Spicy Pasta with Tomatoes

Homemade noodles 

Penne noodles

This is the most simple but savory and truly authentic Italian pasta dish. I made up this recipe and I love foods that are moderately spicy. But do not worry, this dish is still comforting as well. The sauce goes well with any type of pasta. 

Serves: 3 

Ingredients: 

• 3 tablespoons of olive oil 
• 2 pieces of garlic
• 1-2 teaspoons of chili flakes
• 2 chopped tomatoes 
• Grated cheese of choice (Parmesan, Romano, Pecorino Romano, Asiago) 
• 3/4 lb of pasta 
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions: 

• Heat up two pans - one with the chopped tomatoes, one tablespoon of olive oil and one piece of garlic and the other with the other two tablespoons of olive oil, the chili flakes and the other garlic. Turn both of them on to medium heat and sautee them for about five minutes. The garlic should not turn brown. The pan with olive oil, chili flakes and garlic heats up very fast. Take it off the heat after the oil begins to boil. 
• Heat a pot of water for the pasta and cook the pasta. When the pasta is finished (pasta should be cooked al dente), add the tomatoes to the pasta and mix. Then add the other mixture and mix too. 
• Top the pasta with cheese when you serve. 

Rigatoni Con Guanciale E Cipolla

Rigatoni with guanciale and onion. 

Photo by Jenny 

This recipe is from Williams Sonoma Italian Cooking, but adapted by Jenny. My family and I wanted to go to a restaurant called Louis in downtown, Saint Paul, but we never got the chance. They had a guanciale rigatoni on their menu. When I bought the Williams Sonoma Cookbook, I saw a similar recipe in their book and immediately decided to cook this. Well, this is it! So simple and delicious. The guanciale is very thin and shrivels up but adds a salty bite to the dish.

Serves: 4-6 people

Ingredients:

•  1 sweet red onion, julienned
• 1/4 cup of white white or vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon of extra-olive oil 
• 1 teaspoon of sugar 
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

Directions:

•    In a small pan on low heat, combine the onion, vinegar, olive oil, sugar and pinch of salt. Stir about 5 minutes until the onion wilts.
•  At the same time, in a large, deep frying pan, fry the guanciale or pancetta until quite crisp over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Remove half the guanciale pieces and set aside in a warm place. Add the cooked onion to the guanciale in the pan and keep warm over the lowest setting.
•    Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta. Remember to salt the water before. Drain the pasta after the pasta is cooked to al dente.
•  Add the noodles to the guanciale and onion. Remove the pan from the heat and toss the pasta to coat thoroughly. Add the cheese. Toss again.
•   When ready to serve, sprinkle the reserved guanciale or pancetta with 4 grinds of pepper for each person.