Tag: Mark Bittman

Pasta alla Norma

On By lukephillaryhIn Veggie1 Comment
Pasta alla norma Mark Bittman recipe
Norma is not your normal pasta

We like heavy pastas in our household. Ragù. Spaghetti and meatballs. Pasta alla Gricia. We love the slow simmer, building of flavors, and richness of these dishes. And, yes, pasta is carbs. Carbs are comfort food. So why not, while you’re already eating something deemed “unhealthy,” pile on the prosciutto, guanciale, and sausage? But this vegetarian pasta, recipe courtesy of Mark Bittman, holds its own against our meaty favorites. Staring eggplant, it makes for a delicious, refined, and relatively quick dinner. And with a grating of ricotta salata and a sprinkling of freshly chopped herbs, it has an unbeatable fresh flavor. Enjoy as you’re easing out of summer! Save those heavier pastas for the upcoming cold.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large eggplant, cut lengthwise into thin slices (bit thinner than 1/2 inch)
  • salt & pepper
  • lots of olive oil, up to 1/2 cup
  • 1 TBS chopped garlic
  • 2-3 tsp chili flakes (depending on spice preference)
  • 1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 pound long pasta
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley or basil (or combo)
  • 1/2 cup ricotta salata (or, if you must, pecorino Romano)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Sprinkle eggplant slices with 1-2 tsp salt and let drain of excess moisture. We do this by layering the slices in a colander and then placing a small plate weighed down with a can or big glass of water on-top, pushing down on the eggplant. We’ll let this sit for 20 minutes, patting the eggplant with paper towels afterwards. There are some other methods! This will prevent your eggplant from being soggy and bitter.
  3. After drying slices, arrange on a large, well oiled baking sheet. Brush with more olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 20-25 minutes flipping at least once. You’ll went the eggplant slices to be nicely browned, soft, but with a good crisp.
  4. While eggplant is roasting, make the sauce and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large, deep skillet heat 2-3 TBS olive oil over medium heat. Once shimmering, add garlic and chili flakes, cooking until garlic has browned a bit and is fragrant. Add the tomatoes and juice, squeezing the whole tomatoes with your hand to crush, and oregano. Add a bit of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then simmer while eggplant and pasta finish cooking.
  5. Cook pasta until al dente. While cooking, cut the eggplant slices into strips. Transfer 1/4 of slices into simmering sauce. Set the rest aside.
  6. Add cooked pasta to tomato sauce.* Dress with remaining eggplant strips and a generous topping of freshly grated ricotta salata, basil, and/or parsley.

Details: Serves 4-6.

*Note: We like to keep the pasta and sauce separate and let people prep their own plates according to their sauce to pasta ratio preference. Not so traditional of us, but we are sauce-y people!

Pasta alla Gricia

On By lukephillaryhIn Ode to NYT2 Comments
Pasta alla gricia with guanciale
Guanciale, better than bacon

Like most, we are big fans of bacon and pasta, respectively and combined. Two of our favorite dishes come from Cal Peternell’s Twelve Recipes. His carbonara and amatriciana recipes are always smashing successes. Admittedly, we typically opt for regular old grocery store bacon instead of pancetta or the even more authentic option of guanciale. Feeling a bit adventurous, but also wanting to keep it simple for our Saturday night dinner, we decided to try Mark Bittman’s version of a Roman classic, pasta alla Gricia. Marky B stresses the importance of using guanciale, so we finally committed, trekking into Manhattan to buy a nice hunk of pig jowl at Eataly (we’ll visit our favorite butcher Los Paisano’s in Cobble Hill next time). The guanciale elevated this pasta from a simple weekday dinner to a delicious Saturday night feast. And now we feel like slightly more legit gourmands.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 pound guanciale (cured pig jowl), cut into 1/4 inch pieces*
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper + more to taste
  • 3/4 pound spaghetti or other long pasta
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano or parmesan

Directions:

  1. Cook the guanciale in a large skillet over medium heat until deeply golden. You may need to adjust the heat to not cook too quickly. You want the fat to render without burning the meat. The meaty parts should be brown and the fatty parts should be cooked but still slightly transparent. This should take 10-15 minutes. When done, add the black pepper and turn off heat.
  2. While cooking the guanciale, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the water reaches a boil, add the the pasta. Cook till al dente and drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups of pasta water.
  3. You want the pasta to still be wet and hot, so while it is cooking add 3/4 cup of the pasta water to the cooled guanciale. Turn heat to high and reduce liquid by half.
  4. Once reduced, transfer pasta to the skillet. Mix vigorously and stir in more pasta water if necessary to create a creamy sauce. Add the cheese and extra cracked pepper.

Garnish with additional cheese! Enjoy with a glass of red wine.

Details: Serves 4

*Note 1: If you can’t find gaunciale, pancetta or bacon will also work. But guanciale is a game changer in this recipe!!

 

Four Spice Salmon

On By lukephillaryhIn Ode to NYT1 Comment
Salmon with four spices Mark Bittman recipe
Lil squeeze of lemon, always a good addition

Hillary is the recipe-finding maven in this relationship. She digs through our small cookbook collection or searches online to make sure we don’t fall into cooking monotony . I have a much simpler approach: Mark Bittman. I’ve used his workhorse of a cookbook, How to Cook Everything, since 7th grade when I made crab cakes for Mother’s Day. This Four Spice Salmon recipe is quintessential Bittman: simple, quick, and delicious. It’s salmon + cumin/nutmeg/coriander/cloves. Period.

My words of advice for anyone looking for a midweek meal: when in doubt, Bittman is best.

Ingredients:

  • 4 6-ounce salmon fillets > Bittman suggests aiming for equal sized fillets, best to go for center cut
  • salt & peppa
  • 1 TBS coriander
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 TBS neutral oil (grape seed, peanut, canola, etc.)

Directions:

  1. Season your fillets with salt and pepper on both sides.
  2. Combine all the spices and press spice mixture onto the top of each fillet.  Should be completely covered, don’t skimp!
  3. Heat a large nonstick skillet or cast iron pan over med-high heat for 2-3 minutes.  Add oil and when it shimmers, place the fillets, coated side down, in the pan.  Cook for 2-3 minutes and then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Better to undercook than overcook!  You can test doneness with a thin-bladed knife.  Stick the knife into the thickest part of the fish.  The fish should slightly resist the knife.

If you’re not familiar with Mark Bittman, we highly suggest checking him out!  His cooking video for this recipe is very entertaining.

Details: Serves 4.  You can reduce portion size by buying fewer fillets and halving spice mix.

To print the recipe, click here: 4 Spice Salmon