Quick, quick. Get the water boiling. The Pappardelles are coming. The Pappardelles are coming! From Lamb Ragu in the May edition of Bon Appetit to Gerard Craft’s recipe for Smoky Pork Pappardelle in Food and Wine, pappardelle noodles are all the rage. With good reason. As my friend Cleetus Friedman of City Provisions says, “you can never get enough noodle”.
The inside scoop at Al Dente Pasta is that we are putting final touches on our soon-to-be-introduced Golden Egg Pappardelle and Garlic Parsley Pappardelle. You’ll be happy to know that even though it is considerably wider than our fettuccine, it still cooks in 3-4 minutes. Because of its width, however, it holds up beautifully under sauces that were sometimes a little too heavy for our other noodles.
The true test came last Tuesday, when I was honored to get invited to Arthur Voisin’s 17th birthday dinner. Arthur is a young man who enjoys his Al Dente Pasta plain with grated cheese or at most with a marinara sauce. Since it was his birthday, I decided to give the guy what he wanted, but with a special little twist. I mixed in ricotta with Monique’s Marvelous Marinara, creating a wonderfully creamy tomato sauce, added Parmesan cheese so that it was somewhat of a deconstructed lasagna. I could tell by the look on Arthur’s face as well as how many times he re-served himself, that he absolutely loved the dish. Everyone did, so I decided to put the recipe on the back label of the bag.
Rosy Pappardelle
12 oz. Al Dente Pappardelle, either Golden Egg or Garlic Parsley
2-3 cups marinara sauce, (we use Monique’s Marvelous Marinara)
16 oz. ricotta, or substitute 8 oz. cream cheese or 1/2 cup low-fat evaporated milk
1/2 cup Parmesan
parsley or basil for garnish
Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add salt. Cook Al Dente Pappardelle, testing after 3 minutes. May need another minute to reach tender but firm perfection. Heat marinara in a sauce pan, stirring in ricotta cheese, until blended. Drain pasta and toss with sauce. Additions are endless–toasted pinenuts, grilled chicken or seafood, sausage, sauteed veggies, baby spinach, arugula, prosciutto
*Monique’s Marvelous Marinara tastes just like homemade and uses the old, Italian trick of sweetening the sauce with fresh grated carrot instead of sugar or corn syrup. Available in fine stores or at www.aldentepasta.com
Have any ideas on how you will be serving our Pappardelle noodles? If so, please share!