TUESDAY, FEB. 24, 2015 • THE GLOBE GAZETTE • B4
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Grab a pint
of heavy
cream to add
easy flavor
S
ure, we’re all trying to lose those
pesky 10 or 15 or whatever pounds,
but that’s no reason to not keep a
pint of heavy cream in the refrigerator.
Truth is, a little fat like that can go a
long way to turning a basic dish into one
that is exceedingly comforting.
Steak, for example, is dramatically
improved with a cream-based pan
sauce. Pureed vegetable soups taste like
indulgences with just a bit of cream.
And don’t even get me started about
what it does for mashed
potatoes and baked
sweet potatoes.
And none of these
recipes requires a ton
of cream, so you won’t
necessarily bust your
diet. Think of it as a seaJ.M. Kirsch
soning or accent flavor,
Associated Press something to tie everyFood Editor
thing together.
To make my point,
here is a simple and delicious weeknight-friendly pasta dinner that uses a
bit of heavy cream to make the dish taste
like you spent way longer on it.
If you’d prefer a vegetarian version,
just leave out the ground beef. And,
of course, this dish is plenty versatile.
Add veggies as you see fit, or substitute
ground pork or chicken for the beef.
Associated Press
Fusilli with Italian sausage, peas and creamy tomato sauce.
Learn to get it right when trying to get it
AL DENTE
boiling water, give it a stir or two
(and that should be enough). If you’re
boiling long strands, push them down
What’s the one ingredient you
should always have in your cupboard? gently in the middle to make sure the
ends are submerged, too.
Dried pasta, of course.
And do not add oil to the water.
Pasta comes in all sizes and
The pasta will end up oily and the
shapes, all of them designed with
sauce will just slide off.
a purpose.
Pasta should never wait for the
Pastas in long strands — including spaghetti and linguine — are best sauce, so don’t start cooking it until
your sauce is either well along or
paired with smoother sauces. Tubefinished. For cooking times, read the
shaped pastas — such as penne,
rigatoni and macaroni — team up well packaging and follow the suggested
times. But don’t follow them blindly.
with chunky sauces.
It’s also important to check the
And pasta boasting nooks and
tenderness of the pasta while it is
crannies — like fusilli — are perfect
for sauces with bits of meat and veg- cooking. All you have to do is spear
a single piece and bite into it. If it’s
etables.
very chewy or tough, keep cooking it.
Whichever type you’re cooking,
you want to make sure you cook your If there’s just a tiny bit of chewiness,
it’s ready to be drained.
pasta properly. Undercook it and the
And don’t rinse your pasta after
pasta is chalky and tough. Overcook
draining it. That washes away the
it and you get mush.
What you’re aiming for is al dente, starch, which is what helps your
sauce stick to the pasta.
Italian for “to the tooth.” It’s just a
The beauty of a pasta dish is
way of saying that properly cooked
that it rarely takes longer to throw
pasta is tender all the way through,
together than the time it takes to boil
but still ever so slightly firm to
the water and cook the pasta. And a
the bite.
hearty pasta dish is just the thing to
Let’s cover the basics of pasta
warm up a cold and wintry night.
cooking, regardless of variety.
Plenty of water is important. This
FUSILLI WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE, PEAS AND
prevents the pasta from sticking and
CREAMY TOMATO SAUCE
mostly eliminates the need to stir
Start to finish: 1 hour (30 minutes
during cooking.
active); servings: 4.
For 1 pound of pasta, you’ll want
2 tablespoons olive oil
to boil 6 quarts of water (though 4
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
quarts will do if you don’t have a pot
1 tablespoon minced garlic
large enough). The water also needs
¾ pound loose sweet or hot Italian
to be well salted — 1 tablespoon
sausage
of kosher salt for every 3 quarts
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (prefof water.
erably fire-roasted)
After adding the pasta to the
SARA MOULTON
Associated Press
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher
salt, divided
2/3 cup heavy cream
12 ounces fusilli pasta
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
3 ounces finely grated Parmesan
cheese, divided
Shredded fresh basil, to garnish
1. In a large saucepan or stockpot, bring
6 quarts of water to a boil.
2. While the water is heating, in a large
skillet over medium, heat the oil. Add the
onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until
softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic,
and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the
sausage and cook, breaking it up with a
spoon and stirring, until the sausage is
just cooked through, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and 1 teaspoon of
salt. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
Add the cream and simmer for 2 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, add the 2 tablespoons
of salt and the pasta to the pot of water.
Stir well and boil the pasta, following the
instructions on the package, until almost
but not quite al dente. Drain the pasta,
reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water,
and add it to the skillet, along with the
peas and half of the cheese.
5. Simmer until the pasta is al dente,
adding some of the pasta cooking water
if necessary to thin the sauce to desired
consistency. Season with salt and pepper,
then divide between 4 serving bowls. Top
each portion with some of the remaining
cheese and the basil.
Nutrition information per serving: 1,040
calories; 510 calories from fat (49 percent
of total calories); 56 g fat (24 g saturated;
0 g trans fats); 140 mg cholesterol; 96 g
carbohydrate; 12 g fiber; 18 g sugar; 40 g
protein; 2,360 mg sodium.
ROTINI WITH CREAMY BURGER SAUCE
Start to finish: 20 minutes; servings: 6.
1 pound rotini (spiral) pasta
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons soy sauce
Two 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and ground black pepper
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Add the pasta and cook according to package
directions, then drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over
medium-high, combine and the beef and
onion and saute, breaking up the meat with a
wooden spoon. Cook until the beef is starting
to brown and the onions are tender, about 8
minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, soy
sauce and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and
cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add the heavy cream to the meat sauce
and simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes.
Add the cheese, then the pasta, tossing to
coat. Season with salt and pepper.
Nutrition information per serving: 540 calories; 150 calories from fat (28 percent of total
calories); 17 g fat (8 g saturated; 0.5 g trans
fats); 80 mg cholesterol; 66 g carbohydrate;
4 g fiber; 8 g sugar; 28 g protein; 690 mg
sodium.
Associated Press
Rotini with creamy burger sauce.
Relish the American Table: Chicken fricassee with Orzo
With this rich entrée, all you need
“Fricassee” sounds fancy, but it’s
really nothing more than a French stew. alongside is a crispy green salad.
In the classic recipe, there are a few
CHICKEN FRICASSEE WITH ORZO
techniques to master, including brown4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
ing the chicken and deglazing the pan
½ tsp salt
(scraping up any brown bits on the bot¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
tom of the pan, but the recipe is actually
2 tsp butter
a super simple one-pot dish.
¾ cup chopped green onions
This recipe calls for serving the
½ cup diced carrot
chicken and sauce over orzo, an Italian
½ cup diced ham
pasta that resembles rice. Look for it in
2 garlic cloves, minced
the pasta section of your supermarket.
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
If you prefer to omit the wine,
½ cup Chardonnay or other dry white wine
increase the amount of chicken broth to
1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
1½ cups.
2/3 cup heavy cream
Be sure to use heavy cream in this
3 cups hot cooked orzo (1½ cups
recipe; milk or half and half may curdle.
uncooked)
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
Melt butter in a large, nonstick skillet over
medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook until
it begins to brown, about 3 minutes on each
side. Remove from pan.
2. Add onions, carrot, ham and garlic to
pan; sauté until lightly browned, about 4
minutes. Stir in broth and wine, scraping to
loosen browned bits.
3. Return chicken to pan. Bring to a boil.
Add peas. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer
until chicken is done, about 10 minutes.
4. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
Add heavy cream to pan. Cook, uncovered,
over medium heat, 8 minutes.
5. spoon ¾ cup cooked orzo onto each of
4 plates. Top each with a chicken breast half,
some of the sauce and 1 Tbsp parsley. Serves
4.
Per serving: 652 cal, 22g fat, 49g prot, 58g
carbs, 1458mg sodium.
Look for Relish magazine, celebrating America’s love of food, the first Tuesday of every month in the Globe Gazette. For more Relish recipes, log on to www.relishmag.com