SPICY SICHUAN NOODLES

These noodles - a riff on the very popular dan dan noodles - are fiery and addictive! Don't be put off by the ingredient list. Although they sound hard to find, Sichuan pepper, Chinese pickled vegetables, and preserved chillies are easily found in any Asian grocery store, or even at a well-stocked regular grocery store.

Use any greens you'd like - this time I used sweet potato leaves from my garden but in the past I've also used sliced bok choy and spinach. I like spice but not infernal heat, so for some people these might not be spicy enough - simply adjust the spice level to your taste!

Spicy Sichuan Noodles

makes: 4 servings

- 1 recipe homemade noodles (or 1 packet of dried or fresh noodles of your choice)

- 3 - 4 dried red cayenne peppers (or any other dried red chillies)

- 4 scallions, sliced

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 in. piece of ginger, peeled and minced

- 1 jalapeño, sliced

- 2 carrots, julienned

- 1 zucchini, julienned

- 1 cup bean sprouts

- 1 cup sweet potato leaves (or any other greens)

- 3 tbsp. pickled mustard greens and/or bamboo shoots, chopped (optional)

- 1 tbsp. crushed red pepper (flakes)

- 2 tbsp. rice wine (sake is fine) (optional)

- 2 tbsp. peanut oil (or safflower oil, but not olive oil!)

Sauce:

- 1 tbsp. sesame oil

- 1 tbsp. sesame paste (tahini is fine)

- 1-2 tbsp. Chinese preserved chillies (or red pepper flakes soaked in 1 tbsp. distilled vinegar)

- 1/4 cup soy sauce

- 1 tbsp. sugar

- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp. Sichuan pepper, crushed (optional)

- 1 tsp. corn starch (optional)

Garnish:

- 1/2 cup bean sprouts

- 1 cucumber, julienned

1. In a small bowl mix all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
2. In a large pot heat water to a rolling boil. Add the noodles and boil for 7 - 10 min. till they are al dente or cooked to your preference. Drain the noodles.
3. On medium-high, heat the peanut oil in a large pan. Add the dried peppers, scallions, garlic, ginger, and jalapeño, and give it a quick stir. Add the carrots, zucchini, sweet potato leaves, and pickled vegetables if using, and sauté, stirring constantly. Deglaze the pan with the rice wine. Add the soy sauce and crushed red pepper and stir.
4. Add the noodles and sauce, turn the heat to high and quickly stir everything together. Turn the heat off.
5. Serve in bowls, garnished with bean sprouts and julienned cucumber.

HOMEMADE NOODLES

Homemade Noodles

makes: 4 servings

- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

- 3/4 tsp. baking soda

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1 egg

- 1/4 cup cold water

- 1/4 cup cornstarch (or tapioca starch)

1. Mix the flours, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry mix and add the egg. Mix the egg into the flour using a fork or your fingers, till you have a shaggy dough. Add water 1 tbsp. at a time and mix till you have a stiff dough. Knead really well - about 10 minutes - to make the dough supple and smooth. Cover and let it rest at room temperature for at least 15 min., up to 2 hrs. Dust your hands with cornstarch and divide the rested dough into 4 pieces.
2. If using a pasta roller: Take one piece of dough and roughly shape it into a rectangle. Roll it through the pasta roller at the widest setting. Fold into thirds like a letter and roll it through again. Repeat two more times. After that, roll through without folding, and at successively narrower settings till you have sheets of the desired thickness (you don't want to go too thin or the dough will tear, but you don't want to be too thick because the noodles will swell slightly when cooked). Lightly dust with corn starch as needed, if the dough gets sticky. Hang the rolled sheet of dough over a hanger or the back of a chair to dry for 10 - 15 min. Repeat with the rest of the dough. On the pasta maker select the noodle width you want, and pass one sheet at a time through the cutter to make noodles. Gather the cut noodles into a loose pile and set aside while you cut the remaining sheets into noodles.
3. If rolling by hand: flatten one piece of the dough and dust lightly with corn starch. Roll into a circle or rough rectangle, as thin as possible without tearing the dough. Let it dry for 10 - 15 min. Repeat with the remaining dough. Working with one sheet of rolled dough at a time, fold the sheet into thirds and use a sharp knife to cut evenly into noodles as wide or narrow as you want. Gather the cut noodles into loose piles and set aside while you cut the rest of the rolled dough into noodles.
4. Steam the noodles for 5 - 7 minutes. Allow to cool. If not cooking immediately, store in a covered container in the fridge for up to two days. If cooking immediately, see Step 5 below.
5. Finish cooking the noodles by boiling for 7 - 10 min. and enjoy in your favourite recipe!

CACIO E PEPE CON ASPARAGI: PASTA IN A CHEESE AND PEPPER SAUCE, WITH ASPARAGUS

As I've said before about cacio e pepe, its pasta, cheese, salt, pepper. What's not to love?! As simple a dish as it is, the flavours of all ingredients really matter, so use the best you can get.

Toasted peppercorns are the perfect smoky spice for anything. Here they complement the cheese exceptionally well to make a cheesy sauce that covers the pasta and asparagus. 

Cacio e pepe is a Roman dish, and traditionally only has cheese, pepper, and pasta tossed together with a little bit of the starchy pasta cooking water added to bind the sauce together. This recipe has sautéed asparagus added because I had some fresh perky asparagus waiting, and I wanted a vegetable with the pasta so I could make it a meal. 

Cacio e Pepe Con Asparagi
Makes: 4 servings

- 1/2 box bucatini or spaghetti 
- 1 lb. asparagus, cut into 2 in. long pieces
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1-1/2 tbsp. coarsely ground toasted black pepper
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 3/4 cup Pecorino Romano, grated (in a pinch use Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, or other hard cheese (or a combination of hard cheeses))

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and boil until al dente.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large pan.
3. Add the pepper and asparagus and sauté till the asparagus is tender, about 5 minutes.
4. When the pasta is done, remove from the heat. Using tongs, lift the pasta from the water, add to the pan with the cooked asparagus and mix in with the asparagus.
5. Remove the pan from heat. Immediately add the grated cheese and about 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta cooking water and mix so the cheese coats the pasta and asparagus.
6. Serve hot with additional cheese and pepper to taste.

BETTER THAN MAC-N-CHEESE: ORECCHIETTE WITH ROOT VEGETABLE SAUCE

Cheesy? Dairy-free? Lowfat? Vegetarian? Vegan? Gluten-free? Yeast-free? Totally delicious? Easy? All of those is what this recipe is! Just make this - you're going to love it! I've served it plenty of times to my dairy- and dairy-free friends, no one can tell that there's not a morsel of cheese in this mac-n-cheese.

I used orecchiette but any short-ish pasta with a texture that allows sauce to cling on to will do: Maccheroni, fusili, rigatoni, radiatori, conchiglie, cavatelli, casarecci, gemelli, ruote... whatever strikes your fancy. Or whatever you've got waiting to be cooked... or whatever the market has for you.

Orecchiette with Root Vegetable Sauce

Makes: 6 generous servings

Sauce:

- 4 cups water

- 1/2 cup raw cashews

- 1 shallot
- 2 medium red or yellow potatoes
- 3-4 small (2 medium) carrots
- 1 medium yellow or white onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 2 tsp. crushed red pepper

- 2 tsp. good quality salt

- 1 tbsp. olive or grapeseed oil

Pasta:

- 4 quarts water

- 16 ounces orecchiette

Topping:

- 2 slices of bread, torn into large pieces

1. Soak cashews in 1 cup water.

2. Cut all the vegetables except garlic into roughly evenly sized pieces.

3. Bring 3 cups of water to a rolling boil in a large saucepan.

4. Add the cut vegetables and 4 cloves of garlic to the boiling water. There's no need to cut the garlic, add the cloves whole.

5. Bring everything to a boil.

6. Lower the heat to medium-high and cook until vegetables are soft.

7. Remove the vegetables from the heat and allow to cool almost completely.

8. Do not drain vegetables.

9. Add the cashews, 1 clove of garlic, cooked vegetables and water, salt, and all the seasonings to a blender.

10. Blend on high until everything is a smooth paste. SAUCE!!

11. Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C.

12. Bring the 4 quarts water to a rolling boil.

13. Add the orecchiette and cook until al dente. Thoroughly drain the pasta.

14. Process the bread in a food processor or blender to make breadcrumbs.

15. Mix the drained pasta with the sauce and put in a 9 in. x 13 in. baking pan. I prefer a glass or ceramic pan but metal will do I suppose.

16. Top with the breadcrumbs and bake for 30 min. or until the sauce starts to bubble.

17. Remove from the oven and enjoy!

Notes:

1. Make the sauce ahead of time and thin if required before mixing in cooked pasta.
2. Make this gluten-free: use gluten-free pasta and breadcrumbs.

3. Mix in other vegetables along with the sauce and pasta: kale or chard torn into pieces, spinach, lightly steamed broccoli, or even cauliflower florets.

4. Make it vegan: make sure to use eggless pasta.

CACIO E PEPE, TOASTED PEPPERCORNS

Smoky, toasted peppercorns are the only way I use pepper now! And pasta cacio e pepe... well it's pasta, olive oil, cheese, pepper, what's not to love?!

Toasted Peppercorns

makes: 1/2 cup

- 1/2 cup good quality black peppercorns (Tellicherry or such) 

- pan that can hold the peppercorns in 1 layer (I use a cast-iron skillet)

1. Put the peppercorns in the pan and turn on the heat to medium-low to toast.
2. Toss or stir occasionally until the peppercorns are fragrant.
3. When you smell the aroma, turn off the heat
4. Immediately remove the peppercorns into a bowl - they will continue to toast and then burn if you leave them in the hot pan.
5. Let the peppercorns cool completely and store in a jar.

Cacio e Pepe

makes: 2 servings

- 1/4 lb. pasta of choice (I used spaghetti this time; I don't use whole wheat pasta) 

- 1 tbsp. olive oil

- 1/3 cup good Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, finely grated

- 1 tsp. toasted pepper, coarsely ground

1. Bring a medium sized pot of salted water to a boil.

2. Add the pasta and boil until al dente, turn off the heat.

3. Heat olive oil in a pan, add a generous 1/2 tsp. coarsely ground toasted pepper.

4. Using tongs, remove the pasta from the water and add to the pan.

5. Swirl the pasta to coat with olive oil and pepper.

6. Turn off the heat.

7. Add the grated cheese immediately and swirl until the cheese coats the pasta.

8. Serve with additional cheese and pepper to taste. Here I've served it with roasted mushrooms, green beans, and brussels sprouts.

Notes:

1. 1/4 lb. pasta (long shapes like spaghetti, naturally you can't measure short pasta this way!) is a bunch approximately 1 inch in diameter.

2. Make an approximately 1 inch circle with your index finger and thumb. Whatever fits in the circle is roughly 2 servings.