try
If you’re making a
simple pasta
and want to take it
to the next level,
toast the dry
pasta before you
add liquid. Just
do a few swirls of
EVOO in the
pan, add a few
pats of butter,
and, once it’s
foaming, add your
pasta. Get it good
and brown, which
brings out a toasty,
nutty flavor, then
add a quart of
water to cook it
through. Throw
on some cheese
before all the
water is absorbed
and you’ve got a
delicious nutty,
cheesy pasta!
7
5
MAKE
I T R I C H
A ND
C R E A MY.
To achieve that
creamy, sit-on-
your-tongue
experience, pasta
dishes are often
finished with fatty,
fruity EVOO; tabs
of butter; and/or
grated pecorino,
that salty delicious
stuff made from
sheep’s milk, or
Parmigiano-
Reggiano, the king
of all cheeses. All
these things join
with the pasta to
make it so rich and
creamy it leaves
you tongue-tied.
with cheese—just toasted breadcrumbs. Who cares?
You want cheese on your spaghetti with anchovies?
Nobody’s going to knock on your door and give you a
ticket. Most people believe the thinner the pasta, the
thinner the sauce should be, and the sturdier the pasta,
the sturdier the sauce. I’ve never found a reason to
doubt this, but the best rule for pasta or any other dish:
Eat it how you like it.
LEFTOVERS?
FORGET THE
MICROWAVE.
You want to reheat your pasta in
the skillet. Even if it already has
sauce, it has soaked up all that
sauce and now you can toast it in
the skillet with whatever’s handy
for a whole new meal. And why
wait for dinner? Whip up some
carbonara—basically bacon, egg,
and cheese pasta—and you’ve got
the breakfast of champions!