October 17th is National Pasta Day, October is National Pasta Month. Most celebrants will head for their favorites. Fettuccine Alfredo? Lasagna? Spaghetti and meatballs?

We think it calls for something different and special. How about a recipe you’ve never had before?

This one from DeLallo has a sauce unlike you’ve never had: both goat cheese and mascarpone, blended with fig spread, orange juice and chicken broth.

It’s cheesy, fruity and savory—and topped with crumbled prosciutto.

The DeLallo recipe uses a form of pasta we’ve never made: tagliatelle nests (photo #3). Because we didn’t have the time to experiment with cooking the nests (it’s supposed to be easy), we defaulted to fettuccine ribbons.
 
 
WHAT ARE TAGLIATELLE NESTS

“Tagliatelle is an interesting type of pasta,” says Jacqui of The Pasta Project, a great resource for any pasta lover who wants to know more about the different cuts and recipes that show them off.

“[Tagliatelle] pasta ribbons have to have a particular width (normally 6-8mm wide). Make them too narrow and they could become fettuccine. Thinner still, and you may end up with bavette or tagliolini. Make them too wide and they turn into pappardelle.”

She gives us a history of tagliatelle, below.
 
 
Why Are Tagliatelle Sold In Nests?

Tagliatelle are typically found in nest forms. You’ve probably seen them tagliatelle nests in photos if not in person (photos #3 and #4).

Why sell them in nests?

For cooks who want to present the pasta in a different format, nests are ready-made bundles of individual portions.

You can find nests in angel hair, fettuccine (photo #3) and other ribbons, as well.

Some cooks like nests because with wider noodles, according to some sources, there is a greater problem with the flat sides sticking together and cooking unevenly.

You need to spend more time over the pot with a pasta fork, separating the strands.

When the wide, flat noodles are sold as a nest, they go into the pot already separated, and adherence between strands is minimal [source].
 
 
RECIPE: TAGLIATELLE (OR FETTUCCINE) WITH PROSCIUTTO & GOAT CHEESE-MASCARPONE-FIG SAUCE

Ingredients

 
Want some more color? Toss in some green peas.

Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the prosciutto in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until crispy. Transfer the prosciutto to a paper towel-lined plate to cool. Once cooled, crumble and set aside. Meanwhile…

2. BRING a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta according to package instructions and drain.

3. COMBINE the fig spread, chicken broth, orange juice, salt and pepper in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in cheeses and lemon zest until sauce thickens.

4. TOSS the hot pasta with the sauce and stir until well coated. Serve topped with the crumbled prosciutto.

[1] This recipe is an unusual combination of ingredients that’s a creative success (photos #1, #2 and #3 © DeLallo).

[2] The sauce uses some fig jam/fig spread. If you can’t find it locally, get it online from DeLallo. Use the rest of it on a cheese board or with ham, grilled cheese or turkey sandwiches.

[3] Nests are available in fettuccine (above), tagliatelle, even angel hair.

[4] Why use nests? To create charming recipes like this, “portion-controlled” (photo © Ina Wesual | Unsplash).

The legend is that tagliatelle was invented in 1487, when Giovanni II of Bentivoglio, Lord of Bologna, asked his chef to prepare a banquet in honor of Lucrezia Borgia.

Lucrezia was stopping in Bologna on her way to Ferrara to marry Duke Alfonso D’Este. Bentivoglio wanted to honor the bride-to-be.

(Don’t think of him as Mr. Nice Guy: He was a tyrant.)

The chef, Mastro Zefirano, cooked a memorable banquet which included a new style of pasta. The Maestro cut wide lasagne ribbons, made with egg, into long golden strips of pasta, in honor of the bride’s legendary blonde hair.

This pasta became known as tagliatelle from the Italian tagliare, to cut.

Fun story, but according to Wikipedia, this was a joke invented by humorist Augusto Majani in 1931.

Alas, he did not provide more of a history. Search back and you find that tagliatelle and its flat cousins originated in the Emilia-Romagna of Northern Italy, dating back to the 15th century. It has become a traditional pasta in most areas of North and Central Italy.

Tagliatelle was originally always made as an egg pasta (as was the wider tagliolini). However, today, you can often find it as a durum pasta, as well.

Today, many pasta companies make tagliatelle by extrusion and sell it dried in nests form, for people who want to serve individual nests (see photo # 4) [source].

[1] Porter’s Rye Way To Hell: great name, delicious drink (both photos © Ogden’s Own Distillery).

[2] You don’t have to be as tough as this gunslinger to enjoy a shot of Porter’s Rye. See his story in the section below.

On this socially-distant Halloween, here’s a fun way to celebrate Halloween with your pod.

The recipe is courtesy of Porter’s Small Batch Rye, an artisan rye handcrafted by Ogden’s Own in Utah.

Recipe notes:

 
For the “evil apple” garnish (see photo #1), you’ll want an apple variety that browns very slowly, or not at all. These varieties include Ambrosia, Cortland, Empire and Gala apples.

If you want to use the apples as garnishes for individual glasses, get the smallest ones you can find. You may also need straws so the drink can be sipped through the apple’s core.
 
 
COCKTAIL RECIPE: PORTER’S RYE WAY TO HELL PUNCH

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MIX the rye, apple cider and and bitters in a large drink dispenser or punch bowl. It can be mixed and stored up to two days before serving, to infuse the flavors. Before serving…

2. ADD in the hard cider and ice. Enhance the taste with additional bitters as desired. When ready to celebrate and enjoy, rim each party glass with a drizzle of absinthe†. Add ice cubes to glass and pour in the infusion. Garnish glasses and punch bowl with a crew of spooky carved apples for a hair-raising experience when served.

Porter’s Rye Whiskey is a 95/5 blend of rye and barley. This 90 proof straight rye whiskey is aged in heavily charred new oak barrels for more than three years.

American rye whiskey is similar to bourbon, but must be distilled from at least 51% rye‡ grain.

Rye whiskey was the most popular type of whiskey in the U.S. until the start of Prohibition in 1919.

Rye has been going through a resurgence in recent years, with both artisan distillers and big brands.

Ogden’s Own is first released approximately 1,000 cases of Porter’s Rye in 2019.

Who’s the man on the bottle?

The Porter’s whiskey line is named for Orrin Porter Rockwell, a notorious gunslinger and enforcer in the Old West. It is said that he killed more outlaws than Wyatt Earp, Doc Holladay, Tom Horn and Bat Masterson combined, earning him the menacing title, the “Destroying Angel.”

Paradoxically, he was a devout Church member and bodyguard for both Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint Movement, and Brigham Young, who succeeded him.

Back to the rye:

Rye whiskies are produced in both the U.S. (e.g. Jim Beam) and Canada (e.g. Canadian Club).

However, Canadian whiskey, which is often referred to and labeled as rye whisky for historical reasons, may or may not actually include any rye grain in its production process [source].

Historically, in Canada, corn-based whisky that had some rye grain added to the mash to give it more flavor, came to be called rye. So if you’re looking for real rye, ask or stick with a big brand (all Canadian Club expressions are rye-based).

But—we say this as patriotic Americans—stick to American brands to be sure.
 

 
 
> CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF WHISKEY IN OUR WHISKEY GLOSSARY
 
 
________________

*For a punch bowl, freeze a block of ice in advance. You can use a bundt pan or other mold to create an attractive shape (we use a star-shaped gelatin mold).The larger the piece of ice, the slower it will melt. Ice cubes will melt much faster than a block of ice, and will dilute the punch that much faster.

†We used a Q-Tip.

‡Bourbon can be made from 51% corn or rye, and can be a blend of both.

If you’ve never cooked polenta, it’s a great comfort food—and gluten-free, too. We don’t know why Americans don’t eat more of it—and more parsnips, too, while we’re at it.

(Parsnips [photo #2] are one of the delicious fall vegetables roasted for this recipe.)

Fall and winter months beg for a dish of warm, creamy polenta.

Roast your favorite fall vegetables to top this recipe—and roast extra, so you’ll have them for the next day or two.

Then, set it off with a rich pumpkin cream sauce, with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg.

We’ve also made and enjoyed the recipe without the cream sauce—but substituted lots of freshly grated parmesan.

> There are more polenta recipes below.

> What is polenta?

> Cornmeal vs. polenta.
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN SAGE POLENTA WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES

Ingredients For The Polenta

 
For The Roasted Vegetables

 
For The Cream Sauce

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 375˚F.

2. ROAST the vegetables. Toss the vegetables with olive oil in a large mixing bowl and arrange on a nonstick baking sheet. Sprinkle with sage, salt and pepper.

Roast the vegetables for 25-30 minutes, or until soft and caramelized. Meanwhile…

3. MAKE the sauce. Warm the heavy cream and butter in a saucepan. Once the butter has melted, stir in 1/4 cup of the pumpkin, the parmesan, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Keep warm on a low simmer until it’s time to serve.

4. COOK the polenta. In a sauce pot, bring the water, chicken stock, and butter to a boil. Slowly whisk in the polenta. Continuously stirring, cook for about 1 minute, or until the polenta begins to thicken.

Remove from the heat. Stir in 1 cup of the pumpkin, the sage, and the salt.

5. SERVE. Divide the polenta into individual bowls and top with the roasted vegetables and a generous drizzle of cream sauce.
& 
 
MORE POLENTA RECIPES

[1] Pumpkin Sage Polenta: It’s a beauty (photo © DeLallo (photo © DeLallo).

[2] The parsnip, Pastinaca sativa, is a root vegetable closely related to carrots and parsley* (photo © Good Eggs).

[3] Make sure you use canned pumpkin purée. Pumpkin pie filling has added sugar and spices (photo © Jessica Gavin: Culinary Scientist).

[4] Instant polenta is a great time saver. If you can’t find it locally, order it from DeLallo (photo © DeLallo).

[5] The recipe calls for butternut squash, easy to find and easier to cut than acorn squash. But you can substitute any winter squash, including fresh pumpkin (photo © Hawk Haven Vineyard).

*Parsnips belong to the Apiaceae family, which also includes anise, asafoetida (a spice used in Indian recipes), caraway, celery, chervil, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel and lovage, among others. Why don’t Americans eat more parsnips, a delicious vegetable?

[1] Acorn squash, one of the two most-available winter squash varieties for the table (photo © Kim Daniels | Unsplash).

[2] Tied for first place: butternut squash (photo © Good Eggs).

It’s a little bit of a chore to scrape the seeds out of an acorn, butternut or other winter squash*.

Here’s a tip: Use an ice cream scoop!

Another tip: Before you begin to slice the squash, place it in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes. It will be a lot easier to peel, seed and cut.
 
 
ROASTING THE SEEDS

Some people clean the seeds to roast. We don’t have an easy way to do that yet, but here’s a thought:

You don’t have to remove every last bit of string and flesh pumpkin from the seeds.

 
You can also use sweet seasonings, trading oil and salt for maple syrup and brown sugar, plus optional fall spices: allspice, cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg. A pinch of salt is a good addition.

We use the roasted seeds as a general garnish, in grains and salads, and in yogurt. Here are:

> 20 Uses For Roasted Winter Squash Seeds, Including Pumpkin

 
 
> HOW TO CUT & PEEL WINTER SQUASH
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF ACORN SQUASH

________________

*You can tell winter squash from its thick, hard exterior. You need force in order to slice into it. Acorn, butternut, delicata, hubbard, pumpkin, spaghetti squash and others are winter squash. Summer squash has a thin peel that can be eaten. Yellow squash and zucchini are examples.

[1] A seasonal carbonara, with bacon and apples. The recipe is below (photos #1 and #2 © Delallo).

[2] If you can’t find mezzi rigatoni locally, head to DeLallo’s online store.

[3] Mezzi rigatoni close up (photo © J. Eltovski | Morguefile).

[4] This delicious bacon is from Butcherbox, a quality meat subscription service with beef, pork and poultry.

[5] The recipe uses a Granny Smith apple. You can substitute Cortland (photo © Lisa Solonynko | Morguefile).

[6] Homemade rigatoni mezzi rigatoni made with the extruder attachment on a Kitchen Aid mixer. Here’s the recipe from The Baker Chick (photo © The Baker Chick).

October is National Pasta Month. We have a fall-focused recipe using mezzi* rigatoni, or half-size rigatoni (photo #2), from Delallo.

The recipe for Pasta Carbonara With Bacon & Apples is below, after a discussion of rigatoni—a cut that many non-cooks can confuse with penne.
 
 
WHAT ARE RIGATONI?

Rigatoni (righ-gah-TOE-knee) are tube-shaped ridged pasta (see the ridges close up in photo #3).

Ridged pasta, or pasta rigate (rih-GAH-tay) in Italian, is a style that developed during the Industrial Revolution. New mechanization enabled more sophisticated machine shapes, made with extruders.

While some pre-industrial artisans labored to make ridged pasta, the effort required was not likely cost-effective.

But voilà: Bring on the machinery and bronze dies to extrude pasta, and you’ve got all the ridged pastas (and other shapes) one can desire.

Ridged pasta was an immediate hit. It enabled chunky meat and vegetable sauces to better cling to the surface, lodging in the grooves. That was a bonus for the tubular pastas, which allow the sauce to be inside and outside.

According to Barilla and The Pasta Project, rigatoni were created in Rome in 1930.

While this may seem long ago to some, it is relatively recent given that pasta has been made in Italy since the 8th century (the history of pasta).”

Rigatoni became a mainstay in Lazio (the province of which Rome is the capital). Of note is the classic Roman dish La Pagliata (also called Pajata), made with the intestines of an unweaned calf (one only fed on its mother’s milk. Here’s more about it.

Rigatoni traveled to southern Italy, where they became a favorite combined with local ingredients.
 
 
Rigatoni Vs. Penne

Rigatoni are are larger than penne and ziti. They are made in varying lengths and diameters, based on the manufacturer.

Typical rigatoni are approximately 1-1/2 inches in length and 1/2 inch in diameter. Mezzi Rigatoni are approximately 5/8 inch in length with a diameter of 1/2 inch.

The differences between rigatoni and penne:

 
The word rigatoni comes from the Italian word rigato, meaning ridged or striped (which should come as no surprise at this point in this article).

Other rigate pasta include:

 
And now, the recipe!
 

RECIPE: RIGATONI CARBONARA WITH BACON & APPLES

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BEAT the eggs and cheese together in a large serving bowl. Add salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. HEAT the olive oil and garlic in large saucepan. Once the garlic begins to turn golden, remove it from the oil and discard. Add the bacon to the pan and sauté until it becomes golden brown, about 6 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

3. ADD the onion to the pan and cook until it begins to soften, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the apple to the pan. Cool together with the onions for 3 to 4 minutes.

4. ADD the bacon back to the pan and season with chili pepper to taste. Meanwhile…

5. BRING 5 quarts of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package instruction. Drain, reserving 2 cups of the pasta water to finish the sauce.

6. COMBINE the hot pasta with the apple mixture and oil in the serving bowl with the eggs and cheese. Toss to coat and to gently cook the eggs with the heat of the pasta. Once combined…

7. ADD about 1/4 cup of the reserved hot pasta water and toss. If the pasta appears too dry, add another splash of pasta water. Serve immediately sprinkled with additional cheese.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF CARBONARA
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF PASTA
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PASTA

*Mezzi rigatoni, often misspelled in the U.S. as mezze rigatoni. Both word variations mean “half,” but rigatoni is a masculine noun and takes the masculine plural adjective, mezzi. Mezze would modify a feminine noun.

†Manicotti is the Italian-American version of cannelloni. Manicotti tubes are ridged, larger and slightly thicker; cannelloni tubes are smooth, a bit smaller and slightly thinner.