Page 33 - The Valley Table - Winter 2022

IMPOSSIBLE RAGU
CHEF JOSEPH CAFARO, PALIZZATA MARKETPLACE & EATERY, KINGSTON SERVES 4
Ingredients
1 lb. pasta of your choice
1–2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil
(canola or avocado)
8 oz. Impossible meat substitute
11⁄2 cups tomato sauce (homemade or
your brand of choice)
1⁄4 cup cashew cream, or other plant-
based cream substitute
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, plus
more for garnish
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley,
plus more for garnish Salt and pepper
Preparation
1. Cook pasta as directed, reserving a 1⁄4 cup of the cooking water for the sauce.
2. As pasta cooks, place cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the meat substitute, and crumble it with a spoon. For a finer consistency, crumble with a whisk.
3. Once the meat is lightly browned and broken up, lower the heat to medium-low. Add the sauce and cashew cream. Bring it to a simmer, cook for 2 minutes, and then turn off the heat.
4. Once the pasta is cooked and drained, add it to the sauce along with the reserved cooking water and the fresh herbs. Mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste. If the sauce is watery, apply a low heat and stir for a minute or two. Serve with additional fresh herbs on top.
hungry, what should you look for when you are scanning the store shelves? “Many people these days seek out a clean label and quality ingredients,” says Ketchum. Translation: very few ingredients that are ideally organic and local. Not to take anything away from Italian pasta, but made-in-the-USA
and home-grown in the Hudson Valley offer amazing options. In addition, says Ketchum, “you want to see texture on surface of the pasta—make sure it’s rough and porous, so sauces cling.”
Once you’re at home and ready to get cooking, follow this advice: “The most important thing is to make sure you boil the pasta in well-salted water and always al dente,” says Buitoni. “Like a good steak, once pasta is over cooked, it’s ruined!” He says this holds true “whether you buy the best dried pasta from pastificio [Italian for pasta factory] like Rustichella D’Abruzzo or make your own.” (See our sidebar on page 29 for advice on that.)
To get that ideal al dente texture, Cafaro recommends subtracting one or two minutes off the cooking time on the package. “When I was a young cook, I remember learning that al dente means a little crunch and asking my teacher, ‘What’s the term for pasta cooked soft?’ I was told, ‘There’s no such thing! Al dente is the only kind there is!’”
Cafaro’s other secret is to never over sauce, and doesn't believe in extra sauce on the plate to dunk your bread in. "You want just enough sauce to coat the pasta, no more.” His favorite formula is 16 oz. (2 cups) of sauce to a pound of pasta—considerably less than the 26-oz. jars of sauce you find on supermarket shelves.
Armed with this intel, anyone can make great pasta. Even better, why not cook it up for friends now that we can gather safely again? As Buitoni puts
it, “One can never say no to a well- prepared plate of pasta!” 
PHOTO COURTESY OF PALIZZATA MARKETPLACE & EATERY
dec 2021 – feb 2022 valleytable.com 31