The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (92 page)

SERVES 4

High-quality ingredients are essential in this dish, most importantly, canned tomatoes, green olives, and Italian-style canned tuna packed in olive oil.

1.
Heat oil and garlic in large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until garlic turns golden but not brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and reserved tomato juice, bring to simmer, and cook until tomatoes soften and sauce thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. Stir tuna and olives into sauce and continue to simmer until flavors meld, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

2.
Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve ¹⁄
₂
cup cooking water, then drain pasta and return it to pot. Add sauce to pasta and toss to combine. Add reserved cooking water as needed to adjust consistency. Serve immediately.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

While oil-packed tuna works best as a supporting player in tomato-based pasta sauce, we prefer the type packed in water when tuna is the star of the show. For a well-balanced sauce we shredded the tuna to a fine, even texture and carefully chose ingredients to complement its flavor. Capers, garlic, lemon, red peppers, and olives all made the cut. As for the type of pasta, spaghetti and linguine failed to hold onto the sauce, but short, tubular shapes held onto it well.

SERVES 4

In addition to penne or fusilli, any short, tubular, or molded pasta will work well.

1.
Heat oil, capers, half of garlic, and pepper flakes in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until garlic turns golden but not brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in wine, bring to simmer, and cook until alcohol aroma has cooked off, about 1 minute. Stir in tuna and 2 teaspoons salt and cook, stirring often, until tuna is heated through, about 1 minute.

2.
Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve ¹⁄
₄
cup cooking water, then drain pasta and return it to pot. Add sauce, parsley, lemon zest, butter, and remaining garlic to pasta and toss to combine. Add reserved cooking water as needed to adjust consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Omit capers, lemon zest, and butter. Add 2 rinsed and minced anchovy fillets and 1 cup jarred roasted red peppers, cut into ¹⁄
₂
-inch pieces, to cooked garlic mixture and cook for 30 seconds before adding wine. Substitute 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil for parsley and add 3 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to pasta with sauce.

Omit capers and lemon zest. Add ¹⁄
₂
cup pitted green olives, sliced, and ¹⁄
₂
cup raisins to cooked garlic mixture and cook for 30 seconds before continuing with recipe. Substitute ¹⁄
₄
cup dry red wine for white wine and add ¹⁄
₄
cup balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons sugar along with wine. Substitute 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil for parsley and add 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar to pasta with sauce.

Omit capers, lemon zest, and butter. Reduce olive oil to 2 tablespoons in step 1. Add one 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained, to cooked garlic mixture and cook for 30 seconds before continuing with recipe. Substitute ¹⁄
₂
cup dry red wine for white wine. Substitute 2 tablespoons minced fresh mint for parsley and add 3 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar to pasta along with sauce.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Most recipes for shrimp fra diavolo (“brother devil” in Italian) lack depth of flavor, with the star ingredients, shrimp and garlic, contributing little to an acrid, unbalanced tomato sauce. We wanted a seriously garlicky, spicy, winey tomato sauce studded with sweet, firm shrimp. To get there, we seared and flambéed the shrimp with cognac to caramelize them and enrich their sweetness. Then we sautéed the garlic slowly for a mellow, nutty flavor and reserved a tablespoon of raw garlic for a last-minute punch of heat and spice. Simmering diced canned tomatoes with a splash of white wine (balanced by a bit of sugar) completed our perfect fra diavolo recipe in less than 30 minutes.

SERVES 4

One teaspoon of red pepper flakes will give the sauce a little kick, but you may want to add more depending on your taste. Before flambéing, be sure to roll up long shirtsleeves, tie back long hair, and turn off the exhaust fan and any lit burners.

1.
Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve ¹⁄
₂
cup cooking water, then drain pasta and return it to pot.

2.
Meanwhile, toss shrimp with 2 tablespoons oil, ¹⁄
₂
teaspoon red pepper flakes, and ³⁄
₄
teaspoon salt. Heat 12-inch skillet over high heat. Add shrimp, spread into even layer, and cook, without stirring, until bottoms of shrimp turn spotty brown, about 30 seconds. Off heat, flip shrimp, then add cognac and let warm through, about 5 seconds. Wave lit match over pan until cognac ignites, then shake pan to distribute flames. When flames subside, transfer shrimp to bowl and set aside. Cool skillet slightly, about 3 minutes.

3.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil and three-quarters of garlic in now-empty skillet over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until garlic foams and is sticky and straw-colored, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, wine, sugar, ³⁄
₄
teaspoon salt, and remaining ¹⁄
₂
teaspoon pepper flakes, increase heat to medium-high, and simmer until thickened, about 8 minutes.

4.
Stir shrimp along with any accumulated juices, parsley, and remaining garlic into sauce. Simmer until shrimp have heated through, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add ¹⁄
₂
cup sauce (without shrimp) to pasta and toss to combine. Add reserved cooking water as needed to adjust consistency. Serve immediately, topping individual bowls with shrimp and more sauce.

The scallops leave more flavorful drippings in the skillet than the shrimp, and these drippings can make the garlic appear straw-colored before it is done cooking. Make sure that it is fragrant, looks sticky, and has cooked for the full 10 minutes.

Substitute 1 pound sea scallops, tendons removed, for shrimp.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Some sauces, such as Alfredo sauce, are best paired with fresh pasta, and some filled pasta like ravioli also require fresh pasta. While fresh pasta can be found in many supermarkets and specialty shops—if you’re lucky enough to live near one—we wanted a foolproof recipe for fresh pasta and we wanted it to be easy to knead. We found that the food processor effectively kneaded our simple dough, made with just flour and eggs, almost to perfection. Kneading the dough by hand for an additional minute or two made our pasta dough silky and smooth. Running the dough, in pieces, through a manual pasta machine until it was translucent gave us the delicate pasta we were after.

See “ROLLING OUT PASTA DOUGH” illustrations that follow recipe.

MAKES ABOUT 1 POUND FRESH PASTA

Although the food processor does most of the work, finish kneading this dough by hand. This pasta dough can be used for ravioli, tortellini, or fettuccine.

1.
Pulse flour in food processor to aerate. Add eggs and process until dough forms rough ball, about 30 seconds. (If dough resembles small pebbles, add water, ¹⁄
₂
teaspoon at a time; if dough sticks to side of bowl, add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, and process until dough forms rough ball.)

2.
Turn out dough ball and any small bits onto counter and knead by hand until dough is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to relax for at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours.

3.
Cut dough into 5 even pieces and, using manual pasta machine, roll out dough into sheets. (Leave pasta in sheets for filled and hand-shaped pastas or cut into long strands to make fettuccine.)

Add ¹⁄
₃
cup minced fresh herbs (parsley, basil, mint, or any combination) to flour along with eggs.

Decrease eggs to 2. Add 3 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry, with eggs.