Re: [CH] What's Peg to do with her Chile Penne? Maybe: Penne with Braised Greens and Rutabaga
Art Pierce (pierces@cruzio.com)
Mon, 14 Dec 1998 14:24:00 -0800
>Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1998 17:04:57 EST
>From: PegVA@aol.com
>I have some La Belle Chile Penne Pasta... does anyone
>have any good recipes for this?
>I imagine it would make a good pasta salad.
>peg
[From the late Patrick Clark:
http://www.cuisinet.com/glossary/chfclark.html
http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Spectator/Menus/1996/jul96|2686966073573635338253454327
http://outside.starwave.com/magazine/0796/9607feday2.html
Modeled after Patrick Clark:
http://www.angelfire.com/md/chefzoop/page6.html
~~~
Penne with Braised Greens and Rutabaga
1) Cut 2 pounds rutabaga into 1.5 inch cubes. Put into a large pot. Add
3 cups water, 1.5 Tablespons butter, 1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme, 1/2
teaspoon salt. Cook over high heat until tender; drain any excess water;
set aside.
2) In a large pot, over medium heat, saute 6 slices thickly sliced
smoked bacon, julienned, until just barely crisp, remove to paper towel
to drain, set aside, and leave just enough bacon grease in the pot to
help saute remaing ingredients.
3) Add 1 onion (your choice of white, red or yellow), peeled and sliced,
1 garlic clove, crushed, and 1 teaspoon (or more, to taste) chile pepper
flakes or powder and, over medium heat, saute until onion is just barely
translucent.
4) Add 3=>4 pounds just rinsed mixed greens (collards, mustard, turnip,
kale, etc.) trimmed and cut into wide ribbons with the water that
clinging to them. Cover pot and cook until greens have just withered
down. Uncover and add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and a dozen or
so turns of black pepper. Turn heat up to medium-high and partially
cover. Cook until greens are just tender, around 15 minutes.
5) Quickly drain the greens, reserving cooking liquor.
ATTENTION: GENERIC PASTA COOKING!!! Steps 6) and 7).
6) Meanwhile, simulltaneously, in large pot, for ANY amount less than 1
pound of pasta, boil 3 quarts of water and add 1.5 Tablespoons salt per
pound of pasta; for 1 pound of pasta, boil 4.5 quarts water, then salt
with 1.5 heaping Tablespoons of salt and 1 Tablespoon of oil. (For 1.5
pounds pasta, use 5 quarts water and 2.25 Tablespoons salt and 1
Tablespoon of oil, for 2 pounds pasta, use 5.5 quarts of water and 2
Tablespoons salt and 1 Tablespoon of oil; and NEVER cook more than 2
ponds of pasta in a single pot because you can't stir it well, drain it
fast enough, and get it seasoned and coated quickly enough to keep it
from sticking together.) Then bring to a re-boil, then dump in 1 pound
pasta all at once and stir enough to keep it from sticking together,
cover so it will more quickly come to a re-boil and watch so it doesn't
boil over, then uncover and and adjust the heat to cook at a lively (but
not fierce) boil until the pasta is just (if not homemade, ignore the
times on the package) al dente: Keep tasting it until it just begins to
loose its stiffness and is tender enough so you can bite through without
snapping it, then immediately add a cup of ice-cold water to slow the
cooking; turn off the heat, and immediately drain and shake well to rid
of water (inside the tubes like penne and the like), put back into pot.
7) The instant pasta is drained, it should be coated with whatever sauce
or else it will stick together in a disastrous, gummy mass.
8) Immediately add greens and rutabaga to pasta and toss all
very gently
in the still warm pot.
9) Immediately taste and reseason if necessary and add greens' liquor if
desired to moisten a little more.
8) Immediately serve 4=>6.
My notes: I would also think about:
In step 1), substituting 1.5 inch cubes of turnip cooked in
water-thinned milk or cream and/or 1.5 cubes of parsnip for some or all
the rutabaga;
Iin step 2), subsituting really good smoked sausage for some or all of
the bacon;
In step 3), adding lots more garlic (my taste) but adding all garlic
near the end of step 3) so it doesn't get a chance to scorch and turn
bitter/burnt and adding any minced vegetables you like to the onion,
along with the heat: I really, really like Jim Campbell, Franklin,
Indiana's fireman's current grind: 80% Red Savina™, 10% Red Scotch
Bonnet, and 10% Dominican red at (317) 736-8281 [Jim, get a plug, suffer
calls] or http://wildpepper.com/smoke%20dried.html or jim@wildpepper.com
.
In step 4), the sweetness of the sugar is added to somewhat
offset/contrast the bitterness of the greens, so, for more complex
flavor I might try 1/2 teaspoon of sugar with 1/4 teaspoon of honey or
maple syrup; and, finally, adding a dash or two of balsamic vinegar
along with 1/8 teaspoon of dark brown sugar and/or dark rum;
In step 6) add combinations of oils (your choice) up to around the 1
Tablespoon limit to given a little background flavor.
~~~
Insalata
For cold, cook the pasta, immediately [I assume "immediately" was (over)
emphasized enough] toss it with 1/4 cup olive oil per pound, add a dozen
or more sliced, you pit 'em Greek (Kalamata) black olives (some of them
finely minced), optional finely minced roasted hot chiles (of your
choice) and/or roasted red bell peppers and/or anchovies, chill, and
serve garnished with lots of chopped fresh parsley.
Enjoy!
Art