food & dining
Pasta for Dinner
KERI WHITE | JE FOOD COLUMNIST
I love pasta. That’s not a unique opinion, although over the years pasta has
been vilified as demonic, extolled as a simple, economic, tasty meal, and
everything in between. While I could eat pasta every day, I don’t, so when I
do I relish it.

These two dishes are simple, delicious and typical of Italian cuisine, in that they
showcase the ingredients.

The first one is vegetarian and could be vegan if you omit the cheese — it won’t
have the silken richness, but the roasted tomatoes and garlic deliver plenty of
flavor, so the dish won’t suffer. Roasting garlic brings a sweetness and caramel-
ization that is darn near intoxicating.

The second dish, amatriciana, is typically made with guanciale or pancetta
(both smoked pork products). I have tweaked it using turkey bacon and omitting
the cheese, thus adapting the dish for a kosher audience.

Serves 4
This dish came together when I real-
ized the grape tomatoes I bought
were passing their prime. No longer
fresh, they needed to be used — and
quickly — to avoid waste.

Roasting tomatoes brings out a
depth and intensity of flavor that
is just wonderful, and tossing it
together with these ingredients pro-
vided a meal that suggested far more
effort than it required.

If you don’t have mascarpone, you
can use cream cheese, butter or
even a drizzle of heavy cream. And
if you don’t have either, you can skip
the dairy; the dish will be lighter but
still quite delicious.

I used grape tomatoes because
that’s what I had on hand, but any
small-sized tomato from plum on
down is fine. As for the pasta — I used
fresh fettuccine, but any long, rib-
bon-style fresh or dry pasta cooked
to al dente is fine for this dish.

3 pints cherry, grape or plum
tomatoes 8 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
Generous sprinkle of salt and
pepper ¼ cup mascarpone cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Handful or basil, coarsely chopped,
for garnish
22 Heat your oven to 375 degrees F.

Line a cooking tray with parchment,
and spread the tomatoes and garlic
in a single layer. Sprinkle them with
olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss
to coat. Roast them in the oven for
about 45 minutes until the tomatoes
are jammy and slightly black in spots.

Note: Keep an eye on the garlic
during the roasting process; it may
roast more quickly than the tomato,
and you want it soft and mushy, not
toasted crisp. If it starts to inch past
soft, take the pan out, remove the
garlic to a bowl and continue roast-
ing the tomatoes until done.

When the tomatoes are nearly
done, heat a pot of salted water to a
boil. When the roasting is complete,
mash the garlic and pour the toma-
toes and their juice/drippings into a
serving bowl.

Cook the pasta to al dente, and
drain, reserving about ¼ cup water
for the sauce. Toss the pasta with
the sauce, add the mascarpone
cheese and toss. If the sauce needs
to be loosened, add a bit of the pasta
water and toss to coat all noodles
thoroughly. Top it with Parmesan
cheese and fresh herbs, and serve.

Pasta all’Amatriciana
Serves 4
If you like spice, the red pepper
flakes are for you. Vary the amount
MARCH 17, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Photos by Keri White
Roasted Tomato and Garlic
Mascarpone Pasta
1 pound fresh fettuccine



per your preference or omit it altogether if a milder
flavor is desired.

4 slices turkey bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
(more/less per preference)
½ cup red wine
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 pound ribbon-style pasta
1 handful chopped fresh parsley
Heat the oil in a large saucepan or deep skillet. Add
the onion, turkey bacon, pepper and salt. Saute until
fragrant. The onion should be soft and the bacon
thoroughly cooked, about 8 minutes.

Add the red wine, bring it to a boil and let it reduce
a bit. Add the canned tomatoes, lower the heat,
cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes, or as long
as 90 minutes, if desired. The flavor will deepen a bit,
but this is not a dish that requires hours on the stove.

Cook the pasta in salted water according to pack-
age directions to al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of the
cooking water before draining and, when done, toss
the pasta with sauce, adding water if needed to coat
the noodles.

Top with chopped parsley, and serve. JE
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