Quick Pasta Dinners – Butta la pasta!  Put on the pasta!

The holidays are behind us, and gone too are the big feasts.  But you still have to eat.  If you are like me, and you want a quick meal, perhaps after a long day at work, for an impromptu get together, or a late night meal, it is very likely you will go to your pantry, grab some pasta, olive oil, and garlic and put together a simple spaghetti dinner, una spaghettata.  

 

By the time the pasta is ready, the sauce will be done, the table set and the wine poured.  This is Italian fast food, the classic Spaghettata di mezzanotte, a classic mix of spaghetti, oil, garlic, peperoncino, maybe some anchovies, and my own favorite addition, some tiny tomatoes.  The hardest part is boiling the water.

 

Be sure to use a good oil, one whose taste you really enjoy because along with the pasta, the oil is the star of any simple pasta dish.  I recently had the extreme pleasure of tasting Crudo Extra Virgin Olive Oil made by the Schirelli Family.  This monocultivar  (an oil made from just one type of olive) is pressed from Ogliarola olives plucked from the more than 8000 trees that grow on 20 hectares of family land in the southern Italian region of Puglia.  The family has farmed their land in the foothills near Bari since 1922.  

 

Clear, yellow-green, with the scent of tomato leaves, artichokes, almonds, and herbs, this oil quickly captured my senses.  Warmed, it was even more enchanting.  This mildly spicy oil was awarded a Gold Medal at last year’s New York International Olive Oil Competition in its class and earned a Silver Medal here last year in Los Angeles. 

 

In both dishes the oil is gently warmed, just enough to soften the garlic and spices and absorb their flavors, without taking on a “cooked” taste.  The pasta is added to the warm oil just before it is fully cooked, allowing it a quick turn in the pan, and giving it time to absorb the fragrant oil and spices. 

 

If you are looking for some vegetables with your pasta, start with a box of pasta corta, some cavatelli, perhaps.  Just as for the spaghetti dish heat up some oil, garlic and peperoncino, but this time, toss some broccoli florets into the pasta cooking water for the last few minutes of cooking time. 

 

Make these classic dishes a few times, and they will become yours.  For both recipes, try adding a few anchovy fillets to the oil as it warms in the frypan.  Or if you have day old country bread, blitz it in a food processor fitted with the metal knife and add ¾ cup of the finely chopped crumbs to the oil as it heats, tossing as the crumbs gently toast, for another layer of flavor.  Let your imagination be your guide.  For the second recipe use what vegetables you have on hand, perhaps some cauliflower, broccoli romanesco or even cima di rapa.  Dinner will be ready in half an hour.

 

•½ pound spaghetti

•½ cup Crudo Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus more to finish

•2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

•1 teaspoon peperoncino flakes

•2-3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

•½ pound tiny tomatoes, halved, (optional)

•Parmigiano

 

Bring 6 quarts water to a boil.  Salt the water liberally and cook spaghetti according to package directions.  Meanwhile pour olive oil into a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, peperoncino flakes, and optional tomatoes.  Warm over very low heat as the spaghetti cooks.  Drain the spaghetti lightly and add to skillet.  Toss with parsley, adding more oil if necessary. Top with grated Parmigiano and serve. 

 

Cavatelli are often served with tomato sauce or heavier ragùs, not the least because the indentations and the concavity of the pasta hold the sauce so beautifully.  Those same indentations hold the olive oil as it enrobes the pasta with a silky coating and fills the mouth with its sun-drenched flavor.

 

•1 pound cavatelli

•1 pound of broccoli, separated into florets 

•2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed lightly

•peperoncino flakes

•⅓ cup pine nuts 

•½ cup Crudo Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus more to finish

•Parmigiano

Bring 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil.  Salt liberally.  Add the cavatelli and cook according to package directions. 

 

Meanwhile, lightly toast the nuts in a small heavy-bottom skillet over medium heat, tossing frequently, until golden and fragrant.  Set aside.

Pour ½ cup of olive oil into a 12-inch skillet.  Add the lightly crushed garlic cloves and ½ teaspoon peperoncino flakes.  Heat gently over a low flame.

 

Cook the broccoli along with the pasta, adding it about 4 minutes before the cavatelli are done.  Drain the cavatelli and broccoli, and add to the hot skillet.  The water may bubble up, so exercise caution.  Add the toasted pine nuts, along with a ladle or two of pasta water.  Increase the heat to high and toss to coat, adding more oil if necessary or more peperoncino, if desired.  Transfer to a serving dish or serve directly from the skillet. Top with grated Parmigiano.

 

Crudo Extra Virgin Olive Oil is available form Olio2Go