We’ve been having a September heat wave. Maybe this explains why so many Paris bistros are featuring Italian dishes at the moment. Most popular seems to be the assiette italienne, typically melon, parma ham, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. But pasta is omnipresent too. At the ultra-trendy café Merci the other day, the special was a salad of pasta in pesto. In tune with this spirit, I decided to post one of my favorite pasta recipes.
Penne à l’arrabiata / ‘Enraged’ penne (in spicy sauce)
How long ago did this dish cross the border? I think it’s safe to say that the French have been enjoying Italian cuisine ever since Caesar conquered Gaul in 52 BC. And indeed, just as Caesar hailed from Rome, so does this dish. The pasta is so spicy that it is said to be arrabiata, variously translated as angry, enraged, furious, even rabid — not surprising, as the root is rabbia (‘rage’). You can vary the heat according to taste. The real charm of this dish, from an everyday chef’s perspective, is that it is so quick and easy to prepare.
I started making penne à l’arrabiata many years ago after a visit to Rome, where I acquired a cookbook called Roma in Boca (loose translation: A Mouthful of Rome). The recipes come in three languages — Italian, English and the Roman dialect — and they are delightfully imprecise. For example, the recipe for the penne begins, ‘Fry in some oil, 3 or 4 cloves of garlic with some hot chilli — the amount here obviously depends on the individual taste — however, it should be quite a lot for the pasta to be really “angry”.’
Over the years, I’ve adjusted the ingredients to suit my own taste. My recipe uses enough cayenne pepper to make the tomato sauce fiery, but not incandescent. Instead of chopped parsley, which is traditional, I flavor the sauce with a little fresh basil. And while the Romans generally serve arrabiata without cheese, I add some grated parmesan on top.
It takes no more than 15 minutes to prepare this dish — perfect for when your kid comes home from school saying, ‘Mom, I’m starving.’ The ingredient list is so basic that I generally have most or all of the items on hand. But the simplicity is deceptive. Serve small portions of arrabiata as the first course at a dinner party, and your guests will applaud its rustic elegance. All you need to go with it is a bottle of red strong enough to take the heat.
Happy cooking!
We just returned from a week at the shore in southwest France, where the beaches are vast, the waves are impressive and the food is fantastic. One of the specialties I most love in that corner of the world is squid grilled with garlic and parsley. The squid are cooked using a method the French call aller-retour, or back and forth, a phrase most commonly seen on round-trip tickets. In culinary usage, the phrase means that the food is placed on an extremely hot grill and cooked very quickly on one side (aller) and then the other (retour).
When the French say melon, they are generally referring to one particular type of melon. It is small and round, about 4-6 inches (10-15 cm) in diameter, with dark green stripes over a pale exterior and an intoxicatingly sweet orange interior. It is similar to cantaloupe, but more fragrant. The most highly reputed come from Cavaillon, in Provence, while the most widely sold are called Charentais. All pair delightfully with duck.
It is a mystery why the melons over here are so much sweeter than those found in the States. Perhaps because the sun in southern France is more intense, or maybe there’s another reason. If you have an idea, please let us know.
When summer finally rolls around over here, our kitchen goes Mediterranean. The sultry breezes make it easy to forget that Paris is in northern France, far from the turquoise waters. Salads from Provence, Spain, Greece, Morocco and Lebanon appear, eggplant and tomatoes in many guises come to the table. And spicy meat dishes can play a starring role, for example meatballs of ground lamb topped with a yogurt sauce and fresh herbs.
Dear readers of The Everyday French Chef: Normally I only post on Fridays, but today I am giving you a bonus recipe to compensate those of you who may have tried to access my site and instead found a blank page. Yes, you guessed right. My site was hacked again, and was down for about 24 hours. The problem is partially resolved now, allowing me to post this recipe for a delightfully light starter for a summer meal, or anytime of year.
A whole creamy burrata beside a nest of tender greens strewn with roasted hazelnuts and surrounded by a drizzle of raspberry sauce — I wish I had dreamt up this combination myself. But in fact I was served it at a neighborhood bistro, and have been dreaming about it ever since. The combination creates an explosion of flavors that is, frankly, kind of addictive, with the very lightly sweetened raspberry sauce as an exclamation point.
A highlight of the French summer is the rosy-cheeked apricot, which arrives from the south, generally Provence, and appears in abundance at farmers’ markets at this time of year. And a delight of the French table is a tart of apricots with almond cream. The flavors marry perfectly, the almonds adding a touch of majesty to the humble fruit. Serve it with a glass of something dry and bubbly, and prepare for applause…
The Basque country of southwest France is much appreciated for its culinary contributions. Across the Pyrenees in Spain, three-star chefs have taken regional cuisine to new heights of refinement. In France, Basque cooking retains its earthy traditions. The dish known as poulet basquaise sets grilled chicken on top of sautéed sweet peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic, with a hint of spice. The result is a rustic, satisfying dish.
Peppers are popular throughout the southwest, and come in many varieties, from mild to searingly hot. They are often smaller and thinner than bell peppers. I found some Basque-style peppers at my local market last weekend when shopping for ingredients. They were red, yellow and orange. I added a green bell pepper to achieve the right color combination.
One of the rites of spring is a trip to the market for fresh peas, which appear in abundance in June. In this recipe, the peas are blended into a textured soup enlivened with a hint of peppery mint. Serve the soup hot or cold, as is or topped with thin strips of Parma ham, a dollop of crème fraîche, a spoonful of coconut cream or finely sliced shallots and mint leaves. Meaning that this is a soup for everyone — omnivores, vegetarians and vegans.
It’s been a long rainy spring. We needed a hint of summer. The solution? Eggplant gratin with homemade tomato sauce, topped with bubbly cheese. This is a lighter version of a familiar dish, also known as eggplant parmesan, because the eggplant slices are steamed instead of fried before going into the gratin dish. It’s fun to assemble — the whole family can get into the act. Add a sprig of fresh basil and voilà. Summer has arrived.
