SPRINGTIME PASTA

It’s thundering, raining and flashes of lightning are in the distance.  This is our spring in April.  This also is the season to start thinking of small gatherings with quick to prepare but highly flavorful foods with maybe at most, 30-minute preparations. What is the most desirable dish that diners clamor for whether in spring, summer, fall, winter?  I personally will never turn down a dish with pasta as its star, its main ingredient, and its shapely texture to capture the most velvety sauces.  And springtime pasta dishes take no more than 30 minutes from boiling of the water to grating on the final garnish of cheese. No need to simmer a hearty winter sauce for hours to create a savory masterpiece, which is ready to serve in a matter of minutes with these recipes.  Springtime ingredients of mint leaves, chives, lemon zest, snow peas, spinach, asparagus, fennel, and early peas are crisp, bright green and add texture and color to any seasonal dish.

Recently, I have noticed many high end restaurants are not even offering pasta on their menus.  Emphasis is on proteins such as gourmet burgers, duck breasts, seared hanger steaks, osso bucco or even bison or buffalo preparations.  But when I was in Los Angeles last week, there were many pasta dishes offered at numerous restaurants, especially Pastaio in Beverly Hills, a restaurant whose main attraction is all things pasta, risotto and pizza.  And diners were not shunning the silky sage cream sauced tortellini with pumpkin and ricotta filling, the lightly roasted tomato coated cappellini, or the penne with peppery Italian sausage and leafy spinach.

Just this week a new restaurant opened in downtown Salt Lake City with resounding and deserved praise, an Italian Bistro and Wine Bar called Stanza.  Pasta, lots of pasta, was on the menu, one of which was house-made seaweed bucatini done in a delectably light approach with a lemon-scented broth based clam sauce. So glad to see creative chefs bringing back the carbohydrates for those of us who so miss a dish of comforting pasta when dining out. 

And there is no lack of variety when it comes to shapes offered for any sauce you may crave at home.  The artisanal pasta maker, Rustichella d'Abruzzo S.P.A has been creating dozens of shapes and sizes since the early 1900’s.  I love theirStrozzapreti, Fusilli col Buco (my favorite with Bolognese sauce), and Bucatini – the spaghetti with the hole in the center; all manufactured with different style sauces in mind.  There are hundreds of shapes to marry with hundreds of sauces from all the regions of Italy and Sicily.  And even some gluten-free choices.  Just changing up the shape of the pasta you serve can create a completely different dish than one your guests would imagine.  A thin cappellini with a light buttery seafood based sauce, or a torchiette shape for a piquant tomato-sausage-broccolini topping. 

Your local market carries this brand.  It never fails to produce a sturdy pasta, no breakage in the water, and the taste of the semolina wheat is prominent. Note:  Sometimes you are lucky and can find the Rustichella brand on the shelves at your local TJMaxx in their gourmet foods section.  I confess, when I do find a selection, I stock up. 

For your next dinner party, family supper or just because it’s Friday, here are a few recipes for your consideration.  Yes, they are under thirty minutes from start to serve.  Bring on the springtime pasta dishes!