What’s up at your pizzeria? Is it dishing out the toppings you hunger for?

Here’s what Mario Batali serves up at Otto Pizzeria in New York City:

Familiar American Classics

Do you want to eat this now? Here’s the recipe. Photo courtesy Babbo restaurant.

 
*Cacio di Roma is a sheep’s milk cheese produced in Rome. It is often compared to Pecorino Romano, a more famous sheep’s milk cheese from the same region. Cacio is aged for only four weeks and is softer, with a better balance of salt and cream. It as an excellent depth of flavor despite its youth, and is popularly served as a simple pasta with cracked pepper. Pecorino Romano is aged for at least 6 months and is much saltier.

†Prosciutto (pro-SHOO-toe) is the Italian word for ham, used in English to refer to dry-cured ham (prosciutto crudo). A regular cured ham—what Americans refer to as “ham,” in Italian is prosciutto cotto, cooked ham. Parma ham is prosciutto produced in the Parma Protected Designation of Origin area. Serrano ham, or jamón serrano (serrano means sierra or mountain) is a dry-cured Spanish ham, similar to prosciutto: both are covered with salt and then hung to dry. Since prosciutto is cured for 2 years and serrano for just 6 to 18 months, prosciutto is generally a drier product.
 
Italian Twists

 
New Ideas

 
Find more of our favorite gourmet pizza recipes.

Pasta is one of America’s favorite foods. Yet how many of us have had flavored pasta?

There is no data, but our guess is a fraction of a percent.

Pasta Mamas’s aims to change that. The artisan pasta maker produces 26 flavors of pasta, plus plain and whole wheat.

Available in linguine, fettuccine and papardelle, the flavors include vegetables (beets, blue corn, zucchini), spices (jalapeño, tarragon-mustard) and even sweet flavors, made without sweetener, that can be used for main courses/sides or desserts (apple spice, chocolate, cinnamon nutmeg, Irish cream).

Pasta Mama’s also makes matching sauce mixes. So enjoy broccoli pasta with creamy broccoli sauce, garnished with steamed broccoli florets. Or sesame-ginger pasta with a stir fry.

At $5.75 for 12 ounces of dry pasta, and another $5.75 for a packet of sauce mix, Pasta Mama’s is a delicious gift, as well as a treat for you and your family.

The line is certified kosher. Read the full review.

Just a few of Pasta Mama’s tasty flavored pastas. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

HOW MANY CUTS OF PASTA HAVE YOU TRIED?

Check out our Pasta Glossary and make some new discoveries.

Frankly, we’re surprised by the number of people we meet who cook at home, yet have never made pasta sauce from scratch.

A basic pasta sauce couldn’t be easier. All you need is a lidded sauce pan and a wooden or silicone spoon. The ingredients are found in the kitchen of every person who cooks: a box of strained tomatoes (like Pomi; we spend extra for the superior flavor of San Marzano tomatoes), olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Most recipes recommend strained tomatoes (purée); but you can use chopped tomatoes for a chunky sauce, or purée them in your food processor.

The only thing you may need to pick up is fresh basil and optional fresh parsley; but you can always fall back on oregano from your spice shelf.

You can get more elaborate with subsequent batches, adding browned, chopped sausage or chopped meat; sautéed onions, mushrooms and/or bell peppers; chopped artichokes or sundried tomatoes.

And then, let your creative sauces flow, adding whatever appeals to you to the basic pasta sauce. Anchovy paste? Blue cheese? Chipotles or jalapeños? Cream? Currants and slivered almonds with cardamom or curry? Lemon or orange zest? Pistachio nuts? Truffle oil (added at the end, not as cooking oil)? Vodka or tequila (stir in at the end)?

The sky’s the limit. And as an extra piece of heaven, your homemade sauce won’t contain preservatives, added sugar or high fructose corn syrup—the sweeteners added to compensate for inferior tomatoes. Premium ripe tomatoes have plenty of natural sugars and require no added refined sugar.

Use your homemade sauce on pasta, pizza, chicken or eggplant parmesan, grilled fish or seafood, meatball sandwiches, omelets, polenta and steamed veggies.

Make a triple batch and freeze it in portion-sized containers so you can microwave-defrost it in minutes or bring it as a last-minute gift.

But the goal is to make that first batch. Once you do, you’ll never go back to relying on supermarket pasta sauce.

Love pasta? Check out the recipes and tips in our Pasta Section.

White button mushrooms. Photo by Paul
Cowan | BSP.

After growing up on white button mushrooms, food enthusiaists have foraged for more flavor excitement than the old standard offers.

The mild-flavored classic whites, the cultivated, smooth, creamy-looking reliables found fresh at every market and—gasp—also sold canned, were sidelined by anyone with pretensions to a fine palate.

Chanterelles, chicken of the woods, creminis, enokis, maitakes, morels, porcinis, portabellas, shiitakes and baskets full of other exotic and lovely fungi provide more flavor, texture and eye appeal (check out all the mushroom varieties in our Mushroom Glossary).

Now, there’s a new reason to take a bite of buttons. Shiuan Chen, Ph.D., Director of Tumor Cell Biology at the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, and his team have discovered that Agaricus bisporous, white button mushrooms, are a potential breast cancer and prostate chemopreventive agent. Components in the mushrooms suppress aromatase activity and estrogen biosynthesis (here’s the full article, written for a medical audience).

*Other foods also contain anticarcinogens. For example, pomegranates can inhibit estrogen production and limit breast cancer cell growth. Blueberries may be effective in fighting an aggressive subtype of breast cancer.

So feel free to add white button mushrooms back into your repertoire. Tell critics that they’re a proven anticarcinogen. (It’s likely that other mushrooms are similarly helpful, but they weren’t part of the research study).

RECIPE: ASPARAGUS AND MUSHROOM PASTA

Ingredients

Mushrooms and asparagus with orecchiette pasta. Photo courtesy Barilla Pasta.

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large deep skillet over medium heat. Add shallots. Cook and stir 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Add mushrooms and asparagus. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until asparagus is tender yet still crisp.

4. Add garlic during last minute of cooking. Sprinkle flour over vegetables. Cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in broth and simmer 3 to 4 minutes or until sauce thickens.

5. Drain pasta, divide among four plates and top with sauce, cheese and basil.

Makes 4 servings.

Serve with a large green salad topped with sliced raw mushrooms and/or pickled mushrooms.

*Recipe courtesy City of Hope.

Herb-laced gnudi. Photo © Comugnero
Silvana | Fotolia.

Do you like gnocchi, ravioli and tortellini, but not the carbs? Get to know gnudi: It’s the filling without the pasta or the potatoes. Essentially, gnudi are a low-carb way to enjoy pasta.

Chef Johnny Gnall shares an easy gnudi recipe. If you have questions or suggestions for tips, email Chef Johnny.

GNOCCHI VERSUS GNUDI

Gnocchi, Italian for dumplings (pronounced NYOH-kee) are chewy pillows that are shaped into little balls or ovals. They are most often made with white or sweet potatoes, then boiled, baked or fried. They can be flavored: basil, spinach, tomato and saffron are popular. They’re served with butter and grated Parmesan cheese or a sauce.

Gnudi (pronounced NYOO-dee) means nude in Italian. Gnudi consist of pasta filling—what you find inside tortellini or ravioli—shaped into small, flattened balls without any dough. A common recipe includes ricotta, spinach and Parmesan cheese. The gnudi are then sautéed or baked.

Gnudi can be served with marinara sauce, mushroom ragoût, pan-sautéed cherry tomatoes, fresh peas, crispy pancetta or whatever inspires you. You can cook them in herb butter, or in plain butter with a sprinkle of fresh herbs atop the gnudi. I like the traditional brown butter-sage sauce.

Gnudi are referred to as “cousins” of gnocchi because both are dumpling-like, but gnocchi are typically chewy and heavy from the potato, and potato-less gnudi are delicate pillows bound with egg and cheese.

The recipe below calls for spinach, but you can substitute any hearty green—I also enjoy it with chard or kale. Basic gnudi with just egg, cheese, and a little flour, but the greens help bind and give the gnudi a nice color.

Take your time when first making gnudi: Like any dough, especially one with such low flour content, it takes a while to get a feel for the process. The small amount of flour, however, helps to keep your dough from getting quickly overworked and tough.

I like gnudi with a sage and brown butter sauce, but they work well with any number of sauces. Even something as simple as some melted butter and fresh grated Parmesan will make them absolutely delicious!

GNUDI RECIPE WITH RICOTTA AND SPINACH

Ingredients

 
For The Sauce

Gnudi before cooking. Photo courtesy Robert Love’s Food and Recipe Blog. Check out his recipe and photos of gnudi-in-progress.

 
Optional Garnishes

 
Preparation

1. Make the sauce. Melt butter in a sauté pan and cook until it begins to turn golden brown (do not overcook or the butter may burn). Add sage; stir and and remove from heat. Add lemon juice and set aside.

2. Remove water from spinach. It’s important that you remove most of the water from your spinach, or the dough will never come together. Press the pureed spinach against a mesh strainer and then hang it to drain for 30 minutes.

3. Combine ricotta and spinach. Thoroughly incorporate, then add the beaten egg, a couple of pinches of salt, and Parmesan. Mix well. Taste a bit of your mixture and adjust with salt and pepper as necessary.

4. Add the flour. The actual amount of flour may vary slightly depending on anything from the moisture content of the ricotta to the moisture in the atmosphere. Too much flour could make the gnudi dense and heavy; not enough flour, and the gnudi might fall apart. Therefore, bring everything together and test the consistency by dropping a spoonful into some boiling water. If it holds its general shape and doesn’t come apart in the water, you’ve nailed it!

5. Shape the gnudi. Using two spoons, form your gnudi into quenelles (oval shapes) and lay them on a cookie sheet, tray or clean surface. One they are ready to go, drop them into seasoned boiling water in batches. Make sure you don’t overcrowd your pot, or the gnudi will jostle one another and likely fall apart. Once the dumplings float to the surface, they should take about a minute to cook. Exact cooking time may vary, so it do a tester or two and see which time suits your taste.

6. Sauce and serve. Right before serving, return the brown butter to the heat and add the Parmesan cheese. Stir to blend, then add the gnudi and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

FRIED SAGE LEAVES RECIPE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. Wash and dry sage and remove stems. Be sure that the leaves are thoroughly dry before frying (when we don’t have time to air dry, we use a hair dryer!).

2. Heat oil in a small pan over medium-high heat.

3. Fry sage leaves until crisp, 2–3 seconds. Do not crowd in the pan; fry in batches if necessary.

4. Transfer to paper towels to drain and sprinkle with salt. Reserve until ready to serve.

 
HOW MANY TYPES OF PASTA HAVE YOU TRIED?

Check out the delicious options in our Pasta Glossary.

Just pour the sauce tray on top of the pasta
and you’ve got a tasty pasta entrée. Shown: one cooked entrée and two packages waiting
for the microwave. Photo by Elvira Kalviste |
THE NIBBLE.

It’s new, it’s clever and it’s a real time saver. After just 60 seconds in the microwave, you can enjoy a quality pasta entrée, thanks to Barilla’s clever Microwaveable Meals packaging.

The innovation: a pasta meal that is shelf stable (no refrigeration required), portable (toss the package into your bag and head out) and ready to eat in a minute.

At $3.29 per package (one serving), this may not be an everyday solution for many families. But when children are screaming for food, or you are extremely time strapped, it can be a godsend. The mezze penne size used in most of the varieties is good for small mouths as well as large ones.

Barilla microwaveable meals are made from the same 100% natural ingredients as Barilla dry pasta and jarred sauces. Now in select stores in the microwavable meals aisle, the choices include:

Each 9-ounce package contains one serving of pasta and sauce.

 
The innovative packaging of Barilla microwaveable meals maintains the food’s taste, texture and freshness for a shelf life of 12 months, at room temperature. The pasta and sauce are stored in separate trays, allowing consumers to use as much or as little sauce as they like.

We enjoyed the meals, and are especially pleased that there are two whole grain varieties (if you’re going to eat high-carb pasta and bread, make them whole grain for a nutritional benefit). We have just two nits:

 
For additional information on Barilla microwaveable meals, visit BarillaUS.com.

Find more of our favorite pastas, sauces and recipes in our Gourmet Pasta Section.

*Based on the Percent Daily Values, which are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, as per the Nutrition Facts Panel.

With the increased consumer interest in gluten-free products, we find ourselves tasting more of them. Our rule of thumb with any special-diet product is: It’s got to be so good that anyone would enjoy it, and not notice that it’s meant for people on a restricted diet.

Last week our Top Pick was My Dad’s gluten-free cookies. Now we have two new items to add to our gluten-free roster: delicious pizzas.

Frozen Gluten-Free Pizzas From Bold Organics

The Bold Organics pizza line is not just gluten-free: It’s milk-free (no lactose, casein or whey), egg-free, peanut- and treenut-free.

It not only tastes like conventional pizza; it’s better than many of the other frozen choices in the supermarket, even the ones made with traditional wheat and dairy.

All of the flavor, none of the gluten (or other
allergens). Photo courtesy Bold Organics.

These are individual pies, approximately eight inches in diameter. The number of servings is listed as two—for two five-year-olds, perhaps, but you’ll know that when you see the size of the box. Just count on one pizza per adult.

 
These tasty pizzas are available in four different flavors:

 
Bold Organics pizzas retail from $6.99 to $10.29. They’re being rolled out at retail locations around the country this month, with representation in Whole Foods and increased presence overall expected later this year. See the company website to view a store locator.

The line is certified by Organic Certifiers, the Non GMO Project and the Celiac Sprue Association.

Put your favorite toppings on a great
gluten-free crust. Photo courtesy
KingArthurFlour.com.

Fresh Gluten-Free Pizza Crusts

If you want the crust only, we highly recommend the ones made by Mozzarelli’s. These are the same folks who make My Dad’s gluten-free cookies.

Mozzarelli’s is a gourmet pizza emporium in New York City. Conventional and gluten-free pizzas are available. We’ve been there and really enjoyed it.

The crust is made from rice flour, corn starch, potato starch, potato flour and tapioca flour. Unlike Bold Organics, it does contain nonfat dry milk and eggs, so it’s not a vegan product.

It is, however, delicious. Each crust comes in a disposable/recyclable pan.

The company also sells Better Crumbs, gluten-free bread crumbs.
 
Pizza Party Idea

Ask each guest to bring a different topping to share. Then set up a pizza-making table and let guests create their own combinations before you pop the pizzas into the oven.

Make a pearl/Israeli couscous salad instead
of rice salad. It pairs well with just about any
other ingredients. Photo by Travelling Light |
IST.

Chef Johnny Gnall has been experimenting with pearl couscous sent from Bob’s Red Mill, with delicious results. His report follows. If you have questions or suggestions for tips, email Chef Johnny.

When most people think of couscous (KOOS-koos), they think of Moroccan couscous: fluffy piles of semolina, their tiny grains not much larger than coarse cornmeal.

But pearl couscous (also called Israeli couscous) has been making its way onto more and more menus and supermarket shelves. The beautiful round beads (pearls) of semolina are most deserving of finding their way to your kitchen.

Pearl/Israeli couscous is larger and toothier than Moroccan couscous. (EDITOR’S NOTE: We prefer the term “pearl” to “Israeli” couscous. Pearl is an accurate description; “Israeli” seems to limit one’s thoughts of the ingredient to Israeli/Middle Eastern cuisine. You can use it to replace orzo or rice.)

The pearls have a pleasant, chewy texture when properly cooked, giving the couscous a real comfort food quality. Think of macaroni and cheese made with big, thick elbow noodles. That same type of enjoyable, al dente bite is so satisfying, and it’s something that you can’t get out of Moroccan couscous (though you’re probably not looking for it there anyway).

People often think of pearl couscous as exotic. But it’s made of the same semolina wheat as pasta. You should think of it as any other small cut of pasta, like alphabets; corallini, ditallini and tubettini (tiny tubes); orzo (shaped like grains of rice); and pastina (tiny stars).

Bob’s Red Mill carries three varieties of pearl couscous: Natural, Tricolor and Whole Wheat.

HOW TO COOK & SERVE PEARL COUSCOUS

Pearl couscous substitutes seamlessly for rice or any grain. Cook pearl couscous like pasta: Bring salted water to a boil, using 1.5 times the amount of water as pasta (or cover the dry pasta by 2-3 inches). You can also use stock, or toss a bouillon cube into the water for extra flavor.

Cooking time will vary; test after five minutes. The pearls will absorb some water and should be both soft and chewy. (Remember, it will continue to cook when you remove it from the heat.)

From there, you can:

Make A Couscous Salad

Add diced tomato, red onion, feta cheese and torn basil for a Greek-style salad; use cherry tomatoes, sundried tomatoes or roasted red pepper when tomatoes are out of season. Or use chopped pistachios, golden raisins and cubed roasted squash for a Moroccan-style salad in any season.

In fact, you can add just about any three ingredients to make a couscous salad. Try a vegetable, a nut or legume and an herb, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and a splash of acid—citrus juice or vinegar. Proteins are also welcome: cubes of chicken and tofu work especially well. The recipe in the photo at the top uses leftover corn and peas, a bit of oil and balsamic vinegar, and a garnish of grated Parmesan.

For the best presentation, cut or chop your ingredients into small pieces, so they look at home nestled within the pearl couscous.

Treat It Like Pasta

Top couscous with tomato sauce and shredded Parmesan to keep it simple. Or toss it with olive oil, herbs and vegetables for Pearl Couscous Primavera. If you want to indulge, make some Pearl Couscous Carbonara with egg, Parmesan and diced pancetta.

Salmon atop a bed of couscous. Photo by M. Sheldrake | Dreamstime.

Go Full-On Comfort Food

Three words: Mac. And. Cheese. The chewiness of pearl couscous really is wonderful with a gooey cheese like Gruyère or mozzarella, and a topping of crispy breadcrumbs (try panko). The symphony of tastes and textures will have your lids dropping in pleasure.

Turn It Into Couscous Risotto

Start by toasting the pearl couscous in a pot over medium-high heat with a touch of olive oil. Then begin stirring liquid in, just as you would with risotto. You can use any liquid that suits you; water or stock with a little white wine are probably your best bets.

Take It Swimming

Once it’s cooked, drop pearl couscous directly into soups, stews and chilis. It provides a pleasant texture and adds body to the food.

To add some extra love, flavor the couscous cooking water with some of the vegetables or aromatics in the main dish. Just drop them into the pot with the couscous as it cooks. Carrots and onions impart a bit of sweetness, herbs add depth and flavor. Even a bone from whatever beast you may be stewing can be a nice touch to build the complexity of your couscous.

THE HISTORY OF COUSCOUS

Couscous is more than 1,000 years old. The Berbers, who lived along the northern (Mediterranean) coast of Africa, west of the Nile Valley (modern Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia—the Barbary Coast/Berber Coast), ate wheat as a staple grain. Over generations, they learned that by grinding the wheat and making couscous, it would keep for years—insurance against drought and famine. The result has long been a base for North African cooking.

Couscous is made from yellow granules of semolina, made from durum pasta wheat, which are precooked and then dried. The pearl grains are the original couscous. They were made by hand-rolling semolina grains on screens, with olive oil, water and salt, letting the small grains fall through, and rolling them again until a consistent size grain was formed. The grains are then coated with olive oil salt and sun-dried, giving them a toasty flavor when cooked. The name is derived from Bhe Berber seksu meaning well rolled, well formed and rounded.

The term can refer to the ingredient itself or a prepared dish. Like pasta or rice, couscous is versatile and has numerous preparations. It is simple to prepare: Just add boiling water and let it sit. It can be flavored with exotic spices or served plain. North African stews (tagines) are traditionally served over it.

Couscous is now widely available in most supermarkets. Keeping with food trends, specialty producers such as Bob’s Red Mill sell whole wheat couscous and tricolor in addition to the natural white pearls.

Pizza has come a long way from what we think of as its origins: crust, tomato sauce and cheese. There are cheeseless pizzas, dessert pizzas, duck confit pizzas, tuna sashimi wasabi pizzas and just about anything you can put on a piece of flatbread.

In fact, food historians agree that the origin of pizza was not Italy, but Greece.

While flatbread was topped with other foods since it was first grilled on a hot rock in prehistoric times, ancient Greeks turned the process into an art. They topped a round flatbread (plankuntos) with stew, thick broth, meat, vegetables and/or fruit.

The result was a thrifty, convenient and tasty meal for the working man and his family, requiring no additional plates or utensils. (Injera, the Ethiopian flatbread, is still used for this purpose and is a mainstay of Ethiopian cuisine. More on the history of pizza).

Topped with romaine lettuce and Parmesan cheese, this grilled pizza is a fun take on a favorite main course salad, the Chicken Caesar.

Recipes like Chicken Caesar Pizza allow you to sneak salad atop a pizza, in a way that pleases those who typically avoid salad greens. Suddenly, pizza becomes a main-dish salad with the side of bread as the base.

Make a Grilled Chicken Caesar Pizza; then see how many different ways you can combine proteins and veggies on a pizza.

Look to your favorite sandwich and salad combinations. Instead of conventional sandwich bread, use the ingredients to top a pizza. You can use tomato sauce or barbecue sauce as a base, or any other sauce topping. We’ve used wasabi mayonnaise, blue cheese dressing and thousand island dressing with canned tuna, hard-cooked eggs and roast meat leftovers. Try a chef salad or spinach salad pizza.

Add romaine or other lettuce and some cherry tomatoes, and you’ve got a pizza salad-and-sandwich.

Pizza Dough Tips

 
Find more of our favorite pizza recipes.

This spicy “breakfast pizza” can be enjoyed all
day. Photo courtesy Ortine Cafe | Brooklyn.

Want a delicious, hearty pizza for breakfast or brunch? Head to Ortine Cafe in Brooklyn, New York for an Eggs in Purgatory Pizza—two eggs poached atop the pizza, a spicy red sauce, caramelized onions, Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

Not in the neighborhood? Make one yourself.

Eggs in Purgatory is an Italian dish (similiar to the Israeli dish, shakshuka) where eggs are baked in a spicy red sauce. “Purgatory” refers to the heat in the recipe.

The classic recipe is an egg dish, not a pizza. But the pizza dough eliminates the need for bread on the side, and the egg yolks running over the spicy sauce and crust are a delectable combination.

Find more of our favorite pizza recipes.

EGGS IN PURGATORY PIZZA RECIPE

Ingredients

 
Preparation
1. Dice the onion. Heat a saucepan with olive oil; sautée onions and garlic over medium heat until soft.

2. Add tomatoes. If using whole tomatoes, purée mixture with an immersion blender.

3. Add salt and basil, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Cook over medium-high heat for 25 minutes or until desired thickness is reached.

4. Place pizza crust on a baking sheet and par cook at 500°F for 2 minutes until dough is puffed but not brown. Add sauce and raw eggs and sprinkle top with Parmesan.

5. Bake at 575°F until eggs whites are cooked (yolks are medium) and crust is browned.