copyright 2010 Maria Liberati/ art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc.

As temperatures hover over 100 in most of the USA a cold dish of pasta is a perfect way to have A cool evening meal..or take it to work for a healthy lunch. A cold pasta dish is not just about throwing cold pasta together with anything you find in the fridge.

There are some chef secrets to the art of cold pasta dishes and here they are, making cold pasta dishes is a simple, basic art….easy to do but you must follow specific rules to have the perfect summer dish…and experience the most flavor.

*As with all pasta dishes –hot or cold-always use pasta made of 100% durum semolina wheat cooked to ‘al dente’

*Use one principal ingredient-a meat, or cheese, or tuna or other seafood, then 1 or 2 other secondary ingredients-vegetables make good choices..i.e. tomatoes, peppers,  eggplant, peas, zucchini, or even olives. For optimum taste choose veggies that you can find grown locally and in season.

There are so many combinations for any palate and you can mix and match using those rules..Farfalle Primavera, cold pasta with vegetables, fusilli pasta with eggplant and fontina cheese, penne pasta with mackerel, celery and olives and the list continues. But keep it simple, pasta plus 2-3 other ingredients. Of course don’t forget to drizzle with extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil, and a pinch of salt.

*My last secret…once pasta is cooked to ‘al dente’ no need to add ingredients in immediately. best to add in ingredients a half hour before serving. Did you know that after an hour of being cut-tomatoes lose most of their original flavor..so best not to keep your tomatoes or pasta dish waiting around..

Make your cold pasta dish an eating experience!

For more tips and recipes get a copy of the book selected as the Best Italian Cusine Book in  the USA-The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition.http://www.marialiberati.com/products-page

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Sept 9-12-Hudson Valley Wine Fest, Rhinebeck, NY at Dutchess County Fairgrounds-Maria Liberati will be bringing The Basic Art of Italian Cooking to center stage with cooking demos from the award winning new book release and a book signing. For more info or to sponsor this appearance email: info@marialiberati.com

Oct 29-31-Philadelphia Food & Wine Festival at Valley Forge Convention Center. Maria Liberati will be bringing The Basic Art of Italian Cooking to center stage at this Gourmet Food and Wine event. For info or to sponsor this appearance email: info@marialiberati.com

Maria

www.marialiberati.com

where food meets art, travel and life!

  copyright, 2010, art of living ,PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati

Nothing better than fresh pasta…the taste or maybe the memories of (making fresh pasta in Italy..in Umbria..in Le Marche..in Abruzzo) how could I even think about pasta and not think about the memories created around a large table of flour and water and eggs and people..lots of people passionate about the same thing ..food…. fresh pasta to be exact..

In all the cooking programs that I have hosted, throughout Italy…fresh pasta is the most requested course…one of my favorite recipes for a pasta dish and some of my favorite memories in photos of making pasta are here… Create your own pasta memories around a table…ones that you won’t soon forget….what you create will linger in your mind ..the camaraderie, the fun,the taste of an artisan dish of pasta…

These are some pasta memories from a country house in Umbria….

Fresh Pasta with Zucchini & Ricotta

2 ounces ricotta

2 cups white flour

1 ½ cups cold water

pinch of salt and pepper to taste

2 zucchini

10 cherry tomatoes

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons plain tomato sauce

Preparation for pasta:

Place flour on wooden board and shape into a well. Place water and salt in center of well. Blend by hand and work the dough till smooth and well blended. Let rest for 2 hours covered with a clean towel.

Divide pasta ball into 4 portions. Roll out each portion on well floured board. Cut into noodles that are ½ inch thick with the help of a pasta machine or by hand.

Cut each noodle into smaller strips. Sprinkle with flour, let sit.

Preparation for Sauce:

Place olive oil in saute pan with the zucchini that has been cut into quarters. Cook over high heat for 2 minutes. Place in tomatoes that have been cut in quarters with the plain tomato sauce. Let simmer together for 5 minutes. Add in salt as desired. Turn off heat.

Boil water ion pasta pot. Place in fresh pasta, cook for 2 -4 minutes (taste after 3 minutes do not overcook). Drain. Place in saute pan with zucchini, toss, serve with grated dried ricotta

Serve on rustic plates in a bright, sunny house in the country..ohh and don’t forget the wine..a Chianti..from the hills of Tuscany will do or a Montepulciano from the mountains of Abruzzo..

 Wednesday,May 26th, 11 AM-Book Expo America-Book Signing /release of second edition of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions. Hope to see you there. If you want more info on this appearance- email: info@marialiberati.com

Hudson Valley Wine Fest-Sept 9-12-Rhinebeck NY. I am very excited this year to be one of the two Celebrity Chefs selected to appear at this event.  Along with Celebrity Chef Vincent Tropepe, I  will be doing cooking demos all weekend. If you want more info on attending this event or sponsoring one of my on stage cooking appearances –email : info@marialiberati.com

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