Here's a dish that is perfect for those nights when you have no time to cook or when you just want a delicious dinner. Because salmon is an oily fish, it freezes well so if you keep it on hand along with some marinara sauce and cream, dinner can be ready in the time it takes to boil water and cook the pasta! P.S. It is a perfect company dish! The ingredients: 5 oz. penne pasta 8 oz. fresh salmon 1/2 cup marinara sauce, preferably homemade 1/2 cup heavy cream Basil leaves
There are a number of recipes where the less you do the better the dish. Lobster rolls and crab cakes come to mind immediately. What you want is the taste of the main ingredient without a lot of other flavors vying for attention. Linguini with clam sauce is another such dish - not only does it benefit from not being fussed with, but by the time the pasta is cooked, dinner is three minutes from the table!
Ingredients:
6 ounces linguini
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 plump garlic clove, grated
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
¼ cup white wine
2 dozen littleneck clams
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Put the clams in a large container, cover with cold water and allow to sit for 20 to 30 minutes. This will allow them to disgorge any sand. Scrub the clams thoroughly and set aside.
Put 4 quarts of water on to boil in a large pot. When the water comes to a boil, season lightly with salt, add the pasta and cook for two minutes less than the recommended time. Drain the pasta, reserving ¼ cup of the cooking water.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, just until fragrant. Add the pepper flakes and cook for a moment or two more. Add the wine and clams and turn the heat to high. Cover the skillet and cook until the clams open - about 5 minutes. Use tongs to transfer opened clams to a bowl. Discard any clams that do not open.
Add the reserved pasta water to the skillet, bring to a boil and add pasta to pan. Cook over high heat, turning with tongs until pasta is fully cooked. Add the clams and any accumulated juices to the pan and toss with the parsley to combine.
Transfer to warmed serving dishes.
WATCH THE VIDEO DEMONSTRATION
COMMENTS:
annette brent
I am cooking this tonight. Thank you for a great video - well-made and demonstrated.
Like many old recipes, this dish has a number of stories connected with it. Some say it was a favorite of the charcoal makers and some give credit to coal miners. Whoever invented it deserves a medal! It is another one of these great pasta dishes that can be put together while the water comes to a boil. If you plan ahead and keep some Parmegiano Reggiano cheese in the refrigerator, and pancetta in your freezer (I buy several ¼" thick slices at a time, usually each slice weighs about 2 oz., chop them and package them in 2 oz. quantities in plastic bags) you always have the ingredients for a delicious meal on hand. Add a Caesar Salad and no one would guess you hadn't planned this for days!
Spaghetti Carbonara
4 oz. pancetta, chopped
2 oz. pecorino (or locatelli) cheese, grated
2 oz. parmesan, grated
3 large eggs
12 oz. spaghetti
2 plump garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the back of a knife
2 oz. unsalted butter
Freshly ground black pepper
Put a large saucepan of water on to boil.
Fry the pancetta on low heat until starting to brown. Add the garlic and cook until the garlic is browned and the pancetta is golden and crisp. Remove the garlic and any excess fat and discard. Add the butter and keep the heat on low.
Whisk the eggs and add most of the cheeses.
Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the boiling water, add the spaghetti and when the water comes back to the boil, cook at a constant simmer for 6 minutes, or until al dente.
When the pasta is ready, lift it from the water with a pasta fork or tongs and put it in the frying pan with the pancetta. Don’t worry if a little water drops in the pan and don’t throw the rest of the pasta water away yet!
Mix most of the cheese in with the eggs, keeping a small handful back for sprinkling over later. Take the pan of spaghetti and pancetta off the heat. Now quickly pour in the eggs and cheese and, using tongs or a long fork, lift up the spaghetti so it mixes easily with the egg mixture, which thickens but doesn’t scramble, and everything is coated. Add extra pasta cooking water to keep it saucy (several tablespoons should do it). You don’t want it wet, just moist.
Serve immediately with a little sprinkling of the remaining cheese and a grating of black pepper. If the dish does get a little dry before serving, splash in some more hot pasta water and the glossy sauciness will be revived.
