AUNTIE PASTA: Mediterranean Pasta Salad

CHIAVARI, Italy – You probably already know there is no shortage of pasta salad recipes on the Internet, but today’s pasta salad has a bit of a twist, it contains cooked green peppers. It’s not unusual to find peppers in pasta salads, they are an essential ingredient in Italian cooking along with tomatoes, pasta, olive oil and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, but cooked peppers in a cold salad, that's something else.  

 All Kinds of Pasta Make Good Salads

Peppers were not always part of Italian cuisine. They were brought to Europe after Christopher Columbus discovered America. It was the Spanish and Portuguese explorers who had been sent to the Americas to claim land for Spain who brought them back. I’m sure the King and Queen of Spain were just thrilled when the explorers carried crates of peppers to the Royal Palace instead of crates of gold, although they brought plenty of gold as well.

As the Spaniards began bringing the vegetables they saw the Aztec Indians of South America eating, vegetables like peppers, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, pumpkins and squash, they caused quite a stir. None of the Europeans, including the Italians, had ever seen anything like them, and frankly, they were a little suspicious of these strange looking plants. 

They believed tomatoes and peppers were poisonous and only used them for ornamental purposes. Today, three-fifths of the vegetables that we eat originally came from the land of the Aztecs, the people Columbus named Indians. He was a little bit confused you see, and didn’t know where he was. He thought he had landed in the East Indies, instead he was in what would later be named the Americas. 

MEDITERRANEAN PASTA SALAD 

Serves 6

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound (500 grams) farfalle (bow-tie) or fusilli pasta, freshly cooked and drained

1pound (500 grams) cooked deveined peeled shrimp, cut lengthwise in half

½ cup finely chopped sweet red onion

½ cup each of diced red, green and yellow peppers fried in olive oil and garlic

 3/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil

Mix the farfalle, shrimp, onion, and (cooled to room temperature) fried peppers in a large bowl and toss to mix. Add additional olive oil if needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

You can also add any of the following instead of, or together with the shrimp: crab meat, mussels, chopped hard sausage, cooked and cubed chicken or turkey breast, chopped fresh tomatoes, black olives and scallions. Pasta is the most wonderful food, it’s like a blank canvas, happy to take on almost anything you want to mix with it.

Insiders Tip: Here in Italy Italian cooks start frying peppers (and onions) in a little olive oil and after they have cooked for several minutes, they add a half a ladle (more or less) of hot water to the pan and cover it. They let the peppers (or onions) steam over low heat, and when they are soft they take the lid off of the pan and in a minute or so the peppers, or onions, start frying once again.

I confess I steam both peppers and onions in a covered dish in the microwave before I fry them. The flavor may not be as intense as doing it the Italian way, but it saves me time and the bother of having to hover over the stove watching the pan for the right time to remove the lid. Just don’t tell anyone I told you this. I wouldn’t want my deepest, darkest cooking secrets to get around.

AUNTIE PASTA: Pretty Peppery

SARONNO, Italy – There is no shortage of pasta salad recipes on the internet, but today’s pasta salad has a bit of a twist, it contains cooked green peppers. It’s not unusual to find peppers in pasta salads, they are an essential ingredient in Italian cooking along with tomatoes, pasta, olive oil and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, but cooked peppers, that's something else.  

Lots of Pastas for Pasta Salad

But peppers were not always part of Italian cuisine. They were brought to Europe after Christopher Columbus discovered America by the Spanish and Portuguese who had been sent to the Americas to claim land for Spain.

The Spaniards began bringing back to Europe some of the vegetables they saw the Aztec Indians of South America eating, vegetables like peppers, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, pumpkins and squash, which none of which the Europeans, including the Italians had ever seen before. Like tomatoes, when pepper plants were first introduced in Europe, the Europeans thought peppers were poisonous and only used them for ornamental purposes. Today, three-fifths of the vegetables that we eat today originally came from the land of the Aztecs, the people Columbus named Indians. He was a little bit confused you see, and didn’t know where he was. He thought he had landed in the East Indies, instead he was in what would later be named the Americas. 

   I Pepperoni Sono Troppo Belli

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Serves 6

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound (500 grams) farfalle (bow-tie) pasta, freshly cooked, rinsed, drained

1pound (500 grams) cooked deveined peeled shrimp, cut lengthwise in half

½ cup finely chopped sweet red onion

½ cup each of diced red, green and yellow peppers fried in olive oil and garlic

 3/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil

Mix the farfalle, shrimp, onion, and (cooled to room temperature) fried peppers in a large bowl and toss to mix. Add additional olive oil if needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

You can also add crab meat, mussels, chopped hard sausage, cooked and cubed chicken or turkey breast, chopped fresh tomatoes, black olives and scallions. Pasta is the most wonderful food, it’s like a blank canvas, happy to take on whatever you want, or whatever you have on hand, to add to it.

Insiders Tip: Here in Italy Italian cooks start frying peppers (and onions) in a little olive oil and after they have cooked for several minutes, they add a half a ladle (more or less) of hot water to the pan and cover it. They let the peppers (or onions) steam over low heat, and when they are soft they take the lid off of the pan and in a minute or so the peppers, or onions, start frying once again.

I confess I steam both peppers and onions in a covered dish in the microwave before I fry them. The flavor may not be as intense as doing it the Italian way, but it saves me time and the bother of having to hover over the stove watching the pan for the right time to remove the lid. Just don’t tell anyone I told you this. I wouldn’t want my darkest, deepest cooking secrets to get around.

AUNTIE PASTA: Summer Sizzle

SARONNO,  Italy - Mediterranean summers can sizzle and according to Italian dieticians, our bodies need a different balance of foods than the ones we consume during the cooler months. The latest Italian magazines are full of articles on how important it is to eat healthy and well, to use seasonal produce, and stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. To prove their point they publish page after page of slim and sleek Italian beauties romping on the beaches along the Italian Riviera or sunning themselves poolside at posh Sardinian resorts. 

 Posh Sardinian Resort

You are what you eat write the experts. The condition of your skin, your hair and your overall appearance depends on your diet, and for that reason Italians are always super aware of what they eat and drink. Foods rich in potassium  (tomatoes, beans, lentils) and magnesium (fish, spinach, broccoli) are particularly important in the Italian diet because those minerals help our bodies to recover water and salts lost during sun exposure. Here are some other hot weather tips they suggest to keep you beautiful and healthy under the summer sun.

1. Don’t skip meals. It’s better to eat three meals a day plus two snacks. Lunch time in Italy is 1PM, dinner time is 7 PM. Snack time is 11AM and 5PM.  Children in particular need to eat more often during the summer to maintain their energy and nutritional levels. Ice cream is OK in the afternoon, but a slice of pizza or focaccia is preferred for the morning snack.

2. Eat less to avoid overloading your digestive system - and gaining weight.

3. Eat what is in season. Choose fresh summer fruits and vegetables, avoid highly spiced foods and processed foods. Grilled lean meat and fish are good choices.

4. Ice cream is good for you, as is yogurt and cheese. All in moderation of course.

5. Avoid sugary carbonated drinks, they are especially bad for children.  Adults should avoid excessive amounts of alcohol. 

So what’s good? I like pasta salads. Pasta is the most wonderful food, it’s like a blank canvas, happy to take on whatever you want to add to it. The only ingredients that don’t work are vinegar and lemon juice, pasta salads do not require either one of them, in fact the acidity works against the flavors. It’s best to just use good quality extra virgin olive oil and if you want, some fresh basil or finely chopped rosemary.

A Little of This, A Little of That

 PASTA SALAD   

 INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

150 grams carrots

120 grams of Swiss (Emmental) cheese

1 slice of mortadella or boiled ham

400 grams of fusilli pasta

200 grams peas (fresh or frozen)

450 grams zucchini

180 grams cherry tomatoes (Perini preferred)

2/3 tablespoon chopped parsley

Salt (Q.B.*)

Extra virgin olive oil (Q.B.)

Fresh ground pepper (Q.B.)

Finely chop the parley and set aside (1). Wash and chop the tomatoes (2), wash and peel the carrots and cut them on the diagonal as shown in the photo (3). Set aside the tomatoes and carrots.

Wash and trim the zucchini, cut into strips and then cube (4). At this point blanch the vegetables, fill a pot of water, add salt and bring to a boil. Put the carrots in the boiling water for 3 or 4 minutes, scoop out with a strainer and put into a dish and set aside (5). Using the same water, do the same with the zucchini letting them cook for 5 or 6 minutes before scooping them out, draining them and setting them aside (6).

Then blanch the peas, but only for 2 minutes. Then drain them and set them aside (7). Be careful not to over salt the water you are blanching the vegetables in. Cut the mortadella or ham and cheese into chucks and set aside (8-9). 

At this point cook the fusilli pasta al dente. When they are cooked, scoop out a half a cup or so of the cooking water and set that aside. Drain the pasta and then either run it under cold water or put it in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. Drizzle a very small amount of oil over the cooked pasta to keep it from sticking, (10) and set aside until it is cold. Put the tomatoes, (11) and the cheese and mortadella (12) into a large bowl.   

Add the parsley (13), the zucchini (14) and the peas (15),

then the carrots (16). Then add the pasta (17) mix it all together and add the olive oil, salt and pepper. If your pasta salad seems a little dry you can add a spoonful or two of the cooking water you set aside earlier to the mix. 

*Q.B. Quanto Basta – to taste.