Free Pasta Modern by Francine Segan Page A

and cook to the desired doneness, from rare to well done. Flake the fish into small pieces and set them aside.
Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente.
Meanwhile, in a large serving bowl, beat together the yolks, pepper, ¼ cup (25 g) of cheese, garlic, lemon juice, and half of the zest. Drain the pasta and toss into the bowl, stirring vigorously to heat the yolks to a creamy consistency. Stir in minced parsley to taste, a drizzle of oil, and the swordfish; season with salt and serve topped with the remaining zest.
STONE SOUP PASTA
The charming Massimo Riccioli, chef and owner of Rome’s renowned seafood restaurant La Rosetta, told me about a dish he loved as a little boy: pesce fuggito , escaped fish. Pasta was boiled with sea stones as a stand-in for fish, especially during the poor years of the early 1950s. It was very popular along the coasts of Italy, especially in his region of Lazio.
“I was only a very little boy,” recalls Massimo, “but I still remember how delicious, how fragrant that dish was—the stones from the sea added all the flavor that was needed and the sea water all the salt necessary to cook the pasta.”

SPAGHETTI WITH SMOKY CLAM SAUCE & ROASTED TOMATOES
    { Spaghetti affumicati, vongole, e pendolini grigliati }
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    SERVES 4 | REGION: le Marche
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Two–Michelin star chef Mauro Uliassi’s updated version of Italy’s iconic coastal dish—spaghetti with clam sauce—is a must-try. It’s so good in fact that it was recently voted best dish of the year by L’Espresso , the prestigious guidebook to Italy’s best restaurants!
Instead of cooking the clams in tomato sauce, the tomatoes are slow roasted to candylike sweetness and served on top. The pasta cooks only partway in boiling water, then finishes cooking in the smoked fish and clam sauce, to create a dish deeply infused with flavor.
Olive oil
12 baby Roma, grape, or other small tomatoes
Salt
2 tablespoons fresh marjoram leaves
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 ½ cups (360 ml) fish broth
8 ounces (225 g) smoked eel or trout
4 pounds (1.8 kg) very small clams, scrubbed
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 pound (455 g) spaghetti or any long pasta
Fresh parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200°F (90°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil it.
Cut the tomatoes in half and arrange them, cut side up, on the prepared pan. Sprinkle them lightly with salt and the marjoram and thyme. Bake for 1 ½ hours, until they are shriveled and blackened at the edges. Set aside.
Simmer the broth and eel in a small saucepan for about 20 minutes to infuse the broth with smoky flavor. Strain the sauce and discard the eel. Set aside.
In another pot, bring 2 cups (480 ml) water to a boil. Add the clams, cover, and cook for about 10 seconds, until the shells open. Reserving the cooking liquid, remove the clams from their shells; set aside the meat and discard the shells.
In a large skillet, heat the garlic in 3 to 4 tablespoons oil until the garlic is golden. Add ½ cup (120 ml) of the eel broth and ½ cup (120 ml) of the clam cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta in lightly salted water for just 3 minutes. Drain the pasta and finish cooking it in the garlic-broth mixture over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, adding more broth until the pasta is al dente. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the clams.
Serve the pasta topped with the roasted tomatoes, minced and whole parsley leaves, and pepper.



TEENY TINY PASTA WITH CLAMS
    { Fregula con arselle }
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    SERVES 4 | REGION: Sardinia
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Fregula , tiny toasted pasta nuggets from Sardinia, are like Israeli couscous but firmer, with a more toothsome bite. This is one of the classic fregula recipes. The sweet briny clams really show off the pasta’s superb nutty flavor and extraordinary texture.
2 pounds (910 g) very small clams, scrubbed
Olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup (120 ml) dry white wine
12 ounces (340 g) fregula , preferably Rustichella