simmer until the pasta is almost al dente. Stir in ⅓ cup (40 g) of cheese, the parsley, and the chile pepper to taste, and cook for another minute, adding hot water or olive oil if needed. Season to taste with salt.
Serve topped with more cheese and an additional sprinkle of parsley, chile, and pepper.
PASTA & POTATOES
You might think that combining two starches—pasta and potatoes—is a little weird, but in Italy it’s actually quite common. In fact, pesto Genovese, Liguria’s famous basil and pine nut pesto, is traditionally served with pasta cooked with string beans and sliced potatoes.
KAMUT SPAGHETTI WITH BEAN “MEATBALLS”
{ Spaghetti di kamut con polpettine di fagioli borlotti }
----
SERVES 4 | REGION: Calabria, Abruzzo, and southern Italy
----
In southern Italy, beans often used to be called “poor man’s meat.” Nowadays, we’ve come to realize just how healthy and delicious all those so-called “poor” foods can be.
I love these “meatballs,” which are made from mashed beans seasoned with grated cheese and breadcrumbs. The nice grain flavor of the bread mixed with the rich creaminess of the beans makes an amazingly light, healthy, and delicious “meatball” that pairs especially well with the nutty flavor of kamut-flour pasta. Use fresh beans or good-quality dried beans and many of your guests won’t even recognize they aren’t eating meat!
1 heaping cup (about 250 ml) shelled fresh borlotti or cranberry beans
3 tablespoons homemade breadcrumbs, toasted
Grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
1 onion, very finely minced
1 (28-ounce/800-g) can tomato puree
1 pound (455 g) kamut or whole-wheat spaghetti
A few fresh basil leaves, shredded
Cook the beans in boiling, salted water until tender, about 5 minutes. Once cool, use a spoon to press them through a mesh strainer to remove the skins and form a creamy paste. Mix the paste with the breadcrumbs, 3 tablespoons Parmesan, the egg, oregano, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste until combined. Wet your hands with water and roll 1-inch (2.5-cm) meatballs, adding more breadcrumbs or grated cheese if the mixture is too loose. You should get about a dozen meatballs.
Meanwhile, in a sauté pan large enough to hold the meatballs in one layer, heat 2 tablespoons oil and cook the onion until very soft. Add the tomato puree and salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 10 minutes. Finally, add in the meatballs, cover, and cook for 5 minutes without stirring, so as not to break apart the meatballs.
Boil the spaghetti in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and top with the sauce, meatballs, basil, and more grated Parmesan.
SPAGHETTI IN RED WINE
{ Spaghetti al Nero d’Avola }
----
SERVES 2 * | REGION: Sicily
----
Instead of boiling the pasta in water until al dente, in this time-honored Sicilian recipe you will finish cooking it in red wine. The result is spaghetti with splendidly fruity tartness and lovely mahogany color. The trick to this dish is to add the wine only a few tablespoons at a time, so that it thickens into a glorious, deliciously fruity sweet glaze.
Chef Maurizio Botta, of Vecchia Cantina Baroni in Siracusa, adds a modern twist and serves it topped with ricotta, garnished with crisp frizzled leeks and sliced almonds for crunch.
¼ cup (60 g) ricotta, preferably sheep’s milk
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
8 ounces (225 g) spaghetti
1 small leek, finely sliced
1 cup (240 ml) dry red wine, preferably Nero d’Avola, plus more if needed
2 teaspoons sugar
Grated pecorino cheese
Sliced almonds
* If you’d like to serve four, double the ingredients and use two pans, because the sauce becomes velvety only when cooked in small batches .
In a bowl, mix the ricotta, 1 tablespoon oil, and salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste until combined. Set aside.
Boil the spaghetti in salted water for just 3 minutes, then
Serve topped with more cheese and an additional sprinkle of parsley, chile, and pepper.
PASTA & POTATOES
You might think that combining two starches—pasta and potatoes—is a little weird, but in Italy it’s actually quite common. In fact, pesto Genovese, Liguria’s famous basil and pine nut pesto, is traditionally served with pasta cooked with string beans and sliced potatoes.
KAMUT SPAGHETTI WITH BEAN “MEATBALLS”
{ Spaghetti di kamut con polpettine di fagioli borlotti }
----
SERVES 4 | REGION: Calabria, Abruzzo, and southern Italy
----
In southern Italy, beans often used to be called “poor man’s meat.” Nowadays, we’ve come to realize just how healthy and delicious all those so-called “poor” foods can be.
I love these “meatballs,” which are made from mashed beans seasoned with grated cheese and breadcrumbs. The nice grain flavor of the bread mixed with the rich creaminess of the beans makes an amazingly light, healthy, and delicious “meatball” that pairs especially well with the nutty flavor of kamut-flour pasta. Use fresh beans or good-quality dried beans and many of your guests won’t even recognize they aren’t eating meat!
1 heaping cup (about 250 ml) shelled fresh borlotti or cranberry beans
3 tablespoons homemade breadcrumbs, toasted
Grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
1 onion, very finely minced
1 (28-ounce/800-g) can tomato puree
1 pound (455 g) kamut or whole-wheat spaghetti
A few fresh basil leaves, shredded
Cook the beans in boiling, salted water until tender, about 5 minutes. Once cool, use a spoon to press them through a mesh strainer to remove the skins and form a creamy paste. Mix the paste with the breadcrumbs, 3 tablespoons Parmesan, the egg, oregano, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste until combined. Wet your hands with water and roll 1-inch (2.5-cm) meatballs, adding more breadcrumbs or grated cheese if the mixture is too loose. You should get about a dozen meatballs.
Meanwhile, in a sauté pan large enough to hold the meatballs in one layer, heat 2 tablespoons oil and cook the onion until very soft. Add the tomato puree and salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 10 minutes. Finally, add in the meatballs, cover, and cook for 5 minutes without stirring, so as not to break apart the meatballs.
Boil the spaghetti in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and top with the sauce, meatballs, basil, and more grated Parmesan.
SPAGHETTI IN RED WINE
{ Spaghetti al Nero d’Avola }
----
SERVES 2 * | REGION: Sicily
----
Instead of boiling the pasta in water until al dente, in this time-honored Sicilian recipe you will finish cooking it in red wine. The result is spaghetti with splendidly fruity tartness and lovely mahogany color. The trick to this dish is to add the wine only a few tablespoons at a time, so that it thickens into a glorious, deliciously fruity sweet glaze.
Chef Maurizio Botta, of Vecchia Cantina Baroni in Siracusa, adds a modern twist and serves it topped with ricotta, garnished with crisp frizzled leeks and sliced almonds for crunch.
¼ cup (60 g) ricotta, preferably sheep’s milk
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
8 ounces (225 g) spaghetti
1 small leek, finely sliced
1 cup (240 ml) dry red wine, preferably Nero d’Avola, plus more if needed
2 teaspoons sugar
Grated pecorino cheese
Sliced almonds
* If you’d like to serve four, double the ingredients and use two pans, because the sauce becomes velvety only when cooked in small batches .
In a bowl, mix the ricotta, 1 tablespoon oil, and salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste until combined. Set aside.
Boil the spaghetti in salted water for just 3 minutes, then
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