Pasta and Potatoes / Pasta e Patate - A Classic Recipe to Chase the Chill Away

Pasta and Potato

Pasta and Potatoes

It's still chilly these days even though February this year was milder than usual and bowls of hearty vegetables and pasta still go a long way to taking the edge of that chill off. This particular recipe I started making this summer after one of our volunteers, Mascia, prepared us one of her favorite dishes, her grandmother's recipe for pasta e patata, or pasta and potatoes. It's always a treat when someone cooks for us, and especially so when its from one of our volunteers. We've had a variety of International cuisines over the years, Japanese, French, Dutch, Italian vegan / macrobiotic and even my familiar American. 

Most everyone can always use another pasta dish to add to their repertoire.This one seems to be a classic dish in many parts of Italy with as many variations as their are cooks I would imagine. In it's simplest form it is very much like what many of us think of as minestrone soup without the beans. Some people like to add a bit of saltiness and flavor punch by adding in some form of porky cut of meat with various levels of fattiness and smokiness or not. Some like a bit of red pepper zippiness or a touch of oregano. Most are a thick "stick to your ribs" kind of consistency. The Neapolitan version is  finished off in an oven proof dish smothered in smoked, or not, provolone cheese slices and heated till the cheese melts and served right away. 

This version is a simpler straight forward version that Mascia insisted that the butter used to sauté the vegetables was her nonna's secret ingredient.  Here in the north they are fond of using butter and it does make a tasty addition to this simple dish and is highly recommended. What ever your preference might be I think you will find this classic pasta dish a great comfort and "go to" recipe for any day of the week. 
Thanks Mascia for sharing your nonna's recipe. 

Yield : 4 servings

Ingredients:

2-3 T olive oil, extra virgin

30g / 2 T butter

50 g smoked pancetta, prosciutto, or guanciale (optional)*

80 g / 1/2 c  white onion 

80 g / 1/2 c carrots, diced

80 g / 1/2 c  celery, diced

100 g / 2/3 c cherry tomatoes or pachino, blanched, peeled and diced
or some ready made tomato sauce or a combination of the two

3 ½ – 4 cups water or stock

1 vegetable bullion cube, use if you don't have chicken or vegetable stock

500 g / 2 3/4 c potatoes (peeled and cubed)

160 g / 1 1/3 c small shaped pasta ( small tubes, wheels, gnocchetti, mixed pasta, half penne)

2 -3 Parmigiana or Grana Padana crusts (optional)*

Parsley chopped to garnish  or some oregano as some recipes call for 

Grated Parmigiana to sprinkle

Salt and pepper  or hot red pepper to taste

*Variation: In Naples and other southern parts of Italy they will put the finished dish in oven proof bowls and cover the top with some slices of smoked provolone cheese. Heating it to melt the cheese before serving.

Directions:

In a medium pot, at least 2 qt/L, heat your pan, then add the butter and olive oil.

Once the butter has melted and the oil is heated, add the diced onion, carrot and celery.

Sauté the vegetables on a medium heat for a few minutes.

Cook until the vegetables are soft, but hasn't picked up any color, about 3-5 minutes.

Then add the meat if using, and tomatoes, cook a few more minutes.

Add 3 cups of water to the sautéed vegetables along with bullion cube, if using

and the potatoes and pasta.

Taste and adjust seasonings keeping in mind that the crusts will add salt to the dish.

Add the Parmigiana crusts if you have them.

Cook until the potatoes and pasta are cooked, adding the other ½ -1 cup of additional water to reach a creamy texture, but not too soupy.

Serve hot and garnish with Parmigiana if desired. 

Buon appetito!!

Agretti Spaghetti - An Ode to Spring

Agretti Spaghetti with lemon and blue Toma cheese

If you have ever had the pleasure of eating agretti, barba di frate, which translates to friars beard, then I know you have probably been in search of it ever since. This is a veggie that just screams "spring" to me. It's also called saltwort, and was once highly sought after throughout Europe for it's leaves that were reduced to ashes which were then used in the process to make glass. 

Italian Agretti. barba di frate or  Salwort

This harbinger of spring has a short lived appearance in the markets and when I spy them, I make sure to bring them home. It's a funny looking vegetable that resembles a bunch of skinny succulents. The flavor of these fleshy needle like leaves are a little reminiscent of pencil thin asparagus with a subtle and slightly mineral taste. 

Lightly boiled and then slightly sautéed in olive oil and garlic before adding cooked  pasta

Most of the time I lightly boil or steam them, drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. They do need a bit of salt even though I have confused them with seaweed, as they are sometimes referred to as land seaweed. I thought they would be salty, but they are not. Their delicate flavor is almost nutty sweet and they taste best when least fiddled with.  
Most agretti and spaghetti recipes I have found call for boiling them together before saucing it all with a gorgonzola cheese sauce and maybe a light sprinkling of toasted hazelnuts or walnuts. That sounds great, but in the end I found that I preferred a light handling of the cheese,  a few cheese crumbles on top and was fresh out of nuts and found that we liked this version very much. I preferred to boil the spaghetti and agretti separately so I didn't over cook the agretti. Next time I might start the spaghetti first and then add the agretti a little while into the cooking for a one pot wonder dish, and I will definitely sprinkle a few nut pieces, or I might just make just like this again, cause to me it was just that good. 

Moncenisio Blue Cheese

Agretti and spaghetti united 

Agretti (barba di frate/ friars beard)

 Ingredients for 4 :

• 500g spaghetti 

• 400g di agretti o barba di frate

• 1 lemon, juiced and the zest from the peel  

• olive oil

• 1 clove of garlic

• salt and fresh ground pepper

• 100 g or so Blue cheese crumbles, I used a local toma called Moncenesio - ricotta salata or parmigian are other good choices

Method:

Wash the agretti thoroughly and trim the roots off from the stems.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

Mince the garlic and have your other ingredients ready to go as it all comes together quickly at the end. 

Either cook your agretti first till desired tenderness, about 5 minutes and remove from the water and then add the spaghetti and cook till al dente.

or begin to cook your pasta adding in the agretti a little later so they cook at the same time. 

While the pasta is cooking heat the oil in a large flat sauce pan 

add the garlic and only let the garlic barely cook and then add the cooked agretti.

Cook a minute or two to coat and soften the garlic before adding the cooked spaghetti. 

Once all is coated with olive oil and thoroughly mixed, season with the lemon juice and zest. Season with the salt and pepper. 

Serve the pasta and sprinkle the pasta with blue cheese crumbles to taste on individual servings. 

Agretti spaghetti with lemon and blue cheese crumbles

Winter Squash Alfredo for an Autumn's Day

Creamy Winter Squash or Pumpkin Alfredo 

This time of the year when the weather has turned and turned a tad early it seems, most of us start to think of comfort foods that are heartier than the summer fare of veggie salads and light summer fare. I must say I hate to see those warm summer days and the parade of garden veggies pass on into a fading memory that won't return until three more seasons have passed, but comfort food is here to stay for awhile. 

Autumn around our place, Bella Baita

We have been putting the garden to bed, but still have a fair amount of things to eat and put up to keep us and our volunteer helpers busy.  The weather is changeable and so we change up our work from outside to in and back again as the season dictates. We so appreciate their help and its always interesting to meet new people. 

Fabrizio and David with an autumn haul form the garden. 

And so with the harvesting of quite a few winter squash I have been busy making all the usual dishes in my repertoire of squash recipes. Every season I try to add a new or few new ones on. This season I came across a video for one pot creamy squash alfredo that I liked, but naturally just had to tweak to my taste.  I seem to keep inheriting more squash from other peoples bounty of winter squash as well, (Thank you cousin Giorgio!), so this recipe helps keep the bounty of squash in check. 

Give this recipe a whirl, and maybe put your own touches in it as you see fit and enjoy a delisciously creamy pasta without any cream. 

The elements and finished pasta dish

Winter Squash Alfredo

Serves 4 ish

Ingredients:

2 T butter
2 T olive oil, I've made it with all oil and slightly less fat in general also

1 cup diced onion, I like red onions

1 T fresh rosemary, chopped, or you can use just the rosemary

1 T fresh sage, chopped

3 cups butternut squash, (1 1/2 lb / 800g) or any other winter squash that you have

1 cup vegetable stock

Cook 15 minutes

Smash the squash with a smasher till smoothish but still with some texture

1 cups milk, or stock if you prefer, 

1 cup Parmigiano  cheese

a bit of nutmeg, grated fresh into the mixture

4oo g fettucine, (generous 5 oz) I used our home made tagliatelle, a mix of spinach and plain egg

Method:

In a large deep skillet or saucepan, heat the oil and butter and add the onion. Saute´ the onions till they soften. Add the herbs and squash and continue to saute´ for a few minutes before adding the vegetable stock and cooking for about 15 minutes till the squash is soft and cooked through.
Meanwhile start to boil salted water for your pasta.
Cook the pasta till still firm, a bit more than al dente
Smash the mixture with a potato smasher.
Add the milk or veggie stock to make a loose sauce and continue to cook the sauce till it reduces to your desired creaminess. You can use more or less to get the sauce as you like it.
Stir in the parmesan and season with salt and pepper.
When the  pasta is cooked, drain and mix into the sauce.
Adjust season and serve. 

Something Old, New and a Homemade Orecchiette Recipe

We are well on our way into a new year, 2015,  and yet at this time of the year I often find myself looking backwards as well as forward.  When Jennifer of  the blog "Vino Travels ~ An Italian Wine Blog & Luxury Tours to Italy", recently contacted me about collaborating on a wine pairing event that would be featuring one of  Puglia's famous wines, Negroamaro, Gaglioppo or Primitivo, a dinner made for us by friends from Bari, a few years back, sprang to mind, "Braciole"* and Orecchiette pasta. (* Braciole translates to chop and usually refers to pork chops, especially in the north of Italy, but in Puglia it refers to a meat roll cooked in a tomato sauce. The meat can be pork, beef, or even horse)This dish was made for us by some friends that we met during the lead up to the 2006 Winter Olympic Games that were held in our area. We became friendly with some of the workers that came up from south Italy with their company to build the two tunnels that helped ease some of the congestion of the traffic on our road that leads up to Sestriere and where several of the venues for the games were held. This group of tunnel makers were made up of two groups, one from Bari in Puglia, and the other from Sicily. We had helped them out with a variety of things that come up when you work far away from your home and friendly faces are always appreciated. They had an impromptu home leave break when the winter weather made working on the tunnels impossible for a few days, so off they went back home. The tunnel project took  over two years to complete prior to the commencement to the games, so they were away from home for quite a while. 

Baldassini tunnel workers on the day they broke through on the second tunnel

Once they returned from their break, they asked if they could make us a traditional Pugliese dinner. Sounded good to me. I love eating other peoples cooking especially when they are so keen to share their regional cooking with us. When they treated us to dinner, we discovered that they each had all brought back different treats from home. One brought his family's olive oil pressed from trees that were over three hundred years old, home made Pugliese wine, Sicilian desserts and hand made orecchiette by one of their wives. What a special dinner that was. It was fun to watch them prepare everything and then all sit together for a special meal. A dear friend of mine from college days along with her daughter just happened to be visiting when this dinner came together, so we had a cozy full house in our intimate dining room. That meal still lingers in my memory and the revelation of how wonderful hand made pasta is I can also manage to savor. So naturally I just had to try and recreate this dish. 

Fabrizio and chef for a night Guiseppe and the whole Baldassini gang and my southern Illinois friends for the special dinner

This traditional dish is a typical Sunday family dinner where the meat is cooked in a rich tomato sauce. Orecchiette has been made earlier and left to dry before marrying it up with the sauce that the meat was cooked in.  This recipe is what I like to call a two for one recipe; two dishes made from one source.  If you make the pasta as opposed to buying dried pasta, then it will be a little more labor intensive, worthy of a big Sunday family dinner, however, If you buy dried orecchiette, this comes together quite easily for any day of the week. Do try it and pair it up with a Primitivo if you can find it, or if all else fails, try a California Zinafindel (not a rose' but a rich fruity red) that will transform this into an unforgettable memory whenever you wish. 

A pictorial tour of my version using home canned passata and conserva (tomato sauce and paste)

My hand made orecchiette, or little ears

Meat rolls and Orecchiette Pasta with Sauce 

Braciole e l'Orecchiette con Sugo

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

6 thin beef or pork steaks,* 

6 squares of firm pecora cheese, or other firm cheese, optional. I used caciocavallo. 

6 garlic cloves, minced and divided for sauce and inside the meat rolls, (adjust amount to your taste, as this is Giuseppe's strong garlicky version. He actually used a lot more)

1 large carrot, diced

1 large celery stalk, diced

1 large bottle or jar of tomato sauce

1 T tomato paste 

2 tsp mix of thyme, oregano or any blend you like. 

1 bay leaf

slash of dry white wine, optional i used water as i didn't have any wine available

dash dried hot red pepper  

Olive oil

Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, grated to garnish the finished dish

600-800g / 1.5- 1.75 lb dried orecchiette pasta

or 

Homemade orecchiette recipe and video below*

Cooked  green vegetable to go with your meat rolls or salad 

Preparation:

Lay steaks flat and place a generous amount of minced garlic toward one end of the steak. You can make this with just a thick chunk of cheese or a combination of both. 

Pull and fold over both sides of the length of the steak towards the center.

Bring the one end over so the contents are enclosed and roll up. Secure with a toothpick.

In a sauce pan or large skillet with tall sides place your oil and begin to heat. 

Add the carrot and celery and begin to saute' until fragrant. 

Add the remainder of your garlic.

Add dried herbs and bay leaf.

Stir to distribute and place your meat rolls in the pan.

Saute' lightly on all sides to pick up color. 

Deglaze your pan with a little white wine if desired. 

Let the alcohol evaporate and add the tomato sauce and paste.

Cover and cook for about 15 minutes. 

Remove meat rolls and let the sauce simmer a while longer adding a bit of water if it cooks down too much. You want an nice thick sauce that has let all the flavors meld together. Perhaps 30-40 minutes tops. 

*Cooks Notes* Thin cut beef steaks are from the rump of the cow, most likely a round steak, here they have a large roast piece of meat and slice thin slices about 1/4 or slightly thicker slices. Ask your butcher for suggestions. If using pork, a pork cutlet with  little bit of fat is nice as well. 

*If making home made orecchiette pasta, make it first so that the pasta has time to dry before cooking. You can make the pasta a day or several before also. Just make sure to keep the pasta dry and they will need to cook slightly longer than the fresh pasta. 

Amount per person is about 2 1/2 oz / 80g per person so you can adjust according

(Note* home made pasta usually goes down quite easy)

Orecchiette Pasta :

 6 ish portions

500 g / 18 oz semolina flour  or semolina

200-250g / 6.5-8 oz  water, warm to hot 

Make a mound of flour and hollow out the middle to make a well. 

Add some water and begin mix with your your fingers like a mixer.

Add more water and mix until you get a solid, yet soft dough. 

Work the dough as you would bread to get a smooth dough that has developed the gluten. 

Once you have the dough developed and smooth, Set aside and either cover with a bowl that you weighed your flour in or a piece of plastic to allow the dough to relax, but not to dry out.

Set aside for about 15 minutes. 

Cut your dough as you need it , ultimately in about 8 -10 pieces. 

If you have a wooden surface to work on, that is the best surface for making pasta dough. 

Take one piece of dough, leaving the others covered while you roll out a long thin snake of dough.

Roll out the dough with your hands on top of the dough laid flat on the work surface. Gently roll the dough into a long piece about 1/4-1/2" thickness, depending on how large you want your "ears" to be.

Once rolled out, Take a butter knife or small pallet knife and cut the dough off into about a nickel sized portion. 

With your flat edge of the knife drag the knife from one side of the dough across to the other applying steady pressure so that the dough crawls up and curves over. Pick the piece up and unroll it if need be and fold it opposite of the way it tried to roll up, so that it forms a cup. 

Lay them side by side on a plate or wooden surface that has been sprinkled with semolina to dry till they are not sticky to the touch. Feel free to sprinkle a bit of semolina over the tops as well if you need them to dry up a bit more.  Avoid making these on very humid days as it is with most home made pasta.  continue on with all of the pieces of dough till you are all done. 

Go back and make you meat rolls and sauce while your pasta dries. 

If you watch some of the ladies of Bari making them they have a two stroke method that I have yet to master, but certainly will be striving for.  Like many things it just takes a lot of practice. 

I am going to add a  little video that I made to practice not only my orecchiette skills but also my video skills as well. Hope you like it. 

Finishing and serving:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

Add the fresh pasta and boil gently till cooked to your preference. Normally it only takes a few minutes like 4-6 unless they are very dry or very thick. 

If using dry store pasta follow the directions on the package for the timing. 

While the water is coming to a boil, put the meat rolls back into your sauce and heat the sauce and meat rolls back up so that everything is piping hot.

Remove meat and set aside, keeping them warm somewhere till you are ready to serve them after the pasta course.

Drain your pasta, add to the sauce and toss to coat the pasta. 

Serve immediately, garnishing with the grated cheese to taste.  

Serve your meat rolls with a vegetable side dish or salad of choice.

Farro Tajarin Pasta with Artichokes and Leeks

There are days when pasta is the only thing I crave. I don't know about you, but for me pasta is a comfort food that is so easy to dress up or down. We had a last minute, impromptu luncheon guest yesterday, so what to do? Lucky for me I had some home made farro, as spelt flour is know here in Italy, pasta dough in my freezer. Between that and some fresh artichokes and leeks ready to jump into the pan it made for a very easy choice. As with much of my cooking, ingrediens and amounts vary depending on what's on hand and how much of it, so this recipe is a guideline and open for much improvisation. You knew you would improvise anyway, so be my guest.  As I said I had pasta dough in the freezer and it didn't take long to thaw and roll out. The smallest setting for cutting pasta on my machine is a specialty of our Piedmont region called tajarin. Classic tajarin dough is very rich in eggs and yolks, but I made this one on the leaner side. You can, of course, use dry farro pasta or any of your favorite shapes. We get a great dry farro pasta by the brand name od Alce Nero. I have found all of their organic flours to be of excellent quality. Feel free to use any variety of pasta that appeals to you.

I feature a lot of farro pasta in my recipes I have noticed. I think it is because I tend to add recipes during our slow period and I try to eat a lot more whole grains that isn't always possible during our season when we are cooking for a wide range of tastes. Rest assured we eat lots of white pasta and rest assuredneither of us are very fond of straight whole wheat pasta. It's a texture thing for me. So suit yourself and enjoy what tastes best to you. 

For the pasta

Farro or Spelt Pasta

Yeilds: about 800g of pasta dough 

or approximately 8 servings (depends on your appetite and if it is part of a multi course meal)

80-100 g per person per serving

Ingredients:

140 g (3/4- 1c) faro or spelt flour, your taste

100 g (1/2c) semolina flour

260 g (2-21/4 c) plain flour, as needed

4 eggs, lg. room temperature

60- 120 ml (¼-1/2c) water, this will vary depending on the size of your eggs and absorption of flour

Pinch salt

Method:

Mix your flours together in a large bowl.

Make a well in the middle.

Crack your eggs into the well

Add ¼ cup water to start with.

With a fork, whisk your eggs to break them up, and emulsify.

Gradually pull the flour into the eggs in a circular motion little by little incorporating the flour into the eggs until you have workable dough.

If you find the dough too dry, add a bit more water, but you do want stiff dough.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.

Cover and allow to relax for about 20 minutes

Cut into 8 portions keeping the pasta pieces covered as you work with one piece at a time.

Roll out all 8 portions ( or save have in one lump, wrap well and freeze for another time)

Roll out each piece by hand or by machine. On my machine it goes to number 6 and I stop at 5 as it needs to have some body to it.

Let the strips dry slightly before cutting, usually about 15 minutes. Dust liberally with flour if your dough seems too wet, other wise dust with a little flour so it doesn't stick together when rolling and then underneath the strips on the table. 

I used the thinnest width on my machine to cut the tajarin shape or angel hair, as it is know in the US. 

I hang the strips on a pasta holder, but if you don't have one a broom handle between to chairs works just as well. 

Separate the pieces so that they don't stick together. Let air dry for 15 minutes to keep from sticking together when they are boiled. 

Cook for 5 minutes or less when cooking fresh. You can let any extra hang overnight to dry and use at another time. Depening on your humidity level, completely dry pasta will last for quite a while, weeks, but humidity will make it go off if you are not too careful. That's why I prefer to store extra dough in the freezer and roll out when needed. 

Once cooked add to your hot sauce, toss together.

Serve with fresh grated parmigiano. 

For the sauce:

 Fresh Artichoke and Leek Pasta Sauce

Serves about 4

4 medium fresh artichokes, cleaned and trimmed up, choke removed

2 medium leeks, sliced into 1/4 inch half moons, 

using some of the green as long as it is tender

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

Olive oil, I generally use all olive oil

2 Tb butter, optional

1/4 c white wine, or brandy if you like

1/2 c chicken or veggie stock

4oz  yogurt or sour cream

Salt & pepper

Fresh chopped chives and parsley of you have any on hand.

*For a heartier version add 150g (4 oz) prosciutto crudo cut into slender 1"baton lengths

 Add the parma ham when the vegetables are about cooked halfway

Method:

Clean and slice the artichokes into ½ rounds, cutting from the base up toward the tips discarding tough leaves if you haven't been  ruthless enough earlier when cleaning.

In a medium to large sauté pan (better if it has a bit of a side to it),

Add the olive oil/butter.

Sauté leeks, adding the artichokes  and garlic

Continue cooking until they start to pick up a little color. Add the ham now if desired. 

Sauté over a medium to low flame a minute or two more.

Deglaze the pan with your wine, cooking until all the alcohol has evaporated.

Add the stock. Stir and cover letting it simmer for a few minutes till the artichokes are soft.

Reduce the stock a bit, removing lid if necessary or add more liquid if needed. 

Add the yogurt or sour cream and whisk in.

Tastes ad season the sauce with a bit of salt and pepper, a few snipped fresh chives or flat leaf parsley would be nice as well

Warm through.

Add cooked pasta.

Toss together and serve immediately garnished with fresh grated Parmigiana.

*Recipe easily scaled up or down.

Pasta al Melanzane e Pomodori

Girandole

If you live in the northern hemisphere, you are probably up to your ears in tomatoes, eggplant, and zucchini at the moment. I know we are here in northern Italy. If you are looking for a fast and easy way to use up some of these abundant veggies, I have an easy pasta option for you.  This particular pasta dish hails from the Puglia region, in the south of Italy where these veggies are even more abundant than here. My friend, Silvana, shared this recipe with me quite a long time ago when we were over one night for dinner. I have made it quite a few times with a variety of pasta, although the classic version is with hand made cavatelli, which I have made, but didn't get a photo of it with this particular recipe.

my hand made cavatelli

I have photographed it a few times thinking I would get around to writing it up, so you will see a few variations of pasta here in the photos. Hope you enjoy it. I hope to get a eggplant and zucchini lasagna recipe up soon as well, whilst we are still in the thick of the season. 

with cellentani pasta

Dicing your eggplant

Pasta al Melanzane e Pomodori

Eggplant/Aubergine and fresh Tomato Pasta

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 T or more as needed olive oil

2 garlic cloves, large or more if desired, small dice

1 large aubergine, (500g-1 1/2 #) medium diced, peel your eggplant and reserve the skin for topping

8-10 Tomatos, (1 kg / 2-2 1/2 # roma style, regular or cherry,  diced 

or a mix of roma and regular makes a good sauce

6 large basil leaves, fresh, maybe 1/4 cup cut up, more if you like

600g/1# or so pasta of choice, cavatelli, cellantani, Girandole, rigatoni, penne, or any big body type pasta

Method

Peel your eggplant in strips and reserve the peel to fry for a garnish on top.

Dice aubergine and tomatos into a medium dice.

Finely dice garlic and set aside.

Heat 2 T oil up in a large, heavy bottomed pan with deep sides or a non stick pan if you like.

When the oil is hot, add your garlic and cook just until the oil is aromatic making sure the garlic doesn't pick up any color.

Add your eggplant and shake or stir to coat the pieces with oil and cook till just starting to soften, lifting the eggplant or shaking your pan to keep it  from sticking.

Remove the eggplant into a bowl and set aside. I like the eggplant to retain its body and that is why I pull it out at this point and set it aside while the tomatoes cook. *If you don't mind or prefer your eggplant a tad more mushy, then just add the tomatoes in and cook them all together. Your preference.*

Add your tomatos to the pan and cook them till the tomatoes break down and create a luscious thick sauce, maybe 15 minutes or so. You might need to add some liquid, (water or stock) if your tomatoes are more meaty than juicy.

Add fresh basil and the reserved cooked aubergine and simmer a few more minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. 

Heat some additional frying oil in an small pan that you can quickly deep fry your eggplant peels that have been cut into narrow strips. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle a little salt on top. Add to the top of each serving or your bowl of pasta as you serve for a bit of a wow factor. Optional of course. 

Tomatos with basil, cooked eggplant in bowl and fried eggplant peels

Sauce is great used immediately with your favorite cooked, hearty pasta or sits well overnight and the flavor just improves. The flavor of your sauce is almost completely determined by the quality and flavor of your tomatoes. 

Don't worry if you think this is a large portion of pasta and sauce. This makes a wonderful baked pasta dish the second day, by adding some fresh grated parmesan or pecorino cheese and turned into an oiled baking dish and baked till bubbly, adding a bit of water it if seems too dry. 

This is a flavorful pasta, that is sure to please. 

Spaghetti and Lentils, Hearty Fare for a Winters Day

It's still comfort food time as far as I'm concerned. I don't know about you, but spring is still a ways away and this is a tasty somewhat lighter variation of the classic Italian dish," pasta e fagioli", or pasta and beans. It's a dish I love. I usually use a short tube pasta with borlotti beans. The broth of the beans and the starch of the pasta makes for a simple thick stew whose rich flavor is comfort at it's best. This version combines lentils and spaghetti. There are many variations in the different regions and when I came across Joe of Italyville family's version, who hail from Calabria and whose recipe features lentils and spaghetti, I knew it would be a combination I would love, and I do. You can find his family's "Italian Lentil Soup" original recipe here.  I've updated mine to include farro or spelt spaghetti as it's nutty flavor goes well with the earthy lentils. Generally, I'm not a fan of whole wheat pasta (don't get Joe started on that subject) as I find it heavy and strange in it's texture, but spelt is entirely different, in my opinion. It has all the slippery qualities of regular white pasta, but with added flavor and many health claims that are attached to spelt. I find that it just tastes great. I like to use small lentils as they cook up faster and with out the need to soak them over night. I find that I tend to decide to make this pretty much last minute, so the minimal cooking time is a bonus, although regular lentils don't really take that much longer to cook and makes a hearty bowl of pasta goodness.

I always have a bit of a chuckle whenever I make pasta and beans, as it reminds me of an incident that cemented in my mind just how regional Italian cuisine is. When we first opened  Bella Baita, our B&B, back in 2003, we were casting about looking for guests, since we returned to Fabrizio's family business that had really only focused on their osteria/restaurant, La Baita. Even though they had built on a few rooms, they never really pursued the business side of renting out the rooms. Although we were on the map for the locals, as "La Baita" had been very popular over the years, there was no past history to draw upon. We cast about for what ever we could find that came our way and luckily we made a connection with a couple of companies that were building the new tunnels for the new and improved road up our valley. This effort was all a part of the infrastructure improvement and run up to the 2006 Winter Olympics that were held here. We were fortunate to have a group of workers, from the south of Italy, that were here working to build the new tunnels. They were to stay with us until their company could arrange more permanent accommodations for them. We sent them off at 5 am after a quick coffee and brioche and they returned to eat dinner with us in the evening. The first couple of days we made what is typical of primi piatti here, soup and risotto, to a less than enthusiastic response. How odd indeed, as these are the things that you find on menus and in the homes of northern Italians and we didn't think we were that bad of cooks. On the 3rd night one of them asked us why we didn't serve pasta. Ah ha, the light bulb over the head goes on. Yes, of course, pasta! The next night we served pasta e fagioli and were greeted with ear to ear grins and clean plates all round. It was pasta every night every night after that to happy eaters and satisfied cooks. I still remember that first plate of pasta e fagioli and their beaming faces, and I find a myself braking out into a grin.  I think you'll find this might rustle up some smiles and satisfaction to you and yours as well.
I made half this recipe for the two of us with enough to serve for lunch the next day. 

Spaghetti e Lenticchie (Lentils)

 Serves 4-6 

• 100g pancetta, speck or prosciutto crudo, or bacon, diced
• 2 leeks, sliced in semi circles or 1 large onion, diced 
• 2-3 stalks of celery – diced, mine were kind of small
• 2  large carrots – diced
• 2 garlic cloves, diced'
• 2 bay leaves
• 1tsp thyme, dry  
• 60g /1/4 c white wine
• 200g /1c lentils, I like to use organic and the really small ones for faster cooking
• water or vegetable or chicken stock about 700g/3 cups
• 6 plum type tomatoes,  peeled and chopped, I used San Marzano varieties that I had frozen
• or a can of diced tomatoes, can size is up to you
• 300g /a little over 1/2 box of spaghetti,  I like farro or spelt spaghetti
• small piece of parmesan rind, if you have it
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

• Garnish with fresh thyme or parsley if you have any, for a nice touch

Method

In a large deep saute pan Pour a small amount of oil and begin to cook your pancetta or bacon. If you meat is very  fatty, you might not need the oil. If you are using a lean parma/prosciutto  ham you will need the oil. Saute for a while until it starts to get crispy. I like to remove most of the pork, reserving it to add at the end so it still retains some texture and flavor. 

Either drain off some of the fat if too oily or add a little more olive oil and add your diced leek, or onion, carrot, celery and garlic. 

Continue to cook over a moderate flame until just starting to soften, about 5 minutes or so.

Add the thyme and bay leaf and white wine

Continue to cook until the white wine is almost evaporated

Then add the lentils and stir thoroughly and let it cook a few minutes.

Add vegetable or chicken stock if you like, but I usually just use water to completely cover the whole mixture and you have a loose soupy consistency. You will probably add about 3 c or more. You will be adding more later. 

If you have a piece of parmesan rind, add it at this time for that little added flavor to your mix and it will be the cooks reward later.

Let it all simmer for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft.

Add more water now, not stock, and bring your liquid back up to where you started and maybe even a little more. 

Add some salt. Taste it. You want to be able to tell that you have salt, but is not enough that you would serve it, yet. You will adjust your salt at the end. 

Add your diced tomatoes.

Break your spaghetti in half and add to your soup.

Let it all simmer till your spaghetti is just about al dente. 

Add your reserved pancetta or salty pork.

Taste it again and adjust your salt and add some pepper. 

Retrieve the softened parmesan rind, your cooks reward 

Garnish with fresh chopped herbs like thyme and chives or parsley and serve.

Wait for the grins from ear to ear!

Buon appetito!

My crusty bread to sop up the juices