Pasta + Noodles + Rice – Writing With My Mouth Full

Pasta with Creamed Summer Corn Sauce

Why aren’t you puréeing that corn? Because I want to leave some of them whole for texture. You’ve thought of everything!

There’s a new man in my life and he’s been quite easy to impress, but I do have to admit that even I was pretty floored with this dish I whipped up after seeing Melissa Clark’s summer corn recipe. We started our meal with a simple caprese salad and then paired this dish with a very dry rosé.

I didn’t want to buy any new pasta so I ended up using the squid ink pasta I already had. The corn came from the farmer’s market at Columbia University over the weekend, and I shucked and sliced off the kernels from the cobs before sautéeing with garlic and butter. I then puréed it to make a sauce-like consistency.

The creaminess of the corn was enough to make it so; there is no need for dairy here except for the butter, but feel free to shred some Parmesan cheese over it to give it more of a heft.

Ingredients:
a package of squid ink pasta
oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (keep the whites and greens separate)
salt, pepper
chile flakes
3 large ears corn, shucked and kernels sliced off the cobs, about 2 cups
a small know of butter
basil leaves, torn
mint leaves, finely chopped
fresh lemon juice, as needed

1. Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, drain, reserving some of pasta water, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large pan over medium heat. Sauté garlic until golden and add scallion whites. Cook until soft, about 3 minutes, and season with some salt, pepper, and chile flakes.
3. Add a splash of the pasta water and the corn kernels. Simmer until corn is heated through and almost tender, up to 5 minutes. Transfer all except a handful of corn to a food processor and purée until smooth, adding a little pasta water as needed to get a creamy but pourable texture.
4. Heat the same skillet with the corn that you didn’t purée over medium-high heat and add the puréed corn. Add butter and stir to melt. Toss in the scallion greens, basil, and mint, adding a splash of pasta water or two to keep it from getting dry. Turn off the heat and add pasta, gently tossing to coat. Serve with lemon slices.

Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles

There are a few cuisines that I crave for, and one of them is Sichuan food. This recipe looks long, but once you have your mise en place organized, you can follow my steps easily. I also substituted a few things that will be more common in your pantry. Most of the Asian ingredients here are now widely available at your store–you know, in the “Oriental” aisle–so no need to order online. You may also replace Shaoxing wine with rice vinegar, and double your soy sauce to pretend you have dark soy sauce.

Sui mi ya cai is preserved mustard greens that you have to buy at the Asian market, but it’s optional for this dish even though it provides a nice sourness and crunch to the dish. Once you buy it though, I guarantee you’ll put it on everything you eat. I also used spaghetti noodles here because the “white noodles” I find in Chinatown are simply called that; I have no idea what they really are. So to avoid confusion, just use spaghetti.

Ingredients:
For the chili oil:
2 tbsps Sichuan peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
1 cup canola oil
1/4 cup red pepper flakes

For the meat:
3 tsps canola oil
half-pound ground pork
2 tsps hoisin sauce
2 tsps Shaoxing wine
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp five spice powder
1/3 cup sui mi ya cai, or preserved mustard greens

For the sauce:
2 tbsps tahini sauce
3 tbsps soy sauce
2 tsps sugar
1/4 tsp five spice powder
1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, grounded
1/2 cup of your prepared chili oil
2 cloves garlic, very finely minced

For the rest:
1 lb spaghetti noodles
1 bunch of spinach or bok choy
scallions, roughly chopped

1. Make the chili oil. In a small pot, add the Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon stick, star anise, and oil. Over medium low heat, slowly heat to 325 degrees, and then turn off the heat. Steep for about 5 minutes, then remove the peppercorns, cinnamon stick, and star anise with a slotted spoon. Mix in the crushed red pepper flakes and allow them to steep in the hot oil. Allow the oil to cool. Set aside and store in a glass jar and keep refrigerated.
2. Make the meat mixture. In a large Dutch oven, heat a teaspoon of oil over medium heat and brown the ground pork. Add the hoisin sauce, Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, and five spice powder. (Add the preserved mustard greens here if using.) Cook until all the liquid is evaporated and remove to a plate.
3. Cook the noodles according to package directions and drain. Save the water for the sauce and to blanch the greens. Set aside.
4. Make the sauce. Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust by adding more of the noodle water to thin it out if you like.
4. Assemble. Divide the sauce among four serving bowls. Add noodles. Top with the greens. Add the pork. Let your guests mix everything with chopsticks.

Chicken and Tofu Pad Thai

Pad Thai is one of those dishes I like to make to hold me over another meal that takes more time to prepare. I thought about making this one while I was waiting for beef ribs to braise. I already had most of the ingredients in the pantry, being this an Asian kitchen and all; I just walked over to the nearest grocery store in Harlem to buy the red bell pepper, the tofu, and the bean sprouts.

The key here is not to overcook the noodles. Soaking them in cold water after cooking is important. The cold water shocks the noodles and stops them from cooking any further. They get heated up again when you assemble the entire dish together towards the end.

Ingredients:
rice noodles
vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 red onion, sliced
ground chicken
1 red bell pepper, seeded, sliced
1 package extra firm tofu, diced
scallions, finely chopped
2 handfuls of bean sprouts
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts, toasted, crushed
cilantro, finely chopped
lime wedges

For the sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
lime juice
a few jiggers of fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1-2 Thai chiles, chopped

1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add rice noodles; let stand 8 to 10 minutes or until noodles are soft but firm. Rinse under cold water; drain well. Set aside.
2. Make the sauce: combine all sauce ingredients and stir until sugar is diluted. Adjust to taste; it should be salty enough with a sour kick and not at all sweet. Add chiles for heat. Set aside.
3. Heat a little oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add egg; scramble until set. Remove from skillet. Set aside.
4. Add more oil to skillet. Sauté garlic until brown and then the onions until translucent. Add chicken; stir-fry until cooked through. Add the bell pepper, the tofu, scallions, and bean sprouts. Stir-fry until bell pepper is soft, about 5 minutes. Pour in half of the sauce and incorporate.
5. Drain the rice noodles and add to the skillet and keep stir-frying. Add remaining sauce to balance everything out. Remove from heat. Stir in scrambled egg and sprinkle with the peanuts. Serve with cilantro sprigs and lime wedges.

Black Tagliatelle with Hot Sausage and Littleneck Clams

I wanted to take on making pasta again at home so I stopped by Buon Italia’s joint in Chelsea Market to buy cuttlefish ink to make black pasta. My heart broke when my dough refused to form so I ended up throwing everything including the 10 egg yolks required. It’s a very expensive hobby, pasta-making; I don’t know why I can’t seem to do it myself. I was fine while I was taking the class at Rustico Cooking; perhaps it’s time to retake the class just to get the feel of the dough again.

The good thing is that I bought black tagliatelle as well for backup. I didn’t want to spend more money buying Nduja sausages so I just picked up regular hot sausages. The clam shells were heavy but were a great addition to this dish. It was very pretty at the end and I highly recommend making this when you have a night to tuck it in with a nice glass of red wine.

Ingredients:
olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 sweet onion, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
20 littleneck clams, rinsed and scrubbed
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 hot Italian sausages, removed from casing
1 tbsp tomato paste
black tagliatelle pasta
fresh lemon juice
2 tbsps butter
a handful of parsley, finely chopped
breadcrumbs
2 scallions, sliced thinly

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the garlic until light golden brown. Add the onions and sweat until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the bay leaves, clams and half of the wine. Cover the pot and steam for 5 to 7 minutes, removing the clams as they open. Strain the cooking liquid and set aside in a bowl. Remove and reserve the meat from the clams and roughly chop; discard shells.
2. In a skillet, cook the sausage pieces and render the fat. Crush the sausages into smaller pieces with the back of your spatula while cooking. Deglaze the pan with the remaining wine and reduce by half by simmering in low fire. Add tomato paste and reserved clam juice and bring to a simmer.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in another pot of boiling water until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the sausage. Add the reserved clams and butter and toss over medium-high heat until the pasta is well coated, about 2 minutes. Stir in the pasta water a little bit at a time so it has a nice consistency. To finish, toss with the lemon juice and parsley and garnish with the breadcrumbs and scallions.

Penne with Squash Blossoms

Summer came in late for us here in New York City. It’s already September and I’m only starting to see summer produce at the farmers’ markets. It was with some shock that I bought squash blossoms when I saw them at my Harlem’s produce stand one Tuesday morning while walking my dog Atticus.

Ingredients:
olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
a handful of parsley, finely chopped
12 zucchini blossoms, halved; stems removed if hardy
salt
6 saffron threads
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 egg yolk
penne pasta
Pecorino Romano, shaved

1. Put a large pot of salted water over high heat; this will be your pasta pot.
2. In the meantime, heat a splash of olive oil and the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the red onion, celery, carrot, and parsley, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are translucent. Add the zucchini blossoms, a pinch or two of salt, and the saffron, and stir gently to mix.
3. Add about 3/4 cup of broth, and stir to combine. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the rest of the broth a splash or two at a time, taking about 5 minutes to add it all. Stir frequently. Allow the sauce to simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated and only a thin film of thickened broth remains in the pan. Remove from the heat.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk slightly with a fork. Meanwhile, cook the pasta until tender but al dente. When the pasta is almost ready, place the zucchini blossom sauce back over medium heat. Use a small measuring cup to scoop up about 3 tbsps of pasta water and, whisking constantly with a fork, gradually add the hot water to the egg yolk: together, they should make a loose, pale yellow liquid. Pour this mixture into the sauce in the skillet, stirring well. Scoop some cooked pasta into a serving bowl, and toss with the sauce. Top with shaved cheese.