Nick Benotto

A recipe blog by Nick Benotto

Pasta is one of the most versatile and delicious dishes. Who doesn’t love it? The four pasta recipes below are the easy favorites of the Benotto family. I have included a brief background on each one.

Italy is well known for its delicious pasta dishes. What you may not realize is that pasta is served differently in each region of Italy. Tomato sauce is king in the south of Italy, especially around Naples, home of the delicious San Marzano tomatoes that grow in the soil around Mount Vesuvius.

In the north you will see more white pasta with bechamel or cream sauce. In Tuscany you will find pasta with cinghiale, wild boar, in Bologna there is the famous Bolognese sauce. In Sicily you will find fish and seafood-based pastas. And nowhere in Italy will you find fettucine alfredo in any authentic Italian restaurant. You will only find it on tourist menus that cater to foreigners, especially Americans.

PENNE PASTA ALLA VODKA

My mom’s version of Penne with vodka sauce is different from all the recipes out there and, in my opinion, vastly tastier due to one ingredient that she has added. Mom uses shallots in place of either garlic or onion which is quoted in the other recipes for this dish that I have seen out there. This adds a unique and different delicious flavor to the sauce.

Mom found this recipe in a small northern Italian cookbook before I was born. She had been making it for years before it caught on and became a standard on almost every Italian restaurant menu in America.
1 pound Penne pasta
¼ cup of butter
1 medium shallot – diced into small pieces
1 ½ cups tomato sauce (w/o any meat)
4 thick slices of Pancetta diced
1/3 cup of vodka
½ cup whipping cream
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup of grated Parmigiano or Locatelli romano cheese
Melt butter in a large skillet
When butter foams add the pancetta and the shallot and sauté until the pancetta is lightly colored
Add the vodka and stir until the alcohol has evaporated
Stir in the tomato sauce and then add the cream
Simmer uncovered 8 to 10 minutes
Cook your pasta and when done, drain it and then place in the skillet with your sauce
Toss the pasta in the sauce for about 30 seconds and serve immediately with the grated cheese

Pasta and Tuna Nicholas Benotto style

This is a variation of a recipe I first had at my Nonna’s house in the Asti region of Piedmont, Italy. Piedmont, in northwest Italy, is land-locked and they don’t have access to fresh seafood. They use canned tuna in various recipes. This has become a Friday night staple for the Benotto family, especially during lent when we don’t eat meat on Friday. It’s tasty and easy to make with only a few ingredients. I enjoy making it for my parents.

1 pound pasta (we prefer bow-ties or rotini)
2 cans of Italian tuna fish (Pastene or Cento w/olive oil)
Large bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley
5 cloves of garlic
Light cream
Grated Locatelli cheese (optional shredded mozzarella)
Dash of black pepper to taste
Put a large pot of water to boil on the stove for the pasta
Finely chop the garlic and finely chop the parsley (a mezza luna works great for this)
In a small saucepan add enough olive oil to coat the bottom
Add the chopped garlic and parsley
Stir frequently and don’t allow the garlic to burn
Once the garlic is slightly browned, add the cans of tuna fish including the oil
Break up the tuna and stir well incorporating the parsley and garlic, add the black pepper
Add the pasta to your boiling water, stir frequently
Add some light cream to the tuna mixture, stir well and allow to cook on simmer until pasta is ready
Drain pasta into large bowl. Stir in the tuna mixture.
Add some Locatelli grated cheese and the mozzarella
Serves 4 to 5 people.

Napolitano Spaghetti Pie (Naples-style spaghetti pie)

The first time I ate this was at my Aunt’s house. It was so good. This recipe is an approximation of what she made. It works great if you have leftover spaghetti or linguini.

8 large eggs
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano or parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 pound spaghetti or bucatini, cooked and drained
2 ounces sliced genoa salami or soppressata, chopped
2 ounces sliced prosciutto or boiled ham, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces provolone, chopped

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, grated cheese, and pepper to taste. You will not need salt, because the meat and cheeses are salty. Add the spaghetti, salami, and prosciutto to the bowl and toss well.

Heat the oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour half of the pasta into the skillet. Scatter the provolone on top. Pour on the remaining spaghetti mixture.

Turn heat to medium low. Cover the pan and cook five minutes. Slide a spatula under the pie and lift gently around the edges to allow some of the uncooked eggs to slide underneath. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until the eggs are almost set and the bottom is golden.

Meanwhile, preheat the broiler.
Place the skillet under the broiler to brown the top and finish cooking the eggs, about 3 to 5 minutes more.
Run a spatula under the pie to loosen it. Lift the handle of the pan and slipped the pie out onto a serving platter. Cut into wedges. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Tortellini with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce, Benotto Style

One night I had an urge for tortellini for dinner, but we had no specific recipe in mind. Mom and I opened the fridge and started taking out what we could find that would work as part of a good meal with tortellini. Of course, we always have some staples in our house as part of Italian cooking. We found some pancetta, crumbled gorgonzola and a small container of sour cream. So, we put it together with some chopped fresh garlic and we had the makings of a delicious and filling meal. If you want to recreate this for your own meal, see the below description.

1 bag/package of Barilla tortellini or tortelloni. We like the ones with spinach filling but they also have a variety with cheese filling. This can be found in the aisle where you buy your favorite dried pasta.

1 package of crumbled gorgonzola cheese (the kind you would buy to sprinkle on a salad) and 1 small container of sour cream (mom uses the “light” one)
4 thick slices of pancetta that you need to dice
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Grated Locatelli romano cheese to sprinkle on top when done

Fill a pot of water to boil for the tortellini
Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil and brown your garlic.
As soon as the garlic has some color, immediately add your diced pancetta and stir
As the pancetta browns you will now need to add the container of sour cream and a good amount of gorgonzola. Add as much or little of the gorgonzola as you would like.
This is not an exact recipe. Stir well and lower the flame so that it will simmer for a few minutes and flavors combine.
When your tortellini is done, drain and add to the mixture in the skillet. Toss well.
Pour into a serving plate and sprinkle with the grated Locatelli romano.

From the Benotto family to yours, we hope you enjoy these recipes. Share your favorite recipe in the comments below. We’d love to read them.