If you thought pasta could only be boiled in water, this article might destabilize you – in a positive way! Pasta risottata, cooked like a risotto, is an interesting and unique cooking method for pasta that will surprise and delight.
When you use the pasta risottata method, the pasta actually fuses better with the sauce, which may be why the great chefs love it so much. Now it’s your turn to give it a shot! Just follow our step-by-step tutorial and apply the techniques to the recipe below – tried and tested in our very own kitchen at our In-House Kitchen!
The Recipe: Caserecce with Pumpkin and Gorgonzola
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 ½ lb pumpkin, cleaned and seeded
12 oz caserecce pasta
3 oz sweet gorgonzola
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, peeled and coarsely chopped
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Celery leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil
Vegetable broth
Salt and pepper
Method:
Cut 1 lb pumpkin into small pieces and cook in a casserole pan with 1-quart water for 20 minutes, adding salt to taste as it cooks. Drain and purée. Dice the remaining pumpkin and brown the cubes in a frying pan with 1 tbsp oil and a pinch of salt. Add the caserecce pasta,
let sit for 1 minute, then add 3 ladlefuls of broth. Stir, adding more broth once it’s been absorbed – cooking for a total of about 7 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin purée a little at a time. Continue cooking for a few more minutes until the liquid evaporates. (The pumpkin will take a few minutes longer to cook than the time indicated on the pasta package.)
Remove from the heat and stir the caserecce vigorously, adding 3 tbsp oil and grated Parmigiano to taste, then season with pepper. Plate the pasta, topping each portion with gorgonzola, celery leaves, and pumpkin seeds.
Recipes Alessandro Procopio
Text Valentina Vercelli / Ph. Riccardo Lettieri / styling Beatrice Prada
Article originally appeared on La Cucina Italiana print magazine #2