Two at Once

Pressed for time and wondering what to cook? The situation is nothing new; the first issue of La Cucina Italiana, published about 75 years ago, contains an editorial entitled "The decline of family cuisine," according to which things were going down hill fast, thanks in large part to the harried pace of "modern life" that made it impossible for all to assemble for the family meal. People were, the author said, turning to restaurants, which were booming. Sounds very much like today, and indeed more recent surveys show that now one out of three Italians aged 35-45 eats out at least once a day. Work, but also the time it takes to assemble a meal.

So, quick, tasty foods are at a premium, and they're even better if one can press them into double duty, for example a sauce to go over pasta, which can also be used to season fried mozzarella, which is much lighter than you might think. With a little planning you can sit down to an Italian style two-course meal in the time it takes pasta water to come to a boil and the pasta to cook, and that sure beats going to a restaurant!

Some ideas:

• Pasta Primavera (With Bell Peppers) followed by Fried Mozzarella
• Pasta with a Tomatoey Olive-and-Caper Sauce, Followed by Steamed Whitefish
• Pasta with a Richly Aromatic Egg Sauce, Followed by a Deft Chicken and Vegetable Salad
• Pasta Primavera (with zucchini this time), Followed by Scaloppine Primavera

Buon Appetito!
Kyle Phillips
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