I'll save you my dietary ranting for another blog post, but today I wanna talk about pasta. Pasta is a great food group in that it is a blank canvas, just waiting to be painted with different sauces, proteins, and vegetables. Not to mention, it is a great fuel source!
The process of preparing pasta is pretty straightforward, unless you're making it all from scratch... As far as the boxed stuff goes, just be sure to use a high-sided pot, salt your water enough that it tastes like the sea, and keep a rolling boil all through the cooking process. Remember to leave it just a little bit under-cooked so that you can saute it for a bit with the sauce to finish cooking! If you wanna be super classy and Old-Worldly, leave it a little al dente.
I am no expert on making homemade pasta, so I won't pretend to be. I have only helped out with this process a couple times, but it does seem pretty simple. If you do use fresh pasta, remember the cooking time is much less.
Now time for the REAL star of the show, the sauce! Marinara is pretty much just marinara, it doesn't ever really deviate from the standard set a long time ago in Italy (I assume? I guess I don't really know...) You can totally make this yourself... but it isn't much better than if you buy a jar. However, the two sauces everyone should know how to make from scratch are a basil pesto and Alfredo sauce.
Pesto does not come out of a jar, believe it or not... In fact, it tastes much better when you make it yourself, even if you don't have super fresh basil! Its also probably cheaper, and it is really not difficult. All you need to do is throw some nuts (about 1/3 cup, walnuts or pine nuts work best!) in a food processor and give them a few pulses to get a head start. Then, add 2 cups of fresh basil, 1 cup of parmesan cheese, and about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of olive oil and 3 or 4 big cloves of garlic. Blend this until its a pretty homogenous mixture (I like to leave it just short of paste, give it a little texture!) and toss with warm, freshly cooked pasta. Add some shrimp or chicken, roasted red peppers, and garnish with a cherry tomato. Bellissimo! (Ok I probably spelled that wrong... I speak Spanish, not Italian...)
Alfredo sauce is a little more of an involved process. Again though, the final product is astronomically better, and it is cheaper than the packet or the jar.... IF you use the jar of Alfredo sauce, we can no longer be friends.
Alfredo begins with a basic roux... butter and flour! I generally use about a 1 to 1 ratio, melting the butter and adding the flower before the butter browns. Add a couple cloves of minced garlic, and whisk the mixture thoroughly and cook for a few minutes until it is about the color of wet sand.
At this point, add about 2-4 cups of hot 2% milk. I usually get this going in the microwave as the roux cooks. Again, whisk like hell until all the flour gets dissolved and bring the mix to a boil, whisking occasionally.
Once it comes to a boil, add 2-3 cups of grated parmesan cheese... this sounds like a lot, but this is how you get that cheesy flavor. Once all the cheese melts, turn off the heat and add salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Now you're ready to plate!
What I did here was toss the pasta with the pesto, put that in a bowl topped with some sautéed shrimp and veggies, topped it all with the Alfredo, and garnished with a cherry tomato. Date night is served! (You're welcome, Rachel!)
Hope you enjoyed my first attempt at a recipe... ok so it was more like some guidelines... Until next time, FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT!
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