The Pasta Bar

With Todd Antonation, Rebecca Lechman, Mike Muirhead, and Doug Stephen

Photos by Ian McCausland

Pasta’s vast array of styles—from ragu to oven-baked; from simple to intricate; from light to filling—are the perfect comfort food for our long winter nights. With a variety of flavours, textures, and levels of complexity to inspire wine choices, the Banville & Jones team once again rose to the challenge. Todd led with a spicy take on traditional mac and cheese with some locally made sriracha macaroni; Rebecca added local Italian sausage to her tried-and-true crockpot lasagne soup for weekday meal planning; and Mike served up a braised pork shoulder ragu on pappardelle noodles. Local veteran restaurateur Doug Stephen introduced us to the deceptively simple pasta that is rumoured to be the most ancient pasta recipe in Italy: cacio e pepe (simply: cheese and pepper).

SMOKEY SRIRACHA MACARONI AND CHEESE

SMOKEY SRIRACHA MACARONI AND CHEESE

2x350 g bags of The Mitchell Block Sriracha macaroni*

½ cup unsalted butter

¼ cup flour

3 cups milk

1 cup whipping cream

1 tbsp Smak Dab Beer Chipotle Mustard

1 tsp each of salt, pepper and chipotle powder

2 generous squirts Sriracha sauce

1 cup Panko crumbs

3x170 g blocks Bothwell Maple Smoked Extra Old Cheddar, grated

6 pieces smoked bacon, cooked and sliced

* Available at Banville & Jones and The Mitchell Block.

Cook pasta for 3-½ minutes in salted water; drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Preheat the oven to broil.

Melt the butter in a saucepot over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon to form a roux. Slowly add milk, then cream, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Reduce for 3 minutes. Stir in mustard, salt, pepper, chipotle powder and sriracha. Gradually add grated cheese, while stirring constantly until melted.

Place macaroni in an oven-proof container (casserole dish or cast-iron skillet). Stir in the cheese sauce to desired consistency. (If the sauce is a little runny, it will absorb into the pasta.) Stir in bacon and top with Panko crumbs. Broil on the top rack until toasty brown. Remove from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes.

PAIR WITH: Staffelter Hof 2018 Kiss Kiss Maddie’s Lips Mosel, Germany $31.99 El Enemigo 2016 Chardonnay Mendoza, Argentina $35.99 Ventisei 2017 Rosso Tuscany, Italy $19.99

ZUPPA DI LASAGNE

ZUPPA DI LASAGNE

1 lb Marcello’s store-made spicy Italian sausage, casing removed

1 large yellow onion, diced 3½ cups mushroom broth

1 can diced tomatoes with Italian spices (796 ml)

1 cup Deluca’s Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce

2 tsp dried basil

2 cloves garlic, minced

9 lasagna noodles

Shredded mozzarella and grated Parmesan for topping

Ovenproof bowls or French onion soup crocks

Crockpot

Remove sausage from casing and crumble into a frying pan with the chopped onion. Sauté until the meat is cooked through and onions are translucent. Drain fat then add to crockpot with mushroom broth, diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, basil, and garlic. Set on low for 7–9 hours.

Thirty minutes before serving: break lasagna noodles into bite-sized pieces and submerge fully in the tomato sauce. (Note: Make sure the heat is still on and the crock has not switched to “warm”). Cook approximately 40 minutes until the noodles are al dente.

To serve: Preheat the broiler and fill your oven-safe bowls with soup. Top with mozzarella and grated Parmesan. Broil until desired golden bubbliness.

PAIR WITH: Terrra Costantino 2016 Bianca de Aetna Siciliy, Italy $34.99 Donatella Cinelli Colombini 2016 Rosso di Montalcino Tuscany, Italy $34.99 Les Vignerons d’Estezargues 2018 Cuvée des Galets Côtes du Rhône, France $16.99

TACCOZZETTE CON STRACOTTO (PASTA WITH BRAISED PORK RAGU) Serves 8

PASTA WITH BRAISED PORK RAGU

2 tbsp olive oil

1 kg boneless pork shoulder

2 large onions, finely chopped

2 carrots, grated

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp each dried thyme, oregano, basil

2 bay leaves

1 pinch dried chilli flakes

1 cup red wine

1 28-oz can whole Italian tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato paste

½ 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

1 cup water

1 cup fresh basil, roughly torn, to serve

Salt & pepper, to season

Pappardelle pasta

Trim fat from the pork shoulder and dry the pork with paper towel. Season the whole pork with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Sear the pork on all sides until a golden brown crust forms (approximately 3 minutes a side), then remove from the pan and set aside.

Add onions and carrots to the pan juices and cook on medium 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, thyme, basil, oregano, chilli flakes (optional), a pinch of salt, and bay leaves, and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 1-2 minutes.

Stir in red wine and reduce for 4–5 minutes. Add the whole tomatoes (and their juice), tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and water. Stir to combine. Return the pork to the pan. The liquid should cover at least one third of the meat, but more is great. You will be turning the meat throughout the process to ensure all parts of the pork come in contact with the sauce.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Replace the lid, but leave a slight opening to allow the sauce to reduce as it cooks. Cook the pork for about 4 hours, turning as necessary to make sure all of the sides get time in the sauce and that it maintains a simmer.

When the meat is fall-apart tender and is easily torn apart with a fork, move from the pan into a bowl. Using two forks, shred into bite-size pieces. Using a wooden spoon, smash apart any whole tomatoes in the sauce that haven’t already broken down. At this point, if the sauce reduced too much, you can add the other half of the crushed tomatoes and water until it is the desired consistency and taste. Discard the bay leaves. Return shredded pork to the pan, stir, and simmer for at least 30 minutes to combine the flavours. Cook pasta in salted water to preferred tenderness, per the directions on the package. Drain and immediately add pasta into the pork ragu along with the fresh basil. Cook for another minute to allow the pasta to absorb the ragu flavour and the basil to wilt slightly.

PAIR WITH: Meritxell Palleja 2016 Nita Priorat Catalonia, Spain $32.99 Tolaini 2014 Gran Selezione Chianti Classico Tuscany, Italy $53.99

CACIO E PEPE

CACIO E PEPE

Kosher salt 500 g tonnarelli pasta 1 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper 2½ cups finely grated aged pecorino (to garnish) 2 l water (1 cup pasta water, reserved)

Bring 2L salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until about 2 minutes before tender. Before you drain the pasta, remove 1 cup of pasta water and reserve. Do not rinse the pasta.

Combine the pepper and half of the grated pecorino cheese in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water to the bowl and whisk until the cheese sauce is smooth. Add the cooked pasta. Use a pair of tongs to mix and toss the pasta in the sauce. The sauce should take on a silky texture and coat the pasta completely. Add the second half of the cheese; toss and coat with the tongs. If the sauce seems dry, add 1–2 tbsp more pasta water. Garnish with grated cheese and serve immediately.

Notes: Because this dish is so simple, the details are important:

• Grate fresh cheeses, as pregrated cheeses will not melt as evenly and may clump instead of becoming silky.

• The starch level in the pasta water is crucial to the silkiness of the sauce, so use just enough water for cooking the pasta.

• Salt the pasta water generously before boiling, and you won’t have to add salt at the end.

PAIR WITH: Stefano Amerighi 2016 Syrah Tuscany, Italy $34.99 Thörle 2018 Kabinett Riesling Rheinhessen, Germany $22.99