Yes, everyone has a favorite recipe from Artusi's volume, and mine is maccheroni. There are lots of great dishes that I regularly prepare, but one of my go-to meals when I want something simple and scrumptuous is the Maccheroni alla Napoletana II. He offers two Neapolitan sauce recipes, the first one closely resembles my nonna's braciole recipe. The second is a meatless sauce that takes on a distinctive, almost decadent flavor from the addition of...butter!
Artusi himself said it is "so good that I suggest you try it." You won't want to go back to plain-jane red sauce again!
Maccheroni alla Napolitana II - according to Pellegrino Artusi
One of the things about Artusi is that he doesn't give recipes so much as instructions.
Ingredients you'll need:
Maccheroni (any dried pasta shape you prefer, though Artusi states that penne absorb this sauce better than long strands). I use one pound for four people
onion
butter
olive oil
1 1/2 pounds of peeled, seeded, chopped tomatoes
basil
salt and pepper
grated Parmigiano
In his words:
Saute 2 thick slices of onion in 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. The onion will split into rings as it cooks; when it has browned, press it down with a spoon, then remove it and discard it. Stir the tomatoes into the pan, add a bunch of basil, minced, and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Simmer it until done, about 1/2 hour, or until it is no longer watery.
Use the sauce, 1/4 cup butter and grated Parmigiano to flavor the maccheroni, which will be especially liked by those who would swim in tomato sauce if they could.
My words:
I generally use canned tomatoes because when I lean on this dish it is usually when I'm pressed for time, and I don't feel like blanching, peeling, seeding and chopping the tomatoes. When I drain the pasta, I stir in the butter before adding the sauce and cheese; it seems to let it absorb a little more of that buttery goodness. And finally, I sprinkle on more Parmigiano before serving.
Viva Artusi!
Photo credit: FastaPasta.com
4 comments:
Valerie yum, onions and butter how can we go wrong! I could see why this dish is a favorite. I know I would love this flavor blend. Thank you for sharing!!
Sounds like a winner. I love how Italian food uses the simplest ingredients and preparations to make a delicious dish.
Sounds delicious, who knew there could be so many variations on a tomato sauce. I'm sure I would gladly eat any of them...
Chuck - No kidding, huh? Just a little butter can add so much.
Janie - So true, the simplest things blended together make an amazing meal.
Luigi - I know! It's amazing that you can achieve so many different flavors just by tweaking the ingredients.
Post a Comment