Read Online Saveur: The New Comfort Food by James Oseland - Free Book Online Page A

occasionally, until soft, about 6 minutes. Add chile flakes; cook for 1 minute. Stir in tomato purée, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens and flavors meld, 20–25 minutes. Season with salt; keep warm.
    2. Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just al dente, 6–8 minutes. Reserve ½ cup pasta water; drain pasta. Heat reserved sauce over medium heat. Add pasta and reserved water; cook, tossing, until sauce clings to pasta, 2–3 minutes. Add ½ cup Pecorino Romano; toss. Divide between serving bowls; serve with remaining Pecorino Romano.

Macaroni and Cheese with Ham
    You can use any kind of cooked or cured ham for this luscious mac and cheese, which has a pleasingly tangy edge thanks to the addition of a little blue cheese. Black Forest ham, for example, will add a note of subtle sweetness, while country ham will provide an earthy, deeply savory flavor and a slightly chewy texture.
11 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted Kosher salt, to taste
    12 oz. pasta, such as rigatoni
    2 slices crustless white bread
    2 tsp. minced fresh thyme
    1 small onion, minced
    ½ cup flour
    3 cups milk
    2 cups heavy cream
    12 oz. grated sharp cheddar cheese
    8 oz. cooked ham (any variety will do), roughly chopped
    3 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
    ½ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
    ¼ tsp. hot sauce, such as Tabasco
    4 scallions, minced
    ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
    1 / 8 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
    Serves 8–10

    1. Grease a 2-qt. baking dish with 1 tbsp. melted butter and set aside. Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta, rinse, and set aside. Pulse the bread in a food processor until finely ground, mix with 4 tbsp. butter, and set aside.
    2. Heat the oven to 400°F. Melt the remaining butter in a 6-qt. pot over medium heat. Add the thyme and onions and cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cream. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, whisking, until thick, 10–12 minutes. Whisk in the cheddar, ham, blue cheese, parsley, hot sauce, scallions, pepper, and nutmeg. Taste and season with salt as needed. Stir in the pasta, transfer to the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, 30–40 minutes.
    COOKING NOTE There are a few tried-and-true secrets to making macaroni and cheese with the perfect creamy texture. You need a smooth sauce as a base—in this case, it’s a velvety béchamel made of butter, flour, milk, and cream. And you need to make sure the cheese melts evenly and becomes one with that sauce. Firm cheeses like cheddar, Comté, fontina, and Gruyère are reliable choices. Let the cheese come to room temperature before you use it, shred it as finely as possible, and heat it gently with the sauce; a blast of high heat can cause proteins in the cheese to separate from the fats, resulting in a macaroni and cheese that’s both grainy and oily.
    A volunteer plates spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce at the Sacred Heart Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. The church has been hosting its biannual Italian Spaghetti and Ravioli Dinner since 1910.

Figaretti’s “Godfather II” Linguine

    This dish, a mainstay at Figaretti’s restaurant in Wheeling, West Virginia, is Italian-American cooking at its bighearted, bountiful best: shrimp and mussels, peppers and tomatoes, fresh basil, white wine, and silky linguine.
Kosher salt, to taste
    8 oz. dried linguine
    ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
    ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
    ½ cup chopped red bell pepper
    3 cloves garlic, minced
    1 small yellow onion, chopped
    1 / 3 cup white wine
    8 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
    ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes
    2 tbsp. unsalted butter
    8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
    8 leaves basil, torn, plus more for garnish Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
    ½ cup grated Asiago cheese
    4 lemon