I am a fan of what I call hearty pasta, the manly-man pastas, like bucatini, fetuccine, perciatelli,  as opposed to the girly-man pastas, like angel hair. If this sounds misogynistic, I apologize.  My wife is the opposite. She prefers small, fine string pasta; and recently she bought home some angel hair nests. This was new to me. Usually when I come across pasta nests, it’s tagliatelle, another one of my favorites. But, since, it was angel hair for dinner, I had to come up with an appropriate recipe.  We had some canned minced clams on hand, and caviar.  So, I thought, why not whip up something with those ingredients?  And the result is the recipe given. This can be a dish for a special occasion, since it includes caviar.  Want to be fancy about it, you can tell your friends you’re serving Capelli d’ Angelo con Vongole e Caviar.  That should impress your neighbors.

Note that dried, package pasta is always available, but if you can get a hold of fresh angel hair, that’s prefered. Also, the dish calls for black lumpfish caviar; but if you can get sevruga caviar, it’s even better.

ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH CLAMS AND CAVIAR

Ingredients:

4 (6.5 oz) cans chopped or minced clams, drained
Juice of ½ lemon
4 tablespoons butter
4 fresh tarragon sprigs, stripped and chopped or 1 teaspoon dried
½ cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons dry white wine
1 pound angel hair pasta (if you can find fresh, even better)
Ground black pepper to taste
3 teaspoons black lumpfish caviar

Instructions:

1.  In a small bowl, combine the minced clams with  the lemon juice.  Melt butter in a large skillet or fry pan, add the clams and tarragon and stir over medium-high heat for a few seconds. Add the cream and stir for few seconds more. Pour in the wine, and season with pepper. Lower heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cover.
2.  Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving a few spoonfuls of the cooking water. Add the clam sauce to the pasta, along with a little of the reserved water, and toss to combine. Place in a warmed serving bowl, sprinkle with the caviar, and enjoy.
   Yield:  4 servings.

This is a pretty simple dish where you can use any string pasta, be it  angel hair, bucatini, spaghetti, and not just the linguini mentioned.  It calls for three simple ingredients: scallops, lemon and basil. Think of it as a variation of pasta with white clams sauce. Except you’re using scallops instead of clams. If you can’t find small bay scallops, you can use large sea scallops, just cut them in half.  So, whatcha waitin’ for? Go at it.

LINGUINI WITH LEMON,BASIL AND SCALLOPS

Ingredients:

1 pound small  l bay scallops
½ cup olive oil
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest plus 1 cup juice (2 lemons)
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
Salt an freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1 cup grated Romano cheese ( or substitute Parmesan)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 pound linguine or other string pasta
¼ cup shredded fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried

Instructions:

1. Wash scallops under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
2.  In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon zest and juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir in Romano cheese until thick and creamy.
3.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add scallops and cook in  a single layer until scallops are firm, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cover.
4.  Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring 4 quarts water to a boil. Add linguini and cook, stirring often until al dente or preferred tenderness. Drain pasta and return it to pot, but reserve ½ cup cooking water. Stir in olive oil mixture, scallop and their juices, remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Add basil and toss to mix. Add reserve cooking water as needed to adjust consistency. Season with added salt and pepper, if desired, and serve.
   Yield: 4 servings.

Summertime and the livin’ ain’t easy. Though it’s been a mild one thus far, the heat will come, that’s guaranteed (global warming deniers aside). Thus we think of salads for summer. And, for some time now, pasta salads have come to the fore. My favorite of these has always been that great perennial, Macaroni Salad. Nothing says better, pasta salad, than this one. It’s simple, it’s wonderful; and you can pack ’em with whatever you want be it herbs or vegetables.

I’ve experiment with this dish for years; and I’ve come up with what I consider one of the best renditions of all. For most, macaroni salad is just macaroni swimming in mayonnaise. If you like that, great. But I’ve discovered a novel variation: 1/2 mayonnaise and 1/2 sour cream. A marvelous combinations of flavors Add to it lime juice, seasoning, roasted  red peppers, cilantro and, for those who like to give it a kick, jalepeño pepper, and you’re set. Bring on summer!

Note that this dish can be served at room temperature or chilled. Your choice. If using at room temperature, it’s best to let the pasta sit for 20 minutes after preparing so as to let all the flavors come together. Some state that, if serving chilled, add a drizzle of olive oil and toss to have it glistening again.

MACARONI SALAD

1 pound package elbow macaroni
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup low fat sour cream
Juice of half a lime
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1 (7-oz) jar roasted red peppers, chopped
½ cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 jalepeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)

1. Cook elbow macaroni according to package directions. Drain under cold running water to cool.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, salt, pepper, and oregano.
3. Add macaroni and toss to coat. Fold in roasted peppers, cilantro, and jalepeño, if using
Yield: 4-6 servings.

For a pasta freak like myself, this is one of the easiest (and moist economical) dishes to prepare. And it’s quick and delicious. Think of the nerdy Sheldon on the comedy series The Big Bang, where he always rhapsodizes about his mom’s real “Eyetalian” spaghetti and franks dinner. In our family this is the equivalent.

For this preparation, any pasta can be used, whether string, round, oval or shells. In terms of types, I’ve always preferred what I call the the “hardy” ones, or as my Uncle Philip use to say, the “manly-man pastas.” By that I mean fettuccine, cannelloni, and my favorite, perciatelli. No angel hair for me. For this rendering we used rigatoni.

For the sausage in the dish, you can used mild or hot sausage links,  meat sausage, pork sausage, or even, Spanish chorizo. If you’re more health conscious, you can use chicken or turkey sausage.  Back in Spanish Harlem, during our lean days, we used canned Vienna sausage. You’re only limited by your imagination; which by now should be boundless.  With a good Chianti (or whatever wine you prefer), and some crusty bread, it’s a poor guy’s banquet.

Ingredients:

PASTA WITH SAUSAGE

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 to 1 ½ pounds preferred sausage (see above), cut into ½-inch rounds
1 pound package rigatoni
1 medium onion, sliced thin ( I prefer a red onion, but can use other)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1  jar (26-oz.) of your favorite pasta sauce
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

instructions:

1.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet or pan (I prefer cast-iron). Add sausage and sauté until brown and tender. Depending on type of sausage this may take 5-6 minutes.
2. Cook rigatoni according to package directions.
3. Meanwhile, add onion to skillet and cook for about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in pepper and oregano.
4. Add pasta sauce and stir to mix. Cook until warm, 3-4 minutes.
5. Drain pasta, place in a large serving dish or platter. Top with sauce and parsley, and serve.
Yield: 4 or more servings.