Get the taste of fresh pasta — from a box
There’s a certain chew and spring to the bite in freshly made pasta that you can’t get with the boxed stuff. But unless you’ve got the time (or a pasta roller) to make spaghetti from scratch, there’s no shame in stockpiling a few boxes of the dried stuff in your pantry.
“There’s a vision of Italian cooking where the nonna is spending hours in front of the stove, but nowadays she probably has other things to do,” says Shahir Massoud, the Canadian-Egyptian business school major turned corporate executive chef of Levetto, a fast-casual Italian restaurant with five locations across Ontario, including two in Toronto.
Each day, the restaurants make up to nine batches of six kinds of pastas, with each batch weighing about four kilograms.
“For the home cook that’s using dry pasta, little tricks like infusing the oil or using the pasta water to help thicken the sauce are very important for recipes as simple as this,” he says.
To demonstrate, Massoud gave us the home version of a spicy but light trecce tossed in a garlic and chili-infused olive oil and arugula ($8.50). The recipe shows how infusing oil with spices gives a much richer and well-rounded flavour rather than simply sprinkling them on top of the pasta.
And, for the record, Massoud recommends De Cecco for the dry stuff.
Sun-Dried Tomato Trecce
Star Tested
2 cups (about 5 oz.) dry trecce, fusilli, rotini, or any spiral-shaped pasta 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil 2 garlic cloves, finely minced 3 tbsp (45 mL) sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, coarsely chopped 1/2 tsp (2 mL) dried chili flakes 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt Handful of fresh arugula leaves 2 tbsp (30 mL) goat cheese, crumbled
In a medium-sized pot, bring water with 2 tsp (10mL) of salt to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to the package’s instructions.
Reserve 1 tbsp (15 mL) pasta water to use as thickener. Drain pasta. Do not rinse.
In large skillet over medium heat, warm oil. Add garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, chili flakes and salt. Stir frequently until oil turns amber in colour.
Add cooked pasta and pasta water to skillet. Toss until pasta is evenly coated. Remove pan from heat. Add arugula. Once leaves have wilted slightly, plate. Top with goat cheese before serving.
Makes two servings. Test kitchen tips The perfect spaghetti portion: Chefs measure pasta portions by weight (about 2 oz., or 60 mL, per person), but if you don’t have a scale at home, here’s the general rule: One cup per person for shaped pastas (e.g.: fusilli, rotini, macaroni), and for long pastas (spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine) make a circle with your index finger and thumb (the “OK” symbol). The amount of spaghetti that can fit through that circle is how much each person should have. Keep the pasta water: Don’t rinse the pasta after cooking; you’ll wash away the starchy water that will help sauce stick to your noodles. Massoud also likes to add a spoonful or two of the water to sauces as a thickener. How to keep your pasta from sticking: There is no need to add oil to your pot of boiling pasta. Just make sure the pot is big enough for the pasta to move around in, and that the water is at a rolling boil. Swirl the pasta around as it cooks, and don’t let the cooked pasta sit for too long after you drain it. Easiest pasta shapes to make at home: If you’re really hell-bent on making your own pasta from scratch, but don’t have a pasta roller or extruder, Massoud suggests making gnocchi or orecchiette shapes.
“It’s less physically demanding than rolling out sheets of pasta with a rolling pin, but it’s still an activity that requires putting on your favourite album and enjoying your time.” What pasta should I use for this sauce? For meaty sauces such as a Bolognese, consider tube- or spiral-shaped pastas that have grooves and holes to trap the chunky bits of meat and sauce. Long-shaped pastas are better suited for straight-up sauces. For example, spaghetti is great for carbonara because it is easier to coat strands with the raw eggs. Karon.liu@gmail.com