All About Pasta

mix & match

Go ahead—play the field with your pasta! Pair the right shape to the right sauce and you’ve got dozens of satisfying options on your plate.

all about

It doesn’t get any better than a bowl of pasta, right? Actually, it does. We’re obsessed when it comes to the stuff, so we set out to build an even better pasta dish.

(Hint: It all starts with mixing and matching your starch to your sauce.) Carb up on our recipes, tips and ideas...and you’ll be licking your plate clean in no time.

BY GIULIANO HAZAN

| photogr aphy By james wojick

Conchiglie Shells catch chunky sauces with fish, vegetables or meat; pairs well with mild sauces since rich, pungent ones can overwhelm (the pasta’s ample surface size means you’d get a mouthful of sauce).

Fettuccine Flat pasta that pairs

Farfalle Delicate shape and chew

Linguine Flat, smooth strands pair well with simple olive oil or tomato sauces; meat sauces slip right off; classically paired with seafood.

Fusilli Sauces cling well to the versatile corkscrew shape; rich, pungent sauces can overwhelm; multilayered chew pairs well with vegetables.

a hole in the center; chewiness stands up to rich, flavorful sauces; meat sauces slip right off.

Food styling by Brett Kurzweil; illustrations by David Danz; hazan photo, barbara banks.

pasta!

Bucatini Thick, round strands with

pairs well with mild ingredients like fish and vegetables; meat sauces slip right off.

well with delicate butter and cream sauces; suitable for meat sauces.

Marcella Hazan’s Words of Wisdom

She’s one of Rach’s favorite cookbook authors and is often credited with introducing traditional Italian food to Americans.

She’s also mother to Giuliano, the author of this story, and fondly recalls his passion for pasta since he was a toddler. All bragging rights aside, the matriarch of Italian cooking knows her pasta, and that a great dish depends on more than just the ingredients—if you’re serious about good eats, it should be served hot and fresh. “Pasta

must never be made to wait,”

she says. Here are her timing tips for dishing it out just right.

• A colander should be sitting in the sink so the pasta can be drained the very instant it’s cooked.

Pappardelle Similar to

fettuccine, but much wider; pairs well with robust sauces made with meat, mushrooms and strong, savory flavors; not a good match for delicate cream sauces.

Penne Versatile tube shape

complements most sauces and ingredients; chewiness may overwhelm simple olive oil-based sauces; holds up well in baked dishes.

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Rigatoni Ridged, tubular shape catches chunky meat sauces; chewiness stands up to rich, butter-based sauces; holds up well in baked dishes.

Tagliatelle Similar to fettuccine, but wider and more substantial; pairs well with meat sauces.

Spaghetti Thin, round strands pair well with simple olive oil or tomato sauces; meat sauces slip right off.

Orecchiette Concave shape

catches chunky sauces with fish, vegetables or meat; chewiness stands up to robust, flavorful ingredients like sausage and anchovies.

• The moment it’s drained, it should be plopped into a large, warm bowl.

• Losing no time, it should quickly be tossed with warm sauce that has been kept at the ready. Tossing must be fast but meticulous to coat the pasta thoroughly with sauce.

• It should be served promptly on warm plates to diners ready to begin eating.

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More Cheese, Please

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1

Fill a large pot with 6 quarts of water for 1 pound of pasta.

(That’s about three-quarters full.) Pasta needs room to move or it’ll clump.

2

Once the cooking water comes to a boil, season it with a palmful of salt (about 2 tablespoons) to enhance the subtle flavor of the pasta.

3

Cook the pasta, uncovered, at a rolling boil and stir it often to keep it from sticking.

Cheese seasons pasta, enhances its flavors and adds texture, too. Remember to start with less when first tossing the pasta, as it’s easy to add more.

Toss all of the sauces below with 1 pound cooked pasta.

Parmigiano-Reggiano, a

rich cow’s-milk cheese that’s naturally suited for dairy-based sauces like alfredo or browned butter, and is a good match for most any pasta dish

Ricotta Salata, a sheep'sor goat’s-milk ricotta that is salted and aged, so it’s crumbly and not wet; adds a briny flavor to pasta dishes Pecorino Romano, an aged

sheep’s-milk cheese with a sharp flavor that’s best paired with aromatic, olive oil-based sauces

Ricotta, a mild, fresh cow’s- or sheep's-milk cheese used to add creaminess and heft to sauces without heavy cream

Cream Sauce Makes 2/3 cup

Pasta Myths— Debunked!

prep 10 min cook 10 min

Breaking long pasta into shorter pieces makes it easier to eat.

If spaghetti were better short, it would have been made that way! Plus, broken strands are hard to eat since they’re not long enough to twirl onto a fork.

Add olive oil to the cooking water to keep the pasta from sticking.

Pasta shouldn’t stick when properly cooked. If it’s cooked with olive oil, it will actually coat the noodles and prevent sauce from sticking.

Throw the pasta against the wall— if it sticks, it’s done.

The only way to know if it’s done is to taste it! It should be al dente, or firm to the bite. The more pasta cooks, the gummier it gets, so if it sticks to the wall it’s probably overdone.

Rinse pasta after cooking and draining.

This will make the pasta cold and rinse away the starch that helps bind the sauce to it.

It’s all about the sauce.

Italians will tell you it’s pasta with sauce—not sauce with pasta! Too much sauce buries the flavor of the pasta and overwhelms it.

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Meat Sauce

Tomato Sauce

In an 8-inch skillet, combine 3/4 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 4 minutes.

Stir in 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley and remove from the heat. Add 1/3 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese when tossing with pasta.

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Makes 21/2 cups

Makes 12/3 cups

prep 15 min cook 13/4 hr

prep 10 min cook 30 min

In a large saucepan, combine 1/2 cup chopped onion and 2 tablespoons each extra-virgin olive oil and butter over high heat.

Cook until golden, then stir in 3/4 pound ground beef and cook for 5 minutes; season with salt. Add 1/2 cup white wine and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in 2 cups chopped canned peeled tomatoes with their juice, season with salt, bring to a simmer and cook for 11/2 hours. Add 1/3 cup grated parmigianoreggiano cheese when tossing with pasta.

In a medium skillet, combine 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley and 11/2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic over medium-high heat. When the garlic is sizzling, add 2 cups chopped canned peeled tomatoes with their juice and season with salt. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the oil begins to separate from the sauce, 20 to 25 minutes.

sh h!

Browned Butter Sauce MAKES 1/2 CUP prep 10 MIN cook 10 MIN

In a small saucepan, melt 6 tablespoons butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt over medium-low heat. Add 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage and cook, stirring often, until the butter begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons heavy cream and remove from the heat. Add 1/2 cup grated parmigianoreggiano cheese when tossing with pasta.

the secret’s in the sauce

Garlic-and-Oil Sauce Makes 1/3 cup prep 10 min cook 2 min

In a small skillet, combine 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup chopped flatleaf parsley, 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic and 3/4 teaspoon salt over medium-high heat. Once the garlic sizzles, remove from the heat.

web Watch us make pasta sauces in 3 easy steps at rachaelraymag.com/video.

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• For a sweeter, mellower sauce, cook chopped onions until softened in a combination of extra-virgin olive oil and butter for your base. • For a more pungent sauce, cook finely chopped garlic in extra-virgin olive oil until just golden.

Don’t let the garlic brown or the sauce will taste bitter. • Chop all ingredients into even, bite-size pieces or smaller.

Pasta is devoured with a fork—there’s no need to add a knife to the mix. • Add sturdier ingredients, like zucchini or eggplant, early on to cook through before adding delicate ingredients, like tomatoes or fish, which will break down if cooked too long. • For egg pasta dishes, reduce the sauce less, as egg pastas will absorb some of the liquid.

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build the best pasta dish

We’ve paired each pasta shape with a classic sauce for a “best match.” Plus, with a

little creativity (and a few extra ingredients), you’ve got 15 satisfying spin-offs.

Leftover Pasta—

Made Over Pasta Frittata 1. Beat enough eggs to

Orecchiette

Conchiglie

Farfalle

Fusilli

Rigatoni

Penne

Linguine

Spaghetti

Bucatini

Fettuccine

Tagliatelle

Pappardelle

Meat sauce

• BEST MATCH • Stir ¹⁄³ cup ricotta into two-thirds meat sauce.

submerge the leftovers; sprinkle with parmigianoreggiano cheese.

2. Melt some butter over medium heat in an ovenproof skillet.

3. Pour in the egg mixture and cook until set, about 5 minutes; bake at 425° until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Pasta Bake 1. In a baking dish, toss

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• BEST MATCH

• Once the garlic sizzles, add 8 ounces crumbled sausage, 2 cups chopped broccoli rabe and ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper; cook until the sausage is no longer pink.

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• BEST MATCH

• Cook 1 cup chopped tomatoes and ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper in the butter for 5 minutes; add the cream along with 8 ounces salmon cut into thin strips.

• Add 1²⁄³ cups each finely chopped zucchini and eggplant along with the tomatoes.

• Add 2 teaspoons each thyme leaves and chopped oregano with the parsley; once the garlic sizzles, add 2 thinly sliced jarred roasted red peppers.

• Add 2 tablespoons capers and ¼ cup chopped pitted black olives to the sauce.

• Add ½ cup chopped onion with the sage and cook until golden, then add ¾ cup chopped frozen spinach and cook for 3 minutes; stir in ½ cup ricotta with the cream.

• Stir 2 tablespoons tomato paste into the butter; add 8 ounces chopped shrimp and cook until opaque, then add the cream.

• BEST MATCH • When the garlic sizzles, add 2 ounces finely chopped pancetta and ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper; cook for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes.

• Stir in 1 cup ricotta with the cream; season with 2 teaspoons pepper.

• BEST MATCH

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• Cook ¹⁄³ cup chopped onion in the butter until browned, then add 4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto and 2½ cups frozen peas with the cream.

• Cook ¹⁄³ cup chopped onion in the butter until browned; add one 8-ounce package sliced mushrooms and cook until browned, then add the cream.

leftovers with heavy cream to coat.

2. Dot with bits of butter and a layer of parmigianoreggiano cheese.

3. Bake in a 425° oven until a light crust forms, about 12 minutes.

• Toss the finished sauce with 1 tablespoon each chopped fresh rosemary and sage and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil. illustrations by David Danz.

Garlic-and-Oil

browned butter

tomato sauce

cream sauce

• Cook ¹⁄³ cup chopped onion in the butter until browned, then add 8 ounces crumbled sausage and cook until no longer pink; add the cream.

• Use a large skillet; once the garlic sizzles, add 3 dozen littleneck clams.

Cover the skillet and steam until the shells open, about 5 minutes.

web Enter to win the ultimate pasta party at rachaelraymag.com/october.

about the author

Giuliano Hazan is an Italian cookbook author and educator. His most recent book, Giuliano Hazan’s Thirty Minute Pasta: 100 Quick and Easy Recipes ($28, Stewart, Tabori & Chang), came out in September 2009.

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