GRAZIE MILLE NAPOLI

Now, I was wanting to bake something today but none of the recipes I looked at appealed to me. Don't ask me what it was that I wanted to make. Which was just as well since if I baked something then I'd be obligated to eat it. Instead I thought I'd try one of the recipes from the Cucina Napoletana cookbook. Pasta, I love pasta and this recipe was a winner.
A few months back my friend and fellow blogger Mel of Cooking Schmooking went to Las Vegas with our friend and cook book author Marlena Spieler. I don't know all the details of this convention other than it was about the city of Napoli Italy and we (myself, Mel and another fellow blogger Shankari ) were given an award for our blogs and lots of goodies that Mel was good enough to haul home for us. One of the gifts we received was the cookbook Cucina Napoletana. I love Italian food and went through this cookbook marking the recipes that especially appealed to me. This is one of the recipes- Maccheroncella Arribbiati: Maccheroncelli with tomato and chili.
Maccheroncella is a hollow tube pasta and Arribbiato means "angry" in Italian. Angry referring to the spice or hotness of the sauce.

Maccheroncelli Arribbiati
serves 4

1lb Maccheroncelli pasta such as bucatini, or ziti or penne
2 oz olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
31/2 oz pancetta or speck diced
10 oz (about 4 or 5)fresh ripe plum tomatoes chopped
1-2 fresh red chili deseeded and chopped (I couldn't find a red chili so used a Thai chili) plus about a 1/4 tsp dried red chili flakes. I like spicy.
fresh ground black pepper
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
freshly grated or shaved Percorino cheese.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta, cook until al dente.
In a frying pan heat the olive oil then add the onion and sweat for a few minutes until soft.
Add the pancetta or speck, tomatoes, and chili. Season with salt and black pepper. Cook for a few minutes stirring so the sauce does not stick.
If the sauce is too thick add the pasta water a little at a time until the desired consistency. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce, stir to combine.
Sprinkle with plenty of Parmesan and Percorino Cheeses. Serve immediately.

LEFT OVERS FROM SUNDAYS WITH MARLENA

I had a left over fish fillet and sauce and garlic bread crumbs from my Filo wrapped fish and the Cauliflower and garlic crumb dishes. I removed the filo from the fish and break the fish into pieces. Warm the tomato sauce and add the fish to the sauce. Cook pasta, put some of the pasta water into the tomato sauce to get the desired sauce consistency. Toss the cooked pasta in the tomato sauce then top with the bread crumbs. The cauliflower can be chopped up and added to the pasta also but I just served it on the side.

Easy, delicious..

Happiness Thursday

PASTA!! Took a pasta class tonight at the Co-op. Sue and I helped prep before class, that is the most fun. Things were a little chaotic in the kitchen, Franca isn't exactly organized, but she is so fun to work with. She just expects that you know what to do, chop, peel, etc. It is a good thing we do, she doesn't seem the type to sit there and explain to you how to dice and slice. We prepped for 3 sauces and a pear cake and she also decided to make an omelet with a wonderful tuna,anchovies,and herb filling. She topped it with a very simple tomato sauce. It was served as an appetizer. It was so good. There was a Pea and prosciutto sauce, 2 different kinds of tomato sauce, one with veggies and pureed and one simple tomato, onions,olive oil, garlic and basil.
Franca made the pasta dough and we all got to put it through the pasta machine and made fettuchini. It was fun, but it was a lot of work. The first thing Franca made was the pear cake, by hand. She was up there beating the sugar and butter and eggs and adding the flour etc. It was a pretty stiff batter. I finally had to ask if we could use an electric mixer. She started laughing and said yes you can. Good thing or I'd never make the cake.
When everything was done she served huge portions of the pasta..plus the cake. Usually at cooking class we get a taste in most cases. Everything was great.. we are taking another class with her next month..Filled pasta, ravioli, tortellini and something else I can't remember. We will be prepping again too.