Tagliatelle With Bacon Burst Cherry Tomatoes And Arugula Food

BLT PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of well-salted water (2 heaping tablespoons kosher salt to about 7 quarts water) to a boil. Add pasta and cook until it is just under al dente, 1 minute less than package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, and drain the pasta.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce: Place the bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-low heat until crisp, stirring occasionally to make sure it does not burn, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate lined with paper towels. Turn heat to medium and add the tomatoes to the skillet, tossing them to coat in the bacon fat. Season with salt and pepper. As the moisture from the tomatoes releases, scrape any browned bits that have accumulated at the bottom of the pan (add a few tablespoons of the pasta water if you need to) and continue to cook until the tomatoes begin to fall apart, about 5 to 7 minutes more. Add half the cooked bacon back to the skillet and toss to combine.
• Increase the heat to medium-high and add the pasta directly to the skillet tossing to coat with the sauce. Add the arugula and 1/4 cup of the pasta water and carefully toss (you'll have a very full pan) until the arugula wilts. Add the cheese and an additional 1/4 cup pasta water and toss together until the cheese emulsifies and the pasta is glossy with sauce. If needed, add another 1/4 cup pasta water to loosen the sauce.
• Serve in bowls and top with remaining bacon. Pass the grated Pecorino Romano at the table and season with flaky salt, if desired.

PASTA WITH CHERRY TOMATOES AND ARUGULA

Steps:

• Combine the cherry tomatoes, garlic, salt, balsamic vinegar, arugula, basil, and olive oil in a wide bowl. Let sit for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add a generous amount of salt and the pasta. Cook al dente, until the pasta is firm to the bite. Drain, toss with the tomatoes, sprinkle on the cheese, and serve.

HARD POLENTA CAKES WITH TALEGGIO AND CHERRY TOMATOES

Steps:

• Combine the milk, 1/2 cup water, the cayenne and bay leaf in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and season generously with salt. You want to take the seasoning to the edge of too salty in this case; to do this you MUST taste as you go! Polenta acts like a "salt eraser"; if you don't salt abundantly in this early step, you'll never recover.
• When the liquid comes to a boil, gradually sprinkle in the polenta, whisking constantly. Once the polenta is combined, IMMEDIATELY switch over to a wooden spoon and stir frequently until the polenta thickens, 30 to 35 minutes. Taste the polenta to see if it's cooked through. If it still feels mealy and grainy, add some more milk or water and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Repeat this process as needed until the polenta feels smooth on your tongue. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the mascarpone and Parmigiano-Reggiano, then remove from the heat.
• Line a 7-inch square baking pan with plastic wrap. Pour the polenta into the pan and cover with plastic, pressing down so the plastic sits on the surface of the polenta. Chill until set, at least 45 minutes. (All of this can totally be done ahead of time, like yesterday!)
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut the cooled polenta into 1-inch squares. Place the squares on a baking sheet and top each with a piece of taleggio. Put the cherry tomatoes on a separate baking sheet and toss them with olive oil. Bake both the polenta squares and the tomatoes for 10 minutes. The tomatoes should be hot, starting to relax and getting a little squishy, and the taleggio should be nicely melted. Place the polenta cakes on a serving dish, top each square with a tomato half, and garnish each with a little sprinkey-dink of coarse sea salt and chives.

TAGLIATELLE WITH SHRIMP, ZUCCHINI AND CHERRY TOMATOES

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over medium heat.
• Coat a large, wide pot set over medium-high heat with olive oil. Toss in the garlic and crushed red pepper. When the garlic becomes golden and very aromatic, remove from the pan and discard. Toss in the tomatoes, zucchini and onions and roll them around in the oil. Add 1 cup of the stock and season with salt. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the tomatoes start to burst and give off their juices, 8 to 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup more stock if the liquid level is very low.
• Drop the tagliatelle into the boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Toss the shrimp into the pot with the tomatoes and stir to combine. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, and then toss the pasta immediately into the pot with the tomato mixture. Add in the reserved cooking water, if needed. Toss vigorously to combine. Remove from the heat and drizzle some finishing oil over the top, then add the Parmesan and a sprinkling of fresh oregano to garnish. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter and serve immediately.
• Place the flour on a clean dry work surface. Make a hole (this is also called a well) in the center of the flour about 8-inches wide (bigger is definitely better here). Crack all of the eggs and the yolk into the hole and add the olive oil, a pinch of salt and 1 to 2 tablespoons water.
• Using a fork, beat the eggs together with the olive oil, water and salt. Then begin to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture; be careful not to break the sides of the well or the egg mixture will run all over your board and you will have a big mess! Also, don't worry about the lumps. When enough flour has been incorporated into the egg mixture that it will not run all over the place when the sides of the well are broken, begin to use your hands to really get everything well combined. If the mixture is tight and dry, wet your hands and begin kneading with wet hands. When the mixture has really come together as a homogeneous mixture, THEN you can start kneading.
• When kneading it is VERY important to put your body weight into it, get on top of the dough to really stretch, but not to tear, the dough. Using the heels of your palms, roll the dough to create a very smooooooth, supple dough. When done, the dough should look VERY smooth and feel almost velvety. Kneading will usually take 8 to 10 minutes for an experienced kneader and 10 to 15 minutes for an inexperienced kneader. Put your body weight into it, you need to knead! This is where the perfect, toothsome texture of your pasta is formed. Get in there and have fun!
• When the pasta has been kneaded to the perfect consistency, wrap it in plastic and let rest for at least 1 hour. If using immediately, do not refrigerate.
• To roll out the pasta, you need to run the dough through a pasta roller a bunch of times to get it long and thin. To start, cut off about a quarter of the dough, keeping the rest wrapped up so it doesn't dry out. Squish the dough to flatten it. Run the dough through the pasta roller starting on the widest setting, number 1. Then dust the dough with flour, fold it into thirds, and put the dough through this setting two more times. If the dough ever feels sticky or tacky, dust with flour. Now adjust the setting to number 2 and repeat the process again, changing the setting each time until the dough reaches the desired thickness. Once the dough is rolled out, be sure to keep the pasta covered so it doesn't dry out. Repeat this process with the remaining dough, then cut the dough to the desires pasta shape.

TAGLIATELLE WITH CORN AND CHERRY TOMATOES

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and add the garlic and the crushed red pepper. Bring the pan to a medium-high heat. When the garlic has turned a lovely golden brown color, remove it and discard. Add the grape tomatoes and half the stock and season with salt. Simmer the pan until the tomatoes have wilted and let off their juices. Add the corn and the remaining stock and simmer until the corn is cooked through.
• While the corn is cooking add the pasta to the pot of salty boiling water. Cook the pasta until the water comes back to a rolling boil plus 1 minute. Remove the pasta from the water and add it to the saute pan with the tomatoes and corn. Add about a half a cup of the pasta cooking water and cook until the water has evaporated and the sauce clings to the pasta. Remove the pan from the heat. Toss in the parmigiana, basil and a big drizzle of high quality extra-virgin olive oil. Stir or toss the pasta vigorously. Divide the pasta between 2 serving dishes, sprinkle with a little more grated parmigiana, and serve immediately.
• Buonissimo!!
• Why We Love: Corn

PASTA WITH 15-MINUTE BURST CHERRY TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente; drain and transfer to a large bowl.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a 12" skillet or wide heavy saucepan over medium-high. Add garlic, then tomatoes, pepper, sugar, and 1 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes burst and release their juices to form a sauce, 6-8 minutes.
• Toss pasta with tomato sauce and basil. Top with Parmesan.