Page 32 - The Valley Table - Winter 2022

HARVEST PASTA SALAD WITH BEET FUSILLI
SFOGLINI, COXSACKIE
SERVES 4
Ingredients
Honey Cider Vinaigrette
3 teaspoons minced shallot
3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon honey
1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Pasta Salad
1 pound Sfoglini Beet Fusilli or other beet pasta
16 oz. cooked beets, diced 2 pears, medium diced
2 cups baby arugula
1⁄2 cup raw pecans
1⁄2 cup crumbled goat cheese
Preparation
1. Prepare vinaigrette by combining shallot, mustard, lemon juice, vinegar & honey in a small bowl. Gradually add olive oil while continuously whisking to emulsify the vinaigrette. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
2. Cook pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente, about 6 minutes, and drain.
3. Transfer cooked pasta to a medium bowl and toss gently with 2 tbsp
of the vinaigrette, or enough to lightly coat pasta to prevent it from sticking together. Cover and chill in refrigerator until cooled, about 30 minutes (or up to 1 day if making ahead).
4. Toss pasta with beets, pears, baby arugula, pecans, and crumbled goat cheese. Stir in additional vinaigrette to taste (you will likely not need it all) and serve at room temperature.
30 the valley table
dec 2021 – feb 2022
PHOTO COURTESY OF SFOGLINI
little pumpkins, or gnudi, feather- light ricotta and pasta puffs that are currently enjoying a resurgence.
Sfoglini is known for mining the history of pasta, researching thousands of shapes, and then tweaking them into something unique. Ketchum is especially proud of his company’s latest creation, made with James Beard Award winner Dan Pashman, creator and host of The Sporkful food podcast. Called cascatelli (Italian for waterfalls), it’s a ruffled curve of pasta that snags sauce in its central trough. Not to totally geek out on pasta engineering, but it’s designed to maximize the
three qualities by which Pashman believes all pasta shapes should be judged: sauceability, forkability, and toothsinkability. To put it plainly, it delivers that golden ratio of noodle to topping that makes a meal memorably delicious.
Getting Saucy
A perfect pasta dish also depends upon how well the noodle and sauce mesh. Knowing the right equation can elevate a very good meal to one that’s
straight-up spectacular. “When you’re preparing, say, spaghetti, a classic garlic and oil will slide right off; it’s better to use a red sauce, which is thicker and will stick to the strands,” says Cafaro. “If you want olive oil and garlic or something similar, orecchiette will hold that sauce well. We follow this rule: if you have vegetables or pieces of chicken in your sauce, you want them to be approximately the same size as the pasta, so cut them to match your fusilli, penne, or whatever you’re cooking.” Rosenberg agrees that pasta and sauce can't be thought of as two separate elements. “The true test of a properly made pasta is not seeing a big puddle of sauce at the bottom of the bowl.”
But the chefs we spoke to agree that once you find a good noodle, the sauce is almost beside the point. “The way I test my pasta is topping it with nothing but olive oil and salt— delicious!” enthuses Cafaro.
Smarter Shopping
Now that you’re sufficiently educated about pasta, as well as really good and