e Pepe

I like the outdoors. My brother, however, is a fanatical outdoorsman. I think we get it from our dad, who once hiked the 100-mile wilderness at the end of the Appalachian Trail, and our maternal grandfather, who fished, hiked, hunted, and canoed all over Pennsylvania and Maine.

On a recent trip to the Adirondacks, therefore, I gladly agreed to my brother's request to accompany him on a wilderness canoe trip along a historic Adirondack route known as the "nine carries." The gist is this: You pack up your canoe with gear, paddle through a series of small lakes (known as ponds up north), and then carry your gear and canoe over backcountry portage trails between each pond. Nine carries in all. Because of the ruggedness of the carry paths, the guide book recommends taking three days for the trip. We did it in six hours. We would have done it even more quickly if not for the very bad "short cut" advice delivered by an unnamed Mass-Hole who sent us up a shallow, beaver dam ridden waterway.

After an outdoors excursion like the nine carries, spaghettini di cacio e pepe seems like the perfect meal. It is simple - only three ingredients. It cooks up fast - six minutes for al dente spaghettini. It requires one pot - excellent for minimalist situations like camping. It is nourishing - perfect to rebuild lost calories. And, most importantly, it is immensely tasty in its simplicity. I guess that is the reason the dish has been popular among hardworking southern Italians for generations.

Spaghettini di Cacio e Pepe/Little Spaghetti with Pecorino Cheese and Black Pepper

• 1/2 pound spaghettini
• 1/2 cup finely grated Locatelli brand Pecorino Romano; plus extra for tableside
• 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1tsp olive oil (optional)

Cook spaghettini in salted boiling water according to package instructions, about six minutes. Drain but DO NOT rinse. Toss well with pecorino cheese and black pepper. Serve with additional cheese at the table. I prefer to use a miniscule amount of olive oil to gently heat the black pepper before tossing the spaghettini as it helps release the aroma and flavor of the spice. After draining the pasta, I just reuse the hot pot by adding the olive oil and pepper and heating for 30 seconds. Then add the pasta and cheese, mix well, and serve.

On another occasion, I added a twist to this classic recipe by enhancing it with some fresh arugula just before serving. The heat from the pasta wilts it nicely; the "pepperiness" of the arugula goes great with the black pepper; and the green adds nice color to an otherwise lackluster presentation. I'm not a huge fan of whole grain spaghetti, but for a recipe like this it works incredibly well.

Cappellini with Roasted Tomatoes and Basil; Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Mint and Champagne Vinaigrette

 

In the summer months, simple pasta dishes and throw-together salads using seasonal ingredients are a godsend. We don't do central air at the Worth (or any air conditioning for that matter) so it is best to keep the oven off and cooking times short or risk ruining the climate on the otherwise quite tolerable ground floor.
 

Tomato and basil as a sauce for pasta, of course, is pretty much standard Italian cooking. Over the years, I've made tons of variations. This one was inspired by a cookbook by Frank Stitt called Bottega Favorita: A Southern Chef's Love Affair with Italian Food. I am no great fan "Southern cooking" - all apologies to my Virginia-born cousin and his family - so when I first picked up this book I was a bit skeptical. I was wrong. A collection of well-researched, well-tested recipes culled from Stitt's Birmingham, Alabama, restaurants, the book is definitely worth adding to the library of any Mediterranean cooking enthusiast. So thanks to Signore Stitt... And also to Michael Colameco, the New York/New Jersey television and radio personality who recently invited Stitt on his weekly show and thereby introduced me to this excellent chef. 

Cappellini with Roasted Tomatoes and Basil

• 1/2 pound cappellini
• 1 can Muir Glen oven roasted tomatoes; or 10-12 fresh plum tomatoes roasted in oven at 250F for 2 hours
• 10-12 large basil leaves
• 4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp crushed red chile pepper
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano 

Prepare pasta water, heat to rolling boil, add salt. Heat olive oil over medium hear, add crushed garlic, lower heat and saute until garlic is soft - 2-3 minutes. Add cappellini to pasta water and cook for 2 minutes. While pasta is cooking, add basil and tomatoes to olive oil, increase meat to medium high and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain cappellini, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Do not rinse. Add pasta to sauce and combine, adding reserved pasta water if mixture seems to dry. Serve with generous amounts of grated parmigiano-reggiano.

On hot, humid summer days here in the Northeast, the perfect accompaniment to a quick-cook summer pasta is a no-cook salad. This one is inspired by Joanne Weir's Williams-Sonoma cookbook titled Spring.

Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Mint

• One pound fresh sugar snap peas, ends trimmed
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves cut in chiffonade, reserving 3-4 whole sprigs
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 tbsp champagne vinegar
• Small handful heirloom grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• Salt and pepper

Blanch the peas in boiling, salted water for 2 minutes; add to ice bath to stop cooking; after five minutes, drain. Combine oil, vinegar, shallot, salt, and pepper into bowl and whisk until emulsified. Combine peas, mint strips, tomatoes in bowl and toss with vinaigrette. Let stand for 10 minutes and serve on plate with mint sprigs.

Pennete with Basil Walnut Pesto and Spring Peas; Spinach with Sundried Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives; Bruschetta with Avocado and Manchego

Sometimes, I am a stickler for tradition. But on an end-of-the-week weeknight when there’s not much remaining in the fridge or pantry, I really don’t mind taking ingredients from various Mediterranean countries and playing a game of mix and match. Here, a medley of various Old World items from Spain and Italy (and one from the New World) turned out great – and didn’t require a special trip to the store. The appetizer course could not be simpler. Toast the bread in the oven at 350 degrees F, then rub with a garlic clove. Spread with mashed, ripe avocado and layer with manchego shavings. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a good quality extra virgin olive oil.

Pennete with Basil-Walnut Pesto

With the price of pignoli (pine nuts) going through the roof, I replaced the traditional pine nuts with walnuts in this pesto recipe. Apparently, it's simply a matter of supply and demand. Food TV has bred a new generation of home chefs and the producers can't keep up with the need for this oft-touted item. I see good and bad in this.

• 2 cups tightly packed fresh basil
• 1/2 cup tightly packed fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 cup walnuts, blanched, skinned
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 cup EV olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano (or pecorino romano)
• 1/2 cup pennete, penne, or other small tubular pasta
• 1/2 cup fresh English peas
  

Gently toast walnuts in oven (at 350 F) for a few minutes; or on stovetop in a dry cast iron pan for the same amount of time, until they become aromatic. Make sure to do the same with pine nuts if you are using them instead. Combine buts, basil, parsley, garlic, and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until it forms a paste. I combine the cheese and add salt and pepper to taste after the processor part is finished. Meanwhile, bring large pot of salted water to a rolling boil (add salt after the water boils to hasten the time it takes to come to a boiling point). When ready, add pasta and cook until al dente. Meanwhile, steam peas for 10 minutes or until just tender. Reserve. Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup of the water. DO NOT rinse pasta with water. Combine pasta with enough pesto to coat thoroughly and add reserved pasta water as needed to spread the pesto. Top with peas and additional curls of grated cheese.

Baby Spinach with Sundried Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives

I used baby spinach for this recipe, but mature curly spinach works fine too. Just make sure to remove the tough stems by pinching the leaf with one hand and using the other to pull the stem down. It will come right off.

• 1 pound of spinach
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, julienned
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic sliced
• 1tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  

Over medium-low heat, saute sliced garlic in olive oil for 1-2 minutes until fragrant but not brown. Add spinach, increase heat to medium high and cook until just wilted, about 5 minutes. Add olives and sundried tomatoes. Add crushed red pepper and salt to taste.