Penne, Wine and Wild Boar

As I mentioned in my previous post, we prepared the penne by Cavalieri in a very interesting way ... and here it is! In order to get the most out of the wild boar, we have half-cooked the pasta in something that smells like Gluhwein and finished it off as a risotto (or pastotto as I discussed before). The sauce is really sticky as we like it this way (but can be done more liquid) and the Pecorino on top (please try to find the Pecorino di Fossa, but at least not romano) is simply fundamental!

Delicious .... if not for Christmas, sure we will do it again during the festivities or on the 31st!

PS: BTW this is penciled down as a potential dish for the Xmas lunch and will be shared on Waiting for Christmas. Next WfC recipe will be a dessert ...

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Pastotto with courgette

Pastotto? I can see everybody, including the Italians, scratching their heads and thinking: "this guy is nuts or what?!". Well, I needed to use a name so I kind of invented mine and see if it gets used!! I mentioned sometime ago I am starting using the old shepherd way of cooking pasta. As they did not have much water, pasta was cooked like it were risotto ... so I call it pastotto. This is the easiest recipe where the courgette and the pasta both release amid/juices to create a nice binded result. Believe me when I claim, a proper pastotto is still 'al dente' ... but it tastes very different from traditional pasta. More will be coming to this pages ... so get used to the name!!

PS: The photo is not good enough to show the difference between pastotto and pasta with courgette. You gotta try it!

Serves: 2 as main course or 4 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 8 or 4

Suggested wine: Pinot Bianco or a light dry Riesling from the Mosel.
Special equipment: a wok or similar

Ingredients:
200g fusilli pasta
2 courgettes
2 smoked garlic cloves
50g honey roasted ham
15 fresh mint leaves
1 tbsp oil
Warm water as needed
Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredient replacement:
Smoked garlic -> normal garlic

Ingredient note: none

How-to:
1. Finely chop the garlic. Slice the courgette in half-moon. Slice the ham in stripes.
2. In an hot wok, sauté the garlic with the oil until it does not start getting color. Add the courgette and let cook on high heat until soften or 4’.
3. Add the pasta and cook on high heat for 1’. Add a cup of warm water, the mint leaves, the ham and some salt. Let simmer on medium-low heat. when the water is absorbed add a cup more, and continue until the pasta is not cooked. Towards the end check it for salt.
4. Season with pepper and serve immediately in deep rice bowls.