Making dinner when time matters
Back Pocket Pasta. It’s not the most appetizing name for a cookbook.
The unexpected title puzzled Star colleagues, who raised questioning eyebrows and asked, while flipping through the book: “What is this? Are you supposed to carry pasta around in your jeans pocket?”
Knowing the book’s back story — and its subtitle, Inspired Dinners to Cook on the Fly — help it all make sense.
Author Colu Henry, a food and lifestyle influencer, who was previously the director of special projects at Bon Appétit, didn’t expect her Instagram pictures of homemade pastas to turn into a cookbook.
But the photographs of meals she cobbled together after a busy work day — pasta with garlic, olive oil, anchovies, greens and chopped nuts, for example — posted on Instagram with the hashtag #backpocketpasta soon found a following.
And it wasn’t long before her creative hashtag, which implies that pasta meals can be whipped up in no time with on-hand ingredients, became Back Pocket Pasta: Inspired Dinners to Cook on the Fly ($37; Clarkson Potter). The book: If you love pasta, this book is for you. Every dish — except a handful of risotto recipes and the meals contained in a short chapter on sides and salads — is made with noodles.
Henry devotes two pages to explaining which shape of noodle is best for which kind of sauce.
Long, skinny pastas, such as linguine and spaghetti, are best paired with nontomato sauces, she writes. While long, thicker pastas, including fettuccine and tagliatelle, are robust enough to handle substantial ragus and cream sauces.
Most of the 75-plus pasta recipes are quick, toss-together style meals; only a few require long spells of simmering or a slow bake in the oven.
And while Henry, the great-granddaughter of Italian immigrants, doesn’t tie herself to traditional pasta rules, she does insist on a few must-follow instructions, such as well-salting pasta cooking water (“about 2 tablespoons of kosher salt to every large stockpot of boiling water”), using that starchy cooking water to swirl into sauces and always tossing — never dolloping — pasta with its sauce. The quote: “If you have a well-stocked pantry and shop somewhat seasonally, a back pocket pasta is never more than a pot of boiling water away.” The tester: I love pasta. It’s my desert island food.
And since I already employ the lastminute dinner technique of tossing freshly cooked noodles with fridge leftovers, pantry scraps and cheese, this book provides many more — and likely yummier — ways to continue this sanity-sav- ing routine. Recipes I’m dying to make: Summer Corn & Tomato Pasta (what could be better than noodles paired with the best of summer’s bounty), Penne Rigate with Gorgonzola, Radicchio & Walnuts (an intriguing trio of easy-to-shop-for ingredients), Creamy Zucchini & Sausage (to file away for when my fridge crisper is crammed with summer squash).
Linguine with Asparagus & Lemon
Star Tested A classic, springtime dish that comes together as quickly as it takes to cook a package of noodles.
I plan to eat this lemony, silky pasta once a week during asparagus season, accompanied with thick slices of tomato sprinkled with flaky sea salt. 2 tbsp (30 mL) kosher salt 3/4 lb (340 gm) linguine 1 bunch asparagus, washed, trimmed and cut on an angle into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil 3 tbsp (45 mL) unsalted butter Zest and juice of 2 lemons 1 cup (250 mL) grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving Freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley Over high heat, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 tbsp (30 mL) of kosher salt and return water to a boil. Add pasta. Two minutes before it is al dente (refer to package directions for timing), add asparagus and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Reserve 2 cups of cooking water and, using a large colander, drain pasta and asparagus.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large (at least a 12-inch skillet) over medium heat. Add butter and cook until melted, about 2 minutes. Add lemon juice and zest and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup (250 mL) of pasta water and cook until sauce is smooth and silky, about 1 minute.
Add pasta and asparagus and, using tongs, toss to coat. Add parmesan cheese and toss again until pasta and asparagus are completely coated. Season with salt and black pepper.
Transfer to a large platter and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with parmesan cheese at the table, if desired.
Makes 4 servings