Pasta Primavera: This recipe, which Italians call either garden or greengrocer's pasta (all'orto or dell'ortolano, respectively) is extremely refreshing and very nice in the summer months. To serve 4 you'll need:
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 meaty bell peppers of the color you prefer.
- A large white onion
- A clove of garlic, finely sliced
- A salted anchovy, rinsed, boned, and diced
- 2/3 pound (300 g) broccoli florets, broken up
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 12 ounces (320 g) mezze maniche or ziti
- Freshly grated pecorino romano
Preparation:
Set pasta water to boil.
Next, stem, seed, and rib the peppers and cut them into strips that will lie flat. Run them under the broiler, skin side up, until the skins have blistered; you may have to turn the strips to blister the skins evenly. When the skins have blistered and blackened, put the strips in a bowl and cover it to let the steam generated by the cooking further loosen the skins. After a few minutes remove the skins, running the strips under warm water to rinse them clean, pat them dry, and dice them.
Peel the onion, slice it finely, and sauté it with the garlic in the olive oil; when it's translucent add the peppers and the anchovy and simmer over a low flame for about 15 minutes. By this time the pasta water should be boiling; salt it and blanch the broccoli florets for 2-3 minutes; remove them with a slotted spoon and add them to the pepper sauce.
Continue simmering the sauce while you cook the pasta, and set the oil in your deep fryer to heating. When the pasta is al dente, drain it, and return it to the pot with about half the sauce; cook, stirring, over high heat for a minute and serve the pasta with grated pecorino romano on the side.
Yield: 4 servings pasta primavera.
Next, stem, seed, and rib the peppers and cut them into strips that will lie flat. Run them under the broiler, skin side up, until the skins have blistered; you may have to turn the strips to blister the skins evenly. When the skins have blistered and blackened, put the strips in a bowl and cover it to let the steam generated by the cooking further loosen the skins. After a few minutes remove the skins, running the strips under warm water to rinse them clean, pat them dry, and dice them.
Peel the onion, slice it finely, and sauté it with the garlic in the olive oil; when it's translucent add the peppers and the anchovy and simmer over a low flame for about 15 minutes. By this time the pasta water should be boiling; salt it and blanch the broccoli florets for 2-3 minutes; remove them with a slotted spoon and add them to the pepper sauce.
Continue simmering the sauce while you cook the pasta, and set the oil in your deep fryer to heating. When the pasta is al dente, drain it, and return it to the pot with about half the sauce; cook, stirring, over high heat for a minute and serve the pasta with grated pecorino romano on the side.
Yield: 4 servings pasta primavera.
