What makes a good, authentic pasta?

The Oxford Companion to Food has a full 3 pages devoted to the subject of pasta, everything from its introduction to Italy to the many different kinds available, but fails to get into what makes a good one. For me, the noodles have got to be al dente…perfectly cooked with not too much softness, but it’s also important that there’s not too much going on with the sauce either. I mean both not too much sauce for the pasta and not too many ingredients for the sauce.

I recently had a near-perfect ragú at  Cafe il Nido. Veal, pork and beef in a fresh tomato sauce covering papardelle noodles. It was fresh and balanced while also being a hearty, comforting meal and there was a happy sigh at the end of it.

I also love the tagliarini pork ragú at Campagnolo and almost everything at Cioppino’s. Marcello is not normally a favorite, but yesterday I had a delicious tagliatelle all’aceto that was tangy and creamy and simple*.

What are your favorites?

*for something more complex, the lobster ravioli at Il Nido and lobster tortellini at Cioppino’s are happy-making.

Six weeks ago, I stopped eating meat. Well…until today. As you may know, I am a culinary school student, and 6 weeks ago we started a class that teaches the art of vegetarian, vegan and alternative cuisines such as gluten free cooking and the likes. I got the challenge bug and decided to become vegetarian for the duration of the class so that I would be completely immersed in the educational experience. I figured that if I wanted to know how to cook for a vegetarian, then it would be good to know what it’s like to be a vegetarian. Today is my last day, so I thought I would share with you a glimpse of my experience and a recipe I learned along the way.

Immediately on day one I noticed that being a vegetarian forced me to think about what I was eating. When you can eat everything, you often forget to think about what’s in it because you have nothing to worry about. But when you have food taboos, whether it be vegetarianism, allergies, religious restriction, or other reasons, you have to think about what it is you are putting in your mouth. That made me more aware of the healthfulness of my diet simply because I took notice of the ingredients on my plate.  The possibility of not getting enough protein, iron, zinc and B12 also kept me on my toes when choosing food.

Ordering food at restaurants became really easy, because your choices are cut down by at least 75 percent, which made me feel somewhat discriminated even though I understand the supply-demand relationship there.  Although from the choices that did exist, I felt many of them were shoved onto the menu just so there is something there (I swear if I see another butternut squash ravioli or veggie burger…). Many restaurants forget that spending more time and effort in creating exquisite vegetarian menu items would only increase their clientele and make them happier. There is nothing to lose, only to gain, so I don’t quite understand why that’s not the case in reality.

As I cooked more and more, I also realized how creative it forced me to be. Normally I would plan my menu around the protein.  My thought process would be something like this: What protein do I have in the fridge? What flavors do I have in my pantry that would go well with that? And what vegetables and starch would work with it? Having no protein to begin with threw me off my center. I would find myself standing in the produce section at the store amongst the vegetables, and trying hard to visualize a dish that doesn’t look like a bunch of side dishes put together.

During this class, my favorite day was vegan day. Our chef instructor, a lovely Indian lady who has been a vegetarian all her life, pulled out a recipe and asked if anyone was interested in making a vegan mac’n’cheese. I was intrigued by the concept so I volunteered. I skimmed the ingredient list and saw “1 cup of cashews”.  “Cashews?” I thought, perplexed. I expected to see things like soy cheese and soy milk in the ingredient list, but none.  In fact, there was no soy product on it whatsoever (as a side note, I also learned through this class that food science has allowed soy to be astonishingly transformed to imitate any meat or dairy product…I’m not so sure how to feel about that.)

Cashew nuts, a nut high in healthy oleic acid, hang from the bottom of the cashew fruit.

As it turned out, one was to make a puree of cashew nuts to create the creaminess of cheese and milk.  Nutritional yeast, a flaky product used to give umami flavor in vegan dishes, was also added.  I was suspicious, but proceeded nonetheless.

The result was wonderful beyond expectation. It was savory, creamy, ironically cheesy, and enjoyed without guilt. As I delighted in my success, I had a sudden realization: Many cooks are often stuck within the frame of tradition when it comes to utilizing ingredients, i.e. apples = pie, squash = roast, nuts = salad toppings, etc.  But if you study an ingredient and explore its potential, you will find a plethora of other ways you can play with it. Hey, I sure never thought of cashews as a cheese sauce substitute! And I’m not talking about vegetarian or vegan cuisine at this point, I’m talking about all cooking, all ingredients.

This is a basic Mac’n’Cheese recipe that I am sharing with you as a canvas for your culinary minds. What would you add to it to make it interesting?  I made one with corn in it, but how about black beans?  Or adding edamame to the puree for a green Mac’n’Cheese? Roasted red peppers? Some spicy Sriracha? Go Nuts!

Vegan Mac’n’Cheese

8 oz elbow macaroni

1 onion, chopped

1 cup cashews, untoasted

1 1/3 cup water

1/ 3 cup canola oil

Juice of 1 lemon

3 Tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

For Panko Topping

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 ½ cups panko

½  tsp paprika

Directions

1)      Cook macaroni in boiling salted water (this is not a pinch of salt, it should taste like the ocean). Drain, run cold water through it and set aside.

2)      In a food processor, process cashews while slowly pouring in water and canola oil until smooth and creamy.  This should be a consistency of a thick chowder.

3)      Add lemon juice, nutritional yeast and garlic powder. Add salt, ½ tsp at a time, adjusting to your liking. I suggest adding lemon before salt because acid enhances salt, so if you add the salt first, the acid might bring it out to the point of over saltiness.

4)      Make the panko topping by heating the olive oil in a pan and tossing in the panko and paprika. Stir constantly until golden brown. Set aside.

5)      Saute the onions in a little oil until they start to brown slightly, add cashew puree and cook, stirring, until it starts to bubble. Add macaroni and stir well to combine. Pour into a serving dish and top with panko.

As much as I enjoy spending multiple hours preparing dinner, sometimes that’s not possible and the exploration of the “15 minute dinner” is equally as fun. I was in the middle of making a new (to me) pasta recipe last week and grabbed my camera for a few shots and wanted to share it for you.

Ingredients:
Fresh Pasta (I used spinach linguini)
Healthy dose of pancetta
A few cloves of garlic
Some cherry tomatoes
One onion
Parsley to garnish
Fresh parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cut up the pancetta and start sautéing it in a non-stick pan. Once it’s crispy and brown, it should have released a bunch of oil. Remove the pancetta but leave the oil in the pan and add the garlic and get that cooking. After a minute add the onions (cut to your liking) and tomatoes which have been cut in half and cook those until they breakdown. Once everything looks ready, add back in the pancetta and chopped parsley and cook for another 30 seconds before adding to the pasta. Finish with freshly grated parmesan and serve!

As often said, American portions are big—sometimes huge (4 pieces of fried chicken plus a generous dollop of mashed potatoes, gravy and a side of boiled spinach for an adult serving!), but when well chosen, pretty outstanding. Patsy’s Pizzeria is one of them.

Visiting their W 23rd location in Chelsea three times they were consistent with their homestyle preparation of superb pizza & pasta. The secret? There is none I can tell other than fresh ingredients, authentic Italian flavors, a hot coal oven and the perfection of Mr. Patsy Lancieri who opened the first Patsy’s in 1933. I had difficulty shooting our visits simply because it smelled and looked so inviting that I forgot to shoot and simply dug right in to enjoy.

Upon your order, you were served hot crusty bread formed as individual rounds with dimples at top. Cracking it open, it was soft and chewy inside with a crispy hard flaky crust, as perfection dictates. Paired with a bottle of the tastiest olive oil (containing a fresh rosemary branch) it’s a reassuring cue of what’s to come.

Their pizza crust is thin and crispy just the way I like it, the tomato sauces flavorful and fresh-tasting, the cheesy gooey & buttery as it should be, and the basil leaves to top it off make me never want to go back to dried herbs.

As for pasta, it’s always cooked to perfection with the right amount of firmness and enough starchy goodness to allow the chunky sauce to stick to it with every mouthful. With 6 locations throughout NYC, I WILL be back.

Monster Sushi on W 23rd was another regular haunt for their fresh sushi, the tastiest miso soup I’ve ever had and affordably delicious bento (Japanese box lunches).

I can’t recall the last time I had a bento with roasted black cod in miso or grilled Chilean seabass with a ginger soy sauce. Their staff are friendly & prompt, their interiors are clean & modern with a great collection of various monsters (including a cool metal Gojira) surrounding the sushi bar.

Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen is described by fellow Foodist Alex as THE cleanest place in Manhattan for lunch. Situated in the Theater District across from the Port Authority, it’s not the cheapest place for a sandwich, but certainly a tasty one depending on what you order (the Mac n Cheese looked too gooey, I mean gluey). You enter into the whitest of interiors with high ceilings, metal and glass all around, plus accents of red throughout.

Highlights were the fish tacos (yummy, fresh, light), Sloppy Joes (super tasty, with a lovely mix of veggies and ground beef) and crispy fries (well-seasoned and great dipped into the joe). We only went once so I can’t vouch for the other menu items, but their Sloppy Joe’s definitely had an impression on me.

An outstanding lunch experience all round was ’Wichcraft (created by Tom Colicchio of Gramercy Tavern & Top Chef). With several locations throughout the island, we stumbled upon the beautiful Bryant Park on a weekday spotting crowds of locals in a briskly moving line. Going for the warm sandwiches, we went for the meatloaf, slow-roasted pork and a kid’s grilled cheese.

Their grilled sandwiches were truly a mouthgasm; that meatloaf made me forget about missing the Schnipper Joe with its delightful combination of beef, cheddar, bacon & tomato relish on fresh bread (I swapped the ciabatta roll for country bread which was messier but softer to eat). I did manage to get a bite into my husband’s slow-roasted pork (served with red cabbage, jalapenos & mustard on a cibatta roll) sandwich, and it was so yummanah. Highly recommended!

Best meal on this trip hands down was David Chang’s Momofuku Ssäm Bar in East Village. We arrived at 6pm and was surprised to have no problem getting seated. That was less than an hour before the entire place was filled to the rafters with loyal fans and more waiting patiently outside. Their simple menu was full of fresh ingredients (noting where it came from) with unique combinations that sounded so exciting we didn’t know where to start.

Some were rather pricey ($140-200!!) but seeing large parties of 10+ feast on all that meat we could see why. Dining with local food-writer friend Seanan, we were encouraged to try the Seasonal Pickles (shiitake mushrooms were addictive & the kimchi was fantastic) and Momofuku Pork Buns (soft steamed buns with roasted pork belly, hoisin sauce, cucumbers & scallions—peking duck style). These were highly recommended by friends and were INCREDIBLY delicious!!

Our server helped us out by suggesting Bev Eggleston’s Country Ham (from Shenandoah Valley, you’ll never go back to processed ham again), Hudson Valley Foie Gras and Pork Terrine (sorry ducks but you were outstanding paired up with perfectly toasted baguette slices) and Spicy Pork Sausage & Rice Cakes (with Chinese broccoli & crispy shallots).

Ours was a bit salty but I loved it a close second to the steamed buns. The rice cakes were unexpected in their preparation—a long super thick rice noodle cut up and fried on a flat pan—but so good I couldn’t stop eating them. (I’d call them rice crack.)

Our first experience at Momofuku (which means Lucky Peach, btw) was easily a flavorful food experience like no other. Everything was succulent, balanced, highly textural (marrying crispyness with delectably smooth sauces). Chang and his menu were also featured on Anthony Bourdain’s Food Porn Episode of No Reservations where you can see some of what I’m talking about. And it doesn’t end there. He also has 3 other restaurants including his Noodle Bar, Ko and on the other end of Ssäm Bar, the Bakery & Milk Bar. Quite the experience for a lover of sweets, it was also crowded with faithful worshippers.

I marveled at the unique and visually appetizing pies with so much chocolate and…pretzels?!?! Indeed. I just had to try a couple that I knew would make a wicked breakfast the next day.

The Arnold Palmer Cake (with Lemon Mascarpone Cream, Tea Jelly & Almond Tea Crunch) was SO delicious and not overly rich or sweet thankfully. It also holds up great for takeout and like the rest of Momofuku’s menu, so addictive, it’s hard to stop at three bites.

Their trademarked Compost Cookie contains the unlikely combination of potato chips, pretzels, coffee grounds, graham oats, chocolate & butterscotch chips. Chewy & crunchy at the same time, it presents numerous flavor surprises in your mouth.

One moment you get the potato chips & pretzels, then the sweet chips and then it fades out with the hint of coffee that you don’t need to make a Starbucks run afterwards. I can’t say enough how much I love Momofuku and hope it will stay brilliant forever. (And if you can’t get to Manhattan anytime soon, David Chang, Peter Meehan & the entire Momofuku team are featured in their highly anticipated cookbook, available in October by Clarkson Potter. Consistent with their unique food innovations, the book’s cover features a wooden texture with a peach illustration instead of showing an overused chef smiling-with-food shot.)

A close second for best meal and best ramen ever is Ippudo NY in East Village. Open for 2 years to a serious cult following, Ippudo has several chain restaurants in Japan but this is the first outside of the country that created Tampopo, the film that celebrates the almighty noodle. With an unassuming store front, the inside is large, modern and beautifully designed both in interiors and décor, while supported with tasteful artwork throughout (including a dried-ramen filled bartop!). They have a variety of grilled specialties–the grilled beef tendon & unagi were flawless–but the reason to go is of course…ramen! (Let’s just say that we liked it so much we went again 2 days later to cap off the end of an incredible holiday.)

The Akamaru Modern (the “original tonkotsu” with Ippudo’s special sauce, miso paste and fragrant garlic oil; slices of braised Berkshire pork, cabbage, onions, kikurage & scallions) easily blew us away. The essence of the broth once mixed with their savory and flavorful sauce took us both to a higher plane…well, let’s just say we didn’t talk much and said MMM quite often. Everything was cooked to perfection and I am VERY picky about my noodle texture (not too hard and definitely not pasty).

The ramen was fresh, chewy and light yet thinner than their Northern Japan counterpart which tends to be flatter and thicker. The pork was soft, moist and delicate, but most crucial of all, the broth was incredibly tasty, not oily, complex, and stayed hot right down to the bottom of the bowl. For $13, it’s a bargain for local standards and very filling. (For bigger appetites, you can have “Kae-dama” for an additional $2. It’s the system that offers you an extra serving of noodles before you are just about done with the first batch and have saved enough soup to accommodate more. You order it at the right moment and your server arrives seconds later with another “ball of noodles” to keep the ramen-love going.)

On our next visit we tried the Shiromaru Hakata Classic, which is the more traditional tonkotsu soup with pork, kikurage (wood ear mushroom), red pickled ginger, menma (bamboo shoots), ½ seasoned hard boiled egg, sesame & scallions. Also VERY VERY good. Both times our son slurped (or more accurately inhaled) his shoyu ramen (soy sauce flavored) that contained an IPPUDO branded piece of scrambled egg. Kawaii!

I never expected to have ramen as good as what I experienced several years ago in Hokkaido at a nameless ramen shop, but this will definitely do.

I can’t leave without a simple nod to Katz’ Deli. Sure, it’s considered overrated after their role in “When Harry Met Sally.” Sure, their lack of accepting credit cards or sluggish table service leaves less to be desired. Oh, but the meat, the hot moist, juicy succulent pastrami and brisket!

Those salty crispy thick steak fries dipped in the beefiest yummiest gravy known to cow-addicts worldwide! That’s what keeps people coming back and forgetting….what was I talking about? Oh yes:

I love food. And I love food in Manhattan. Mwah mwah, I love youse!

My thanks to Marian, Seanan, Alex, Eagranie, Marilyn, Arianna & Eric for their excellent recommends!

P.S. Print Magazine (a design publication headquartered in Manhattan) celebrates everything about food in their latest issue (July/Aug), exploring food blogs, art directing and photographing food, vintage UK candy packaging, designer’s favorite foods and repackaging legal pot (some people DO consider it a food group). They provided some great weblinks to help you find other places to eat should you find yourself hungry in NYC, including menupages.com & midtownlunch.com.

You heard me, that’s what I made my son for lunch today…and it was actually pretty good. The idea for it came when I saw this posting at BoingBoing.net. I found it amusing that they made something he likes seeing at the aquarium out of two of his favorite food groups: beef hot dogs & noodles. I realized we had all the ingredients to try this out, so here goes…

First step was cutting up a couple hot dogs into the jellyfish caps, allowing for enough room to stab the raw noodles into.

We used regular spaghetti noodles which sometimes break with handling. Take in mind how much they expand; these were snapped in half and pushed in about 2/3rds in.

Into the salted boiling water…the noodles got soft soon enough and started to look pretty cool.

As the BoingBoing article showed, the noodles do stay connected to the hot dogs (although they don’t cook as well inside the mystery meat and are slightly crunchy). Adding some Classico tomato sauce and grated Pecorino Romano took it up a notch and made it both very tasty and kid friendly.

See? I still prefer eating real jellyfish but this is certainly a fun start…enjoy!

The topic of Easter dinner came up with some friends a few weeks ago; we were discussing what our family meal had been when we were kids.  Some people said turkey, others said ham, I said lamb.  I checked my Larousse, and apparently, lamb is traditional for the Easter feast in many European countries.  I doubt our family’s choice of lamb was for any religious reason, it just happened to be the roast we liked the most.
 
This year, Edan and I decided on fettuccine carbonara, for no particular reason other than we had never tried it and it sounded good.  When I got to La Grotta on Commercial Drive, I couldn’t remember the type of meat I was supposed to get (sorry, I’m still learning) so I asked the owner, Fortunato, and he suggested speck.  Although I had never heard of it, it did appear to be the right type of meat.  He said it was similar to the usual pancetta, but had a smoked flavour, which sounded good to me (I looked it up after the fact and it is definitely in the category of meat that would normally be used for pasta carbonara).  Armed with my speck and a nice chunk of parmesan, I headed home.  I made a quick batch of fettuccine noodles, grated the cheese, chopped-up the meat, whisked a few eggs and voila, dinner was ready!

pasta:  1 1/5 cups 00 flour, 2 eggs, drizzle of olive oil – mix by hand or in food processor until ball forms; let rest 30 minutes; roll out by hand or use pasta maker to make pasta of choice.

sauce:  3/4 cups parmesan (grated), freshly ground pepper, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup diced speck – whisk cheese pepper and eggs together, lightly pan fry speck, gently stir ingredients into cooked pasta (the heat of the pasta will cook the eggs), and serve.
 
It definitely wasn’t the most traditional Easter dinner, but it was delicious!  Next year, I’m thinking rabbit might be on the menu.  What was on your Easter table?

To make the dough:

Mix about 1 1/2 C of All Purpose flour and 1 1/2 C  of Semolina flour in a bowl and the pour it on the counter, making a well in the centre. Add some salt. Beat 4 eggs in a separate bowl and add them to the centre of the well.

Slowly mix the dough with your fingers and knead it into a ball. Add a bit of olive oil drizzled on top and knead until the dough feels elastic. Do not over knead it.

Cover the dough with plastic and put it in the fridge. Let it rest for an hour or so.

To make the ravioli filling:

Mix 1 package of David Wood’s truffle chevre, about 3/4 C of Gran Padano and 3/4 C of white cheddar, loosely grated. Add 2 tbsp of fresh thyme and the same of flat leaf parsley and some salt and pepper then put it aside.

To make the ragù:

Heat some olive oil over medium high heat. Add in one onion, diced and cook until tender. Splash in some wine and reduce. Add 1 lb of assorted fresh mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms begin to release liquid.

Stir in 2 cloves of garlic, minced, 3 tbsp of fresh thyme and some salt and pepper and cook for a few more minutes, until the mushrooms begin to brown.

Add 1 tbsp of tomato paste and cook for 2-3 more minutes before adding 1 1/2 C chicken stock. Reduce 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can get the pasta dough out of the fridge now to let it warm up a bit, then finish the ragù with 2 tbsp of butter and 1 1/2 tsp of balsamic vinegar, some parmesan cheese and flat leaf parsley.

Keep it warm on the stove, stirring occasionally.

Now comes the assembly. Roll out the pasta dough, sprinkling it and the counter liberally with flour. It should be thin enough that you’re not going to get a mouthful of dough when you eat it, but thick enough that you can pick it up and handle it without it ripping.

With cooking cutters, cut out an equal number of tops and bottoms for the raviolis, the tops being slightly bigger than the bottoms. Lay them on a cookie sheet and keep them from drying out while you work by laying a moist towel over top.

This is rich pasta, so 6-7 raviolis per person should be good for dinner. When you have enough, make a small amount of egg wash in a separate bowl. This will be used to hold the dough together. Lay the cut-outs on the counter, scoop a ball of cheese mixture into the centre, brush some egg wash around the edge with your finger and press the tops on with the end of a fork. Put them back under the moist towel until you’re ready to cook them.

Just before eating, boil a big pot of salted water and cook the pasta until it’s tender, a couple of minutes. Plate the pasta and top with ragù. Garnish with grated parmesan.

Bucatini is like a cross between spaghetti and macaroni. It is a long, thick noodle, with a hole in the middle (hollow inside like penne, which is 3x wider in diameter). Eating it, it is reminiscent of Japanese udon noodles or Shanghai thick noodles, thick and chewy.

Guanciale is unsmoked bacon made from the cheek of the pig. It is the traditional meat used in this dish, and is responsible for its unique flavour. It is very fatty, but the texture of the fat is somewhat crisp due to its high connective tissue content.

After some hunting around online and off, I found two bucatini all’amatriciana recipes to start from. Today’s adventure basically starts with David Rocco’s recipe (from David Rocco’s Dolce Vita) but adding some extra ingredients used in Mario Batali’s (from The Babbo Cookbook).

Once all the ingredients were chopped up, it was 15 minutes to completion. The noodles were dropped in the boiling salted water and he started frying the diced guanciale. It didn’t take long for the color to change (much more translucent) and the aromas to spread throughout the house. Minutes later all the fat had rendered out to the point that he poured it into a bowl so it wouldn’t be so unhealthy. Yes, we all know the flavour is in the fat, but this was a bit much! (Mario’s recipe calls for draining half of it out.)

Next step, the red onions, chili flakes & garlic were added and continued to cook until they softened and caramelized. Canned crushed tomatoes were added and left to simmer. (In a Batali world, the tomato sauce would have been made ahead of time from scratch with fresh organic ingredients, but we opted for Rocco’s due to time constraints.)

The bucatini is tricky to cook if you don’t use one of those monster pasta pots for the simple reason that the pasta is thick and doesn’t bend easily as your standard spaghetti or long noodle. Trying to cook it thoroughly, it’s easy to run the risk of going past al dente, which ours did, but not unbearably. The noodles were added to the sauce, followed by fresh Italian parsley and grated pecorino romano. (David’s recipe calls to mix the cheese in while the pot is still on the stove, while Mario adds it upon serving at the table.)

The verdict?? Very tasty (especially the crunchy bits of guanciale which reminded me of the bestest freshest tastiest bacon ever) but perhaps not so with all the fat removed and the unknown origin of Terroni’s extra virgin olive oil. Let’s just make a slight adjustment…..

The new verdict. The flavour IS in the fat. We added back some of the rendered fat from the guanciale and NOW it’s close to the bucatini my tongue remembers!! The recipe for tonight’s pasta adventure can be found here. Enjoy & share…often. (co-written with JW)

PS. Things happen quickly on the web, including updates: Guanciale MUST be in season (seriously, it isn’t around all the time so stock up when you can. Plus, it freezes well!). After lunch we went down to Granville Island to stock up on more and no kidding: While in line at Oyama, the guy in front of us was buying guanciale and one of the staff said, “You’re buying some too?” To the right, another person was ordering some and right smack in the middle were a bunch of pieces in a basket with their recipe for Amatriciana sauce!:

Ingredients: 1 guanciale, 2 onions, 4 cans of Marzano tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil

Cut the guanciale into small pieces. Cook the onion with it. When the onion is almost caramelized, add all the tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil. Cook slowly for 3-4 hours. The most delicious pasta sauce!

Last January, I was in Toronto for 2 weeks art directing a food magazine. I was surrounded by amazing ingredients, talented stylists and foodie photographers. I was also given a nice meal allowance per diem to try an amazing restaurant each night. It was a beautiful time that I’ll always treasure. One time being my experience at Terroni on Queen Street. I was strongly urged by photographer Jim Norton (“I eat there once a week. No lie.”) and food stylist Lucie Richard (“Get the bucatini! Everything is good…but THAT is incredible!”) to go–and I did. It was jam packed on a freezing snowy Tuesday night with many neighbourhood types who chatted with the staff like they were old friends. Like “Cheers”? No sign of Norm & Clavin, but cozy like it. I ordered Lucie’s recommended dish and was NOT disappointed. Everything tasted so fresh–AND flavorful. Chatting with the guy at the bar, it’s family run, pasta is made fresh daily, cooked to perfection, all fresh local ingredients other than the olive oil. (They travel to Italy every year to find the best batch for Italian cooking and bring it over in large quantities to use in the kitchen and sell bottles to their patrons.) I didn’t think I was that hungry, yet it was so simply and beautifully prepared that it was the best pasta I’ve ever enjoyed. I even told my waiter to let the kitchen know “They made one lady from Vancouver VERY VERY happy. It was worth coming all that way for tonight’s dinner.” The loud whoops and cheers that erupted from the kitchen minutes later put smiles on everyones faces. It was a great night. I couldn’t stop talking about it at the studio the next day. So on my last day in Toronto–3 days later–the gang ordered from Terroni for lunch so I could savor it one more time. Even takeout, it was INCREDIBLY good. So I ask of you, have you tried Terroni? If so, what do you think/recommend? (I heard they have other locations but the Queen St. is the original and best to hang out at.) And most importantly, where could I get this kind of pasta in Vancouver? I’ve dined at Trattoria Italian Kitchen numerous times and have yet to try Campagnolo or LaBuca, but…suggestions?? Does anyone in the city make fresh pasta like this?

We’ve all been there. Come home from work late and no real desire spend an hour in the kitchen making a new culinary concoction. Turn on the TV and watch the game, put up your feet and…order pizza. Except we don’t order pizza because we are Foodies. Which begs the question, what is a Foodies equivalent of the order in pizza?

I’m willing to bet that most of these answers involve pasta somehow. For me, the answer is still shamefully pizza (though becoming rarer and rarer) but with increasing frequency a fresh made pesto and some chicken is the quick and easy meal. (which I am off to make right now!)

What’s yours?

(photo credit: callme_crochet on Flickr)

It goes without saying that it will rain the day after you take your umbrella out of your purse and by the same token, I should have known that a trendy, tasty Italian restaurant would open up in the culinary dead-zone around Science World as soon as I moved away from it. The latest venture from Fuel Restaurant, Campagnolo is now serving delectable bites on the same stretch of block where you used to be able to buy a bus pass or a block of cheese if you just hung out long enough.

My first visit was love all around. It was New Year’s Eve and I had been hoping for some fine food without the hullaballoo of fine dining on such a busy night. Campagnolo delivered exactly that with its boho chic cinderblock and wood detailing. The staff were so helpful (even accomodating our request to store a pot of black-eyed peas in the coat check) and both staff and patrons were happy, happy, happy so it was a joy to be there even before we got to the food.

And before we got to the food, there were drinks.  They’re not stocking a full bar in order to focus on the wine list, but even so they’re barely stocking a bar at all with only 3 cocktails on order. You can get your choice of a Bellini, amaretto-y Allegro or a Negroni. I’ve tasted each and they’re all decent, but if you want a gin and tonic you’re going to be out of luck.

To start we ordered the crispy ceci;  fried chickpeas with pepperoncini, mint and citrus and the seared Albacore Tuna. The tuna was pretty delicious, but somewhat standard on the menu these days while the chickpeas were both perfectly flavoured and novel. They dissappeared quickly.

Next came the Sloping Hills Pork Roast with cotechino sausage and a cipolline onion, accompanied by a dish of fagioli beans, rosemary and crackling.  I was already swooning from the chickpeas, but this simple combination of fat and just a little bit of savoury tang was utter comfort done perfectly right and there was a lot of happy sighing coming from my side of the table.

My dining companions ordered ling cod with kale and flank steak with gnudi, accompanied by polenta and taleggio and I had no complaints about the bites I had of those dishes either. It’s simple food with few ingredients, cooked exceptionally well and that is comfort food for me. It soothes and elates simultaneously.

There had been no room for the much-touted Tagliarini on this visit, however, so I made a point of going back a couple of days ago. The crispy ceci needed to be tasted again, along with some house-cured prosciutto and pate di campagna. The ceci was still delicious but while the cured meat proved to be a good opener, I wouldn’t say they were in better than any others I’ve had around town.

The Tagliarini was indeed tasty, done up in a true Italian style with only a bit of pork ragu on paper-thin noodles and I had the risotto. While it was perfectly cooked and flavoured, the magic of the previous visit was somehow missing. The service was a little off; we waited a while for some of the dishes, never did get any grissini and the food somehow didn’t seem quite as inspired as the wine list this time around. I still enjoyed it and I’ll be back at some point. It’s still the best (non-Asian) restaurant anywhere near that area and I will be in need of some more comforting food before the winter’s through.

Campagnolo is at 1020 Main Street, between the Main Street skytrain station and Chinatown. (604) 484-6018. They’re open daily. www.campagnolorestaurant.ca

Photo credit: Travis Smith

A note on the baby shrimp: we will sometimes buy the packaged precooked baby shrimp for a really easy meal with butter and baguette and salad which was the initial intention for this particular evening’s meal but the winter weather and the ham (did I mention the leftover ham?) demanded something a little more rustic and hearty. So I used what we had. It worked beautifully but I’m sure other prawn/shrimp options would prove equally tasty (Just be aware that in the directions below, the key word is “pre-cooked”).

For the pasta, I used Cavatelli but it would work with any type possessing suitable cracks and crevices to catch all the goodness.

Bowl 1
4 small shallots – finely chopped
2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
1 stalk celery – finely chopped
1 carrot – peeled and finely chopped
fair shake of oregano
small handful of parsley
salt and pepper

Dump the contents of Bowl 1 into a well olive oiled sautee pan. Cook for at least 5 minutes on medium or until everything starts to soften.

Bowl 2
1 Serrano pepper – seeded and finely chopped
1 capsicum (a plain old red pepper but “capsicum” sounds fancier in the recipe title) – seeded and thinly chopped
4 plum tomatoes – diced

Additional ingredients
half cup of chicken stock
swirl of honey

Add contents of Bowl 2 and stir. Once the tomatoes start to break up, add the chicken stock and honey and stir some more.

Bowl 3
precooked baby shrimp
ham

The ham and baby shrimp both get thrown in as you are pulling the pan off the burner and draining the pasta. Toss them into the mix and then add the pasta, give it all a few seconds to fuse and you are good to go.

BTW..matched this meal with a bottle of Sogrape 2005 Vila Regia Red from the Douro region of Portugal which only cost me $8.99 here in BC (even cheaper in ON … probably anywhere else in the world for that matter.) Old World nuance and a beautiful finish on this wine make it one of the best value buys out there right now.

Every day on the way to work, I walk past a bunch of great restaurants on 4th Ave. Fuel, Gastropod and more recently, Trattoria. The one time I tried to go before, the line up was over an hour long and I’ve never made it back since. However I finally made it one of 4th’s newest restaurants this week eagerly wanting to dive into some traditional Italian cuisine and washing it down with a glass (or 3) of Chianti.

The meal consisted of some Bruschetta flatbread to start with a traditional lasagna for my friend and some hand rolled gnocchi in a pesto cream sauce for me. The Bruschetta was offered with fresh ground pepper (typical) but also freshly grated sea salt. NICE! The while meal was solid. I hesitate to say that it was amazing, but there’s a niche for good food at a good price in a good location. Trattoria fits the bill for me.

Trattoria Italian Kitchen is located 1850 W 4th Avenue. Vancouver, BC in Kitsilano; (604) 732-1441, www.trattoriakitchen.ca

Ah, white truffles. The season will be soon over, but you can still enjoy that intense, indescribably earthy, pungent flavour year-round with this recipe for white truffle gnocchi I nabbed from the chefs at West. I made them last weekend to universal acclaim. Which is to say that Kristil really liked them. Try ‘em with a good Barbera or Nebbiolo d’Alba. The beurre blanc recipe is adapted from Sauces, by Michel Roux.

White Truffle Gnocchi

500 g baked potato (Russet)
60 g all-purpose flour
60 white truffle flour (try James at Mikuni Wild Harvest: 604-315-2150)
10 g salt
1 lightly scrambled egg yolk

Bake 4 large potatoes on a baking sheet on a bed of coarse salt at 350 C for about an hour, or until they are cooked through. Baking the potatoes in this manner, rather than boiling them, removes excess moisture and makes the gnocchi fluffier in the end. Have the two flours and salt measured and ready to hand. You don’t have a kitchen scale? Get one! Measuring by weight is more accurate than measuring by volume, and if you consider yourself a foodist at all, it’s time you started weighing in. Scrape the salt off the bottom of each potato. Working quickly, cut them in half and use a tea towel to push them, cut side down, through a fine mesh strainer into a large, shallow mixing bowl on the scale. Don’t let the potato mixture cool. When you have the right amount in the mixing bowl, take it off the scale, and add the flour, salt, and egg yolk on top of the warm potato. Use a pastry scraper to cut the flour and egg into the potato until a rough dough just comes together.

On a lightly floured wooden cutting board (wood gives the right grip for making ANY homemade pasta) deposit about a fifth of the dough and working from the center outward, roll it into a long cigar shape. The key is to handle it as little as possible while still getting the right shape. It should be about the thickness of your index finger. Use the pastry scraper to cut off the end, then lightly pinch the dough between your left index finger and your thumb as a measure and work your way from left to right cutting the dough into bite-sized morsels. Transfer them to a floured baking sheet to await the water. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil while you’re making the beurre blanc.

White Truffle Beurre Blanc

1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup minced shallots
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and diced
salt
white truffle oil

Combine the vinegar, shallots, and water in a small, thick-bottomed saucepan and reduce the liquid over low heat by two-thirds. Remove the shallots by straining out the liquid a bowl, then rinse the remaining bits out of the pan and return the liquid to it. Add the cream and reduce again by one-third. Over low heat, whisk in the butter, a few knobs at a time. Do not let the sauce boil, or it will break! Keep it at a low simmer (about 195 F). Season with salt to taste and hit it with a good drizzle of white truffle oil to finish. Keep sauce warm while the gnocchi are cooking.

Add the gnocchi to the boiling water, and cook only until they rise to the surface. Drain in a colander, gently removing all the water, then add them to the pan with the beurre blanc. Use a spoon to move the gnocchi about and coat them evenly with the sauce, then spoon them out into awaiting warmed bowls and enjoy. You could also sauté up some wild mushrooms with shallots and butter ahead of time if you wish, and top the gnocchi with them, but they’re not essential. Gnocchilicious!

[cheers to ilmungo for the photo]