So this week's recipe book is
Title: Skinny Italian
Author: Teresa Giudice
Publisher: Hyperion New York
ISBN: 9781401310356
Teresa's Favourite Tagliatelle
1 pound (450g) tagliatelle or linguine pasta
3T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2T butter
5 ounces (140g) think sliced smoked ham, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1C cooked fresh or thawed frozen peas
1/4t salt
1/8t freshly ground black pepper
Parmigiano-Reggiano to serve if desired.
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Time the pasta so it is done at about the same time as the sauce
2. Meanwhile heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the butter and melt. Add the ham and peas and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 3 minutes more. Reduce the heat to very low to keep warm.
3. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot. Add the sauce and the salt and pepper. Toss the pasta, adding enough of the pasta water to make a light sauce. Serve hot, with some parmigiano-reggiano on top.
Serves 6.
My review.
In the ingredients, it calls for any smoked ham. I used pancetta but I think normal smoked ham thickly sliced is what the author meant. At first when I tasted the sauce, I thought that it would be waaay too salty with the pancetta but once you make a sauce with the pasta water then and stir through the pasta, it is fine. I added about three tablespoons of the cooking water but that was not nearly enough, so I had to add a fair bit more. There is a reason the author leaves a whole cup of pasta water behind. You might end up needing it. I did not use all of it, but you have a fair bit of pasta to cover with the sauce.
At first I thought that 3T of olive oil was a bit too much, but over 6 serves, it is really not that much, and when you mix in the pasta water it helps to make a creamy sauce.
All in all it is a pretty easy recipe that can be used as a base for many varieties.. I have some mushrooms in the fridge so I think tomorrows leftovers will have some sauteed mushrooms mixed through.
As the book is American, it uses their measurements. I have used an online converter to give you the Australian measurements, but 1 pound of pasta is 450 grams and our pasta packets come in 500 grams, so I just used one whole packet. I was really not going to leave 50 grams of pasta out just for accuracy...
At any rate, it is a great recipe to play with and make your own.
The book itself is pretty interesting and not at all what I expected. I expected Italian food re-done diet style, but the author is more about eating good food and eating well the Italian way. As the cover says, eat it and enjoy it.....
