A velvety combination of egg yolks, lemon zest, Pecorino Romano and black pepper. I first tempered the yolks with the salty, starchy pasta water before whisking in the lemon zest and parsley and tossing all the ingredients together right before serving.
Pasta
February 13, 2012
January 23, 2012
Shirataki Noodle Soup with Scallops & Squid
These shirataki noodles come in a variety of shapes and are a great, almost calorie-free, alternative to pasta. I think they work best in soups. Here I combined them with scallops, squid, bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, scallions, saffron and cilantro for a light Asian meal. These mexican fish bowls made the perfect presentation.
January 02, 2012
New Year's Macaroni & Cheese
What you cannot see from the photo is that I used orecchiette pasta, my favorite shape for macaroni and cheese. The sauce is a basic bechamel with a combination of gruyere and camembert, into which I folded a saute of wild mushrooms and leeks. The topping is a mixture of panko and parmigiano reggiano with lots of butter.
October 13, 2011
October 04, 2011
Spaghetti Puttanesca with Lump Crab
I used a couple pints of grape tomatoes for this sauce, along with olives, capers and of course anchovies. I like to cook with grape tomotoes because they're intensely flavored and don't require chopping. They simply burst as they cook. When I added several cups of the starchy pasta water the sauce took on an almost creamy consistency. I boiled the spaghetti for only a few minutes to soften it before adding it to the sauce. It therefore absorbed the complexity of flavors as it cooked. I tossed in the crab just before serving.
September 27, 2011
September 12, 2011
Squid with Fennel, Leeks & Saffron
I combined this squid with grouper and scallops and served in over linguine.
August 22, 2011
Monkfish & Razor Clams in Roasted Red Pepper-Tomato Sauce Over Multi-Grain Spaghetti
This sauce is about two thirds oraganic tomatoes and one third roasted red peppers. After it cooked down a bit I pureed it with an immersion blender until it became completely smooth and silky.
I cooked the razor clams first directly in the sauce so I could remove the shells and chop the flesh as the monfish cooked, which took only a few minutes.
I then added the not quite done pasta and the peas. To finish, I returned the chopped clams and tossed the whole thing with fresh basil.
