SPAGHETTI SICILIANI
Recipe courtesy Mario Batali
Serves four
Ingredients:
1
tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small
red onion, julienned
1
zucchini, cut into half moons
1 yellow
squash, cut into half moons
1 garlic
clove, sliced thin
1 fresh
chili, sliced thin
1 cup basic
tomato sauce (see tomato sauce recipe, below)
1
tablespoon toasted bread crumbs
1
tablespoon mint, torn
Freshly
ground black pepper, to taste
Bottarga, to taste
Instructions:
Bring 6 quarts of water to boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt.
In a 12 to 14 inch saute pan, heat the olive oil until smoking. Add the red onions and slightly caramelize until light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, squash, garlic and chilies and cook until the squash is al dente, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the boiling water according to package directions, until tender, yet al dente, and drain.
While the pasta cooks, in the same pan as the squash and zucchini mixture, heat the tomato sauce to a simmer.
Drain the pasta and add to the sauté pan, along with the bread crumbs and mint. Toss over medium heat to coat with the sauce, about 30 seconds. Divide among four heated bowls, sprinkle with black pepper and bottarga and serve immediately.
BASIC TOMATO SAUCE
Recipe courtesy Mario Batali
Makes four cups
Ingredients:
¼ cup
extra virgin olive oil
1 Spanish
onion, finely diced
4 garlic
cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
3
tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, or 1 tablespoon dried
½ medium
carrot, finely shredded
2 28-ounce
cans peeled whole tomatoes
Kosher
salt, to taste
Instructions:
In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, 8-10 minutes.
Add the thyme and carrot and cook for 5 minutes more, or until the carrot is quite soft.
With your hands, crush the tomatoes and add them with their juices. Bring to a boil, stirring often, and then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is as thick as hot cereal.
Season with salt and serve.
BUCATINI ALLA MATRICIANA
Recipe courtesy Mario Batali
Serves four
Ingredients:
¾ pound guanciale, or pancetta, thinly sliced (can also substitute
good quality bacon)
3 garlic
cloves
1 red
onion, halved and sliced ½ inch thick
1 ½
teaspoons hot red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 ½ cups
basic tomato sauce
1 pound bucatini (a type of spaghetti that has a hole in the
center)
1 bunch of
flat-leaf parsley, leaves only
Pecorino
Romano, for grating
Instructions:
Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt.
Place the guanciale slices in a 12 to 14 inch sauté pan in a single layer and cook over medium-low heat until most of the fat has been rendered from the meat, turning occasionally. Remove the meat to a plate lined with paper towels and discard half the fat, leaving enough to coat the garlic, onion and red pepper flakes. Return the guanciale to the pan with the vegetables, and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until the onions, garlic and guanciale are light golden brown. Season with salt and pepper, add the tomato sauce, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Cook the bucatini in the boiling water according to the package directions, until al dente. Drain the pasta and add it to the simmering sauce. Add the parsley leaves, increase the heat to high and toss to coat. Divide the pasta among four warmed pasta bowls. Top with freshly grated Pecorino cheese and serve immediately.
Note: Guanciale is a pigs jowl or cheeks. It is cured like bacon and Batali says it has a "remarkable round flavor."