Videodrome      10/28/2008  

The Feedbag Learns to Cook, With Andrew Carmellini


The Feedbag Cooks Urban Italian with Andrew Carmellini from The Feedbag on Vimeo.

Andrew Carmellini, having left A Voce, and not yet found a new space for his rustic Italian restaurant, has released a Feedbag-approved new cookbook, Urban Italian, which we enjoyed so much we asked AC to demonstrate some of its recipes. Here is the first in our Urban Italian series: rigatoni with sausage and chickpeas. Get the full recipe, after the jump.Rigatoni Pugliese

Like all Italians-pretty much like all humans-I love the mouth-feel of rich pasta. But I don’t like the old-fashioned heaviness of food cooked with a lot of cream and butter. The chickpea purée in this pasta dish creates a smooth, rich texture and a full-bodied, earthy flavor without a lot of fat. The combination of legumes and pasta may seem unusual, but in Puglia, in heel of Italy’s boot, you find pasta with ceci (garbanzo beans, or chickpeas) everywhere.
I’ve included directions for cooking dried chickpeas, but you can always use the canned variety-no one but the pickiest Pugliese grandmother will be able to tell. If you’re really rushed, you can even substitute prepared hummus for the blended chickpea mixture, though the result will not be quite as balanced and delicious.

Serves 4 to 6

Timing: About 30 minutes

IngredientsFor the sauce:
1 15-ounce can chickpeas
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound spicy Italian sausage
3 cups Basic Tomato Sauce (page 285)
½ teaspoon ground fennel seed

For the broccoli rabe and rigatoni:
1 bunch broccoli rabe, cleaned of outer leaves and bottom stems trimmed
1 pound rigatoni
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, sliced Goodfellas thin
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

To finish the dish:
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup grated pecorino cheese

Method
To prepare the sauce:
1. Drain the chickpeas well, reserving the liquid. Blend half the chickpeas (about 1 cup) and all their liquid on high until the mixture forms a smooth paste, about 1 minute.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Squeeze the sausage out of the casing and add the meat to the pan. Brown it, stirring regularly and breaking the meat up into small pieces with a spoon or potato masher.
3. Add the tomato sauce and stir to combine.
4. Add the chickpea purée and the fennel seed and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat until the mixture forms a loose sauce and the flavors are combined, about 15 minutes.

To prepare the broccoli rabe and the rigatoni:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Blanch the broccoli rabe until the stems are just softened and the color has deepened, about 90 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon or spider to a bowl of ice water to immediately stop the cooking process.
3. Return the water to a boil, add the rigatoni and cook until it’s al dente. Drain but do not rinse the pasta.
4. Warm the olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium sauté pan. Add the broccoli rabe, garlic, red pepper flakes, and the remaining half of the chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until the greens are well coated, about 1 minute.

To finish the dish:
1. Return the rigatoni to the pot. Add the sauce and cook on medium-high heat, mixing well, until the pasta is well coated, about 1 minute.
2. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter, olive oil, and half the pecorino cheese.
3. Transfer the pasta and sauce to a large serving dish and pour the broccoli rabe and chickpea mixture over the top. Top with the rest of the pecorino cheese and serve immediately.

Comments

6 Responses to “The Feedbag Learns to Cook, With Andrew Carmellini”

  1. Even More Carmellini, For Your Reading Pleasure | The Feedbag on October 28th, 2008 11:07 am

    [...] all AC, all the time today on the blogs: we have our fabulous Carmellini cooking video, complete with recipe, from earlier today; and now we see that Gothamist has a long, very [...]

  2. Celebrity Chef Panel Contemplates Celebrity Chefdom | The Feedbag on October 29th, 2008 4:27 pm

    [...] Previously in the Feedbag: Even More Caramellini, For Your Reading Pleasure The Feedbag Learns to Cook with Andrew Caramellini [...]

  3. brunis_dick on October 31st, 2008 1:10 am

    Don’t be afraid to stop eating while you’re giving the videographer directions, Cutty! lol

  4. Josh Ozersky on October 31st, 2008 11:31 am

    I can’t help it! It was so good.

  5. brunis_dick on November 1st, 2008 1:34 pm

    I bet it was…that’s always what’s great about your video pieces, your enthusiasm is real. This one isn’t grilling burgers on a rooftop in Brooklyn, but keep them coming, love ‘em, bruh.

  6. Andrew Carmellini Gives the Feedbag a Spaghetti Lesson | The Feedbag on November 17th, 2008 4:56 pm

    [...] man Andrew Carmellini has taught us how to make rigatoni, and how to make spaghetti squash, and that’s all great and everything, but foremost in our [...]

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