In 2002, chef Alain Ducasse published a one-pot pasta recipe in The New York Times he said he learned from farm families in rural Liguria, Italy. “They cook pasta like a risotto,” he wrote. “I’ve been doing it for years now, and I would not cook macaroni any other way.” In his recipe, you sauté flavorful, rustic ingredients like onions and potatoes before adding in uncooked pasta. He likes short, twisted shapes for their ability to hold the sauce. Then, as if you were cooking a pot of risotto, you add warm stock by the cupful, incorporating other ingredients, like herbs and sundried tomatoes, as you do. By the time the pasta is cooked, the liquid and vegetables have turned into a thick, flavorful sauce that enrobes every grain of orzo or piece of rigatoni.

Ordinarily, pasta’s starch bleeds into the boiling water surrounding it, then gets tossed out when everything goes into a colander. But here, the starch remains and is key to the dish’s success, thickening up the broth and vegetable juices into a lovely sauce. For Ducasse, the method was more than simply tasty. It also reminded him of what he loved about cooking: the action. “You are participating every step of the way, stirring, seasoning, reducing the liquid, enjoying the warmth and aromas around you, trusting your palate and then sharing what you have prepared with others.”

Copyright 2024, All Rights Reserved.

Comments to karen@lyonscom.com
Published by Lyons Communications