SPAGHETTI PRIMAVERA viva Le CIRQUE

Spaghetti Primavera

After my jaunt to the Farmers Market the other day and having an abundance of leftover zucchini, squash, carrots and fresh ears of corn, I decided to make a vegetable and pasta--or spaghetti--dish

As always, or once in a while, an "old faithful" popped into mind:  Pasta Primavera--or Spaghetti Primavera, as it was called back in the day.

Spaghetti Primavera is one of those recipes that is synonymous with Sirio Maccioni and his flagship place, Le Cirque. It was popularized in the late 1970s and touted by then New York Times food critic Craig Claiborne and his partner Pierre Franey.  Back then, it was one of the most talked-about dishes in the City.  For a dish of different vegetables, cooked separately, then added to cream and butter and served over pasta, it became a battle between French and Italian cuisines. The dish was so controversial in a formal French restaurant in 1977 that it was served only on request.

Mr. Maccioni invented the dish and it was the only one at Le Cirque that the chefs were forbidden to touch.  The popularity it gained at Le Cirque helped move American cooks beyond spaghetti and meatballs; and as the dish thrived, it was soon offered on the menu of virtually every Italian restaurant.  However, the authentic is Le Cirque's version.

So with the veggies in the fridge, peas in the freezer, San Marzano tomatoes in the cabinet, along with spaghetti in the dry goods storage, all I needed was fresh mushrooms, heavy cream, and broccoli spears.  Although the authentic Spaghetti Primavera recipe calls for fresh asparagus tips, at $4.99 per rubber-band wrapped pack and weighing less than a pound, I opted to omit the asparagus.  Besides, I had the fresh carrots and corn in lieu of the costly green.  Sorry, Sirio, it's not the "authentic Spaghetti Primavera" from Le Cirque of the 70's, but pretty close.

Here goes...my take on Spaghetti Primavara, viva Le Cirque.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups plum tomatoes, chopped, peeled, and seeded (or whole canned San Marzano tomatoes (28 oz), chopped, seeded, and drained)
4 cloves garlic, minced and divided, about 2 Tablespoons
Kosher Salt
2 cups porcini mushrooms, roughly chopped
Black Pepper
Vegetables:  Each should be blanched, separately, in boiling water (time varies), shocked in an ice-water bath, drained, patted dry and set aside:
  1 cup broccoli florets (2 minutes)
  1 medium zucchini, quartered, cut into 1-inch lengths (2 minutes)
  1 medium yellow squash, quartered, cut into 1-inch lengths (2 minutes)
  1 1/2 cups carrots, halved and cut into 1" lengths (4-6 minutes)
  2 cups corn kernels from fresh ears of corn (1 minute)
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed in boiling salted water.  Drained and set aside
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 pound spaghetti
2 Tablespoons basil, cut into chiffonade

Directions:

Prep all vegetables and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over high heat. Add tomatoes, half of the garlic, and a pinch of salt and cook until tomatoes have rendered their juice and have begun to color, stirring or tossing occasionally, about 4 to 8 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sauté pan over high heat and sauté the mushrooms with half of the remaining garlic and a pinch of salt until they have given off most of their water and are browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside.  Season to taste and keep warm.

Heat the remaining 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan.  Add remaining garlic and the blanched vegetables and cook the blanched vegetables until they've taken on a little color but are still firm, about 5 minutes. Set aside.  Season to taste and keep warm.

Meanwhile, reduce the cream by half in a pan large enough to hold the cooked spaghetti.  Stir in the Parmesan and butter and turn the heat to low.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook the spaghetti. When the spaghetti is almost al dente, drain and transfer it to the pan with the reduced cream to finish cooking.

To Finish:
First, fold in the reserved tomato sauce into the pan containing the spaghetti and cream.  Then, add the mushrooms;  and, finally, the sautéed vegetables.  Let set for about one minute, then plate each dish and garnish with basil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.   Toasted pine nuts could also be added as a garnish.  Serves 4.

RATATOUILLE or CONFIT BYALDI

Ratatouille or Confit Byaldi

After a visit to my local Farmers Market, I couldn't resist and purchased a bunch of various vegetables.  The first dish that came to mind was Ratatouille, or Confit Byaldi.  


Veggies From Market

While the "original" ratatouille recipes tell us to fry the vegetables before baking, the Confit Byaldi version does not fry them. The vegetables are baked slowly in the oven for several hours to steam.  Sauces, cheese or vinaigrettes could be then added to the final baked/steamed vegetables.

Many recipes for Ratatouille are featured on the Net, including Chef Thomas Keller's version of Byaldi which was published in his 1999 cookbook, The French Laundry Cookbook.  In Chef Keller's recipe, he added two sauces.  One is a tomato and pepper sauce called piperade, which is made of reduced and finely chopped tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and herbs, then spread thinly at the bottom of the vegetable bed.  The other is an herbed balsamic vinaigrette that is served atop the vegetables.  

 

The first time I made this dish was in 2007, not long after the movie, Ratatioulle, was released.  I admit it.  I did go to the movies to see it back then, only after I learned that Chef Keller served as a food consultant for the Pixar film and allowed its producer to intern at his restaurant.  It was a really good movie.  And a good recipe, nonetheless.

 

Circa 2007

So I revisited the recipe (and watched the movie) again.  And after several hours of prep, below is my adaption of Chef Keller's version of Byaldi, or Ratatioulle, using  all of the vegetables that I purchased at the Market.

INGREDIENTS

For Piperade:
1/2 red pepper, seeds and ribs removed
1/2 yellow pepper, seeds and ribs removed
1 lime green pepper, seeds removed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
3 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and finely diced, juices reserved
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig flat-leaf parsley
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt

For Vegetables:
1 zucchini sliced in 1/16-inch rounds
1/2 Italian eggplant sliced into 1/16-inch rounds
1/2 white eggplant sliced into 1/16-inch rounds
1 yellow squash sliced into 1/16-inch rounds
4 Roma tomatoes, sliced into 1/16-inch rounds
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves, fresh
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For Vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

For Piperade:
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place pepper halves on a foil-lined sheet, cut side down. Roast until skin loosens, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest until cool enough to handle. Peel and chop finely.

Cut an X on the bottom of each tomato.  Add tomatoes into a pot of boiling water for about 45 seconds to one minute.  Remove tomatoes and quickly submerge into an ice water bath.  This will loosen the skins and make it easier to peel the tomatoes.  When cooled, remove tomatoes from ice water.  Peel, remove seeds and dice tomatoes while reserving as much juice as possible.  Strain tomato juice through a very fine sieve to extract seeds.  Set juice aside.

Diced Tomatoes

Combine oil, garlic, and onion in medium skillet over low heat until soft, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes, their juices, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Simmer over low heat until very soft. Add peppers and simmer to soften them.  

Tomato and Pepper Mixture

Season to taste with salt.  Discard herbs. Reserve a tablespoon of mixture. Spread the remaining piperade mixture in the bottom of an 8-inch skillet.

For Vegetables:

Heat oven to 275 degrees. Down center of pan, arrange a strip of 8 alternating slices of vegetables over piperade, overlapping so that 1/4 inch of each slice is exposed. Repeat until pan is filled.

Pre-Oven

Mix garlic, oil, and thyme leaves in bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle over vegetables. Cover pan with lid (alternatively, use parchment paper or foil crimping edges to seal well).  Bake until vegetables are tender about 2 hours.  When done, remove from oven.

For Vinaigrette:
Combine reserved piperade, oil, vinegar, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl.

To Serve:

Spoon vegetables onto individual serving plates. Cheese, such as parmesan, feta, or mozzarella, may be added to the roasted vegetables.  Then Drizzle vinaigrette around plate. Serve hot.

Yield: 4 servings