Cacio e Pepe

We thrive off of cheap and easy dishes here at the ‘Nosh. Here is one where I immediately fell in love with it. I am not responsible for this one but it comes from the Pasta Queen. She is a native Roman and this is right in her wheelhouse. Here we go…

1) Toast 1-3 tsps of cracked pepper in a deep skillet

2) Take some hot pasta water and mix with Pecorino Romano, grated. 30g per person in a separate bowl. This will allow the cheese to mix smoothly without clumping.

3) Add al dente pasta, spaghetti is traditional, to the skillet. Now, OFF HEAT, add your Pecorino Romano mix and gently, with love of course, toss your pasta. Add about 1/2 cup of the pasta water to thicken your sauce. It should be creamy. Serve immediately. That’s it! Yes, I am not kidding..

Eat.Drink.Savor.

My Ragu Bolognese

Ah, the meat sauce, the Sunday Gravy… So many variations and so much debate over what is a proper Ragu Bolognese. In fact, there is an official designation protected by the Italian Academy of Cuisine. Well, this is America and we often stretch things, don’t we? You can even play around with my play around of a recipe. I suggest that this sauce is a great way to use up extra scraps of meat and bones that you have lying around. Here goes!

1) Make a sofrito or mirepoix which is 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks and 1-2 onions, diced. Cook slowly in a fat of your choice, I like to use diced pancetta or bacon. Make sure it is soft and translucent. Add a small can of tomato paste and cook for a few minutes.

2) Add 1-2 cups of wine, and cook down a bit to concentrate. Now add 1-2 pounds of meat. Most people will use ground beef or a meatloaf mix here. Cook down a bit to where there is little liquid left in the pot. What about seasonings? I omit the salt and pepper until the end as I want to make a determination then.

3) Add 2 28oz cans of San Marzano or plum, whole and peeled tomatoes to the pot. I use a potato masher to crush them a bit. My secret ingredient is to add a few beef bones and 1-2 cups of beef or chicken stock.

4) Simmer uncovered for about 2-4 hours. The longer the better, TRUST ME!!! The sauce will concentrate beautifully over that time. Serve with penne, ziti or shorter pastas.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

My Marinara Sauce

Pasta sauces are quite variable and every time I make them, they change. But it is always good to have a base recipe to whip together quickly. You can experiment all you want. I make this one a lot and it works. If you have reservations about anchovies, don’t worry. They disappear in the sauce and really add a mouthfeel, a umami if you will, that is heavenly. If I still can’t convince you, try adding 1-2 TBSP of finely minced mushrooms.

1) Take 2 TBSPs of olive oil and put in a saucepan. Medium to low heat. Once it starts to shimmer, add 2-3 cloves of minced garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds. Add 2 anchovies, minced, 1-2 sprigs worth of oregano leaves, 1-2 tsp of red pepper flakes and 1 TBSP of basil leaves, dried.

2) Add a 28oz can of whole , peeled tomatoes, preferably high quality plum tomatoes. I use the San Marzanos as they add a level of sweetness vs. the heavy savory type tomatoes. Take a potato masher and breakdown the tomatoes.

3) Cook for about 20 minutes on low to medium-low heat until it thickens. Depending your preference, you may puree the sauce in a blender but I prefer a chunkier sauce. Serve with your favorite pasta.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

My Meat Lasagna - A lighter version

Please review my Base Meat Lasagna recipe for reference. I modified that recipe to take the super heaviness out of the dish. Please experiment! Cooking is about trying stuff to see if it sticks (pun intended). In this recipe, I made the pasta sheets, so fresh pasta vs. commercial boxed dry. My pasta was 50/50 semolina to 00 flour with 5 eggs and some water. Also, I don’t precook my pasta sheets. Here we go!

1) Spread about 2 C. of Ragu’ Bolognese sauce on the bottom of a deep roasting pan. Lay pasta sheets side by side on top of the sauce. Try not to overlap as you want those layers of sauce and meat and cheese to intermingle and bubble up during cooking.

2) Here is the key to keeping the dish light vs. heavy: there is no need to build out a inch of sauce, cheese etc. for each layer.

3) Here is the order of battle:

1 ladle of Bolognese sauce dotted or dribble over the layer of pasta (have 4-6 cups on hand)

1 ladle of Bechamel sauce (look for my base recipe) dotted or dribbled over the Bolognese (have 4 cups on hand)

Spread little pieces of Mozzarella over the Bechamel sauce. I slice Mozzarella and tear tiny pieces (2 balls of Mozzarella on hand)

Grate some Parmesan and Pecorino Romano on this layer. (Blocks of cheese, fresh tastes so much better)

4) Repeat until you run out of fillings, pasta or sauce or room in the roasting pan. I typically have about 4-6 layers when I am all said and done.

5) Put in a 325 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. You can put foil on but you don’t need to cook much here as you have fresh pasta. For 10-20 minutes, crank up the heat a bit to add some crust for those how love those crunchy corners. Once done, let cool 10 minutes minimum prior to cutting and serving. Put a ladle full of Bolognese sauce on each portion and maybe a dash of cheese.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

My Base Meat Lasagna

My Italian cuisine and cooking skills are evolving. I am not of Italian descent and only have been exposed to this great food through friends. I have worked with this recipe of Emeril’s over the years. When I would cook food for our family vacations ahead of time, I wanted something that could be frozen and make plenty of leftovers. I also wanted a recipe where I didn’t have to precook the noodles. Warning! Some Italians will scoff at the use of ricotta here.. so be warned.. I will have another version up without it. This recipe yields 12-16 servings depending on your guests. Here is my version after many modifications.

1) In a bowl, mix 1 1/2 C. ricotta, 6 ounces grated Provolone, Mozzarella and Pecorino-Romano, an egg, 1/4 C. half/half (or milk), 1 TBSP minced basil/thyme/oregano, 1-2 TBSP chopped garlic. In reserve, have 1 1/2 lb of grated Parmesan and a package of lasagna noodles ready.

2) Meat Sauce. You can make your own but for ease of use, buy quality pasta sauce with meat. If you want to jack it up, brown a pound of meat (beef/pork/lamb etc.) I’d have enough sauce for about 6-8 cups. If you have extra, you can use it elsewhere.

3) Assembly. In a deep baking dish/lasagna pan, spread about 2 cups of sauce on the bottom. Sprinkle a quarter of the parmesan on. Cover this layer with dried lasagna noodles. Repeat. You’ll likely have 3-4 layers. The last layer is sauce unless you want it to be cheese but it may burn, so watch it.

4) Cook in a 350 degree oven 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool about 10 minutes, minimum before serving.

Nosh Options: You can add more cheese into the mixture but it may be overkill. For the meat sauce, you can do a meatloaf mix for the meat. A homemade Ragu’ Bolognese is highly recommended for tremendous flavor.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Gnocchi

This dish is really growing on me and it is so much easier than making other types of pasta. Basically, they are flour and potato dumplings. You can deviate like I did here with the beets but here is the base which you can work your magic:

1) 65% (say 500 g) Boiled, dry, starchy russet potatoes, 35% AP flour (300 g) or what I use, semolina. 1 egg, pinch of salt.

2) Mash or grate the potatoes and mix with the flour, then start to incorporate the egg to make a dough. Don’t knead too much or the gnocchi will get dense.

3) Roll out the dough into ropes. Cut into 1” pieces. You can leave them alone or build ridges which help your sauce bind to it. Roll them on the back of a fork. I used my cooling rack but you get the idea. Put in fridge until you are ready to cook or you can freeze them.

4) Cook fresh or frozen gnocchi in salted, boiling water for about 2-4 minutes and they are floating. Put on your favorite sauce. Buon Appetito!

Eat.Drink.Savor.