Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar
Our friends, Lidia and Tanya, have created another gem of a cookbook. This one is filled with simple one-pot meals. Try this easy pasta dish that has the bright taste of basil mixed in with the tomatoes. Throw in some chicken or tuna, and you have a one-dish dinner. I would be happy to have the leftovers, cold, for the next day’s lunch. Next on my list: Italian wedding soup, skillet sausages with fennel and apples, and a bread pudding with berries.
Enter the Cookbook Giveaway of Lidia’s a Pot, a Pan, and a Bowl.
From Lidia’s a Pot, a Pan, and a Bowl by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Copyright © 2021 by Tutti a Tavola, LLC. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Mezzi Rigatoni with Raw Tomato Sauce
Mezzi Rigatoni al Pesto di Pomodoro Crudo
Serves 6
This is another recipe that is really just a starting point for your creativity and what you have on hand. You can use any type of tomatoes, as long as they are ripe and juicy—and at room temperature. You can also add other vegetables—some like grated zucchini or a few handfuls of baby spinach or kale. Also feel free to toss in some protein, like leftover cooked shrimp, roast chicken, or pork, or a can of tuna. When you chop the tomatoes, make sure to scrap the juices from the cutting board into the serving bowl along with them—that’ll be the flavor base for this easy, uncooked sauce.
Active time: 25 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Kosher salt
1 ½ pounds ripe tomatoes, preferably a variety of heirlooms
Peperoncino flakes
1 pound mezzi rigatoni
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
½ cup loosely packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into ½-inch chunks
¾ cup freshly grated Grana Padano
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Chop tomatoes into ½-inch pieces, and add them and their juices to a serving bowl. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepperoncino. Toss, and let sit while you cook the pasta.
Add the pasta to the boiling water. Meanwhile, combine the basil, parsley, and garlic in the work bowl of a mini-food processor. Pulse to make a chunky paste. With the machine running, add the olive oil to make a smooth pesto. Add to the tomato mixture, and toss. When the pasta is al dente, remove with a spider to the bowl with the tomatoes, and toss well. Add the mozzarella and grated Grana Padano, and toss well again. Season with salt if needed, toss again, and serve.
