Rigatoni with Sausage, Spinach, & Goat Cheese, by Scott Conant

There are few chefs in the world hotter than Scott Conant right now. In the span of 3 years, Scott has realized his dream restaurant, conquered multiple cities, garnered rave reviews at every turn, and gets more TV time than, well... me! All that, and, oh by the way, he got married and had his first child in that span, too. Not bad for a kid from Connecticut!

I met Scott just prior to this whirlwind of success, when we worked together on TV. He was still getting his "TV legs" about him then, but he certainly knew his way around a kitchen. I vividly recall him mapping out his career arc for me -- on a cocktail napkin! -- over hamburgers and white wine one night. And ya know what? It all came true. In seemingly no time. Good things happen to good people, and this is evidence of that statement.

Scarpetta NYC was a hit from opening night, and Scott's simple yet refined approach to Italian cuisine is a benchmark for accessible, fine dining. The Scarpetta brand now extends to Miami, Toronto, Beverly Hills, and there's an increasing presence in Las Vegas, as well.

On the media side, Scott's got a hit show on Food Network, "24 Hour Restaurant Battle," which just completed season #1, and he's a recurring guest judge on "Chopped" (he, of the now-famous "I hate raw red onions on my plate" screed!). He was just featured last night on the network's "10 Best" special, praising his spaghetti with tomato sauce as one of the country's best comfort foods. Not surprisingly, I wholeheartedly concur.

Scott was kind enough to respond instantly, when I asked him for a dish all of us could make in our homes, in hopes of capturing a bit of that Scarpetta magic (thanks, too, Irene!). I'm sure Scott would say, "Use fresh ingredients, and you can't mess this dish up. It's very straightforward." Easy for him to say, right?! But it's true, for one of the most important things I've learned from Scott is that simple and straightforward can result in sophisticated and sensational...

Cheers!

Rigatoni with Sausage, Spinach, and Goat Cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
¾ pound Italian sweet sausage or a combination of sweet and spicy, casings removed
¾ pounds of rigatoni
salt to taste
4 ounces spinach, well washed and dried and coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
½ pint cherry or grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and sauté until it is tender and begins to color, 10 minutes. Crumble the sausage into the pan, increase the heat to medium-high, and fully cook the sausage.

Cook the rigatoni until just shy of al dente. Before draining, reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water.

Add the spinach and tomatoes and some of the pasta cooking liquid to the sausage and cook, tossing, until the spinach has wilted. Add the pasta, half the reserved cooking liquid, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and goat cheese. Toss well and lightly smash the tomatoes. Add a bit more of the cooking liquid of needed and serve sprinkled with parsley, if you like.

Serves 4.

Best of the Best (of the Best) has begun...

In a recent post on this blog, I committed myself to preparing the dozen or so recipes I earmarked in a new cook book I received, the "Best of the Best Cook Book Recipes" from Food & Wine. Not exactly the Herculean -- or should I say, Julie Powell-ian task -- of working my way through Julia Child's seminal recipe tome (as depicted in "Juile & Julia"), but an undertaking nonetheless.
My first step in this abridged adventure was courtesy of Andrew Carmellini and Gwen Hyman's "Urban Italian." I picked a pasta dish thinking it would be a somewhat simple place to start. Rigatoni Pugliese. And while I was not entirely incorrect (the rigatoni part was a breeze!), the sauce was going to be maiden voyage for me into uncharted culinary waters: making a sauce from scratch.
This one turns out to be a sauce-within-a-sauce, because the it features Carmellini's Basic Tomato Sauce, which is the base for so many of his dishes, as it's main component.
So really, there are two recipes to share here. Let's start with the Basic Tomato Sauce:

1. 2 1/2 (I used 3) 35 oz. cans of good quality Italian canned tomatoes (Andrew recommends San Marazano; I used Cento). Squeeze out the seeds and juice and discard. (* NOTE: this was tricky for me: I didn't know if I was losing too much of the good stuff inside, but Carmellini explains that it's crucial to get the sauce to the right consistency)
2. Top tomatoes chunks with a generous amount of kosher or sea salt (about a heaping tsp) to draw out any excess moisture.
3. Cook down the tomatoes over medium heat in a pan or pot with a wide surface area for about 30 minutes. Ladle out any excess water. Smash the tomatoes with a wooden spoon during cooking to smooth out.
4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat 1 1/4 c EVOO with a head of garlic (top cut off to expose the cloves), 1 tsp crushed red pepper, and 1 c washed basil leaves (stems on) over medium heat to a simmer. Remove and reserve as soon as you hear the basil start to "crackle."
5. After the tomatoes have reduced by about 1/2, strain the flavored oil in and stir to combine. Cook for about another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, and mix it up a bit at the end to help emulsify. (* NOTE: I never got mine to completely emulsify. It looked very oily to me, but don't worry: it still comes together in the end)

I prepped this in advance of the rest of the dish, because the rest is fairly quick and simple:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Blanch 1 bunch of broccoli rabe (cleaned of outer leaves; stems trimmed) for about 90 seconds. Transfer to ice water bath.
3. Bring water back to a boil. Cook 1 lb. Rigatoni until al dente.
4. In a sautee pan, heat EVOO, broccoli rabe, 1/2 can of chick peas (save the liquid and other half!!), 1 clove of thin sliced garlic, and 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Sautee until all ingredients are well coated.
5. Meanwhile, blend the liquid of the 15 oz. can of chick peas with remaining 1/2 can of chick peas, for about a minute, until it forms a smooth paste. Add to Basic Tomato Sauce and cook for about 15 minutes.
6. Add sauce to drained rigatoni back in pasta pot and cook for about a minute.
7. Remove from heat and stir in 2 tbsp butter, 2 tsp EVOO (* NOTE: I skipped this because the sauce had enough oil already), and 1/2 c grated pecorino cheese (*NOTE: I used parmigiana reggiano).
8. Transfer to a large serving dish or plate. Top with another 1/2 c grated cheese and the broccoli rabe mixture. Serve immediately.

The reviews were spectacular. There really is no substitue for homemade sauce. This recipe allows for extra sauce, so you can either add it to the dish, or save it for another recipe. Well worth the effort and time.

Our only critique was the bitterness of the broccoli rabe. Not sure if it was operator error, but it just seemed to work against the rest of the flavors in the dish. I also skipped a main ingredient in the sauce: spicy Italian sausage. If you choose to use it, all you have to do is brown 1 lb. of sausage (out of its casing) in a pan, breaking it up into small pieces, and adding it to the sauce before combining with the pasta. I'm sure it will only enhance the intensity of the flavors, and give it even more of authentic Italian taste, but I had to cater to the crowd, so to speak!

One recipe down...how many more to go??... to be continued...