Chef Cesare Casella, our friend and producer of Casella’s Prosciutto Speciale, Cacciatorini, and Soppressata, was a featured guest at the Loukoumi Foundation‘s Mediterranean Tasting Event webinar this past weekend. He shared this recipe, featuring our StraCapra goat cheese, with us following the event.
PASTA ALLA DIONISIO & POMMAROLA
Ingredients
- 3 quarts water
- 1 ½ tablespoons salt
- 12 ounces dried pasta
- 8-10 ounces Pommarola (recipe follows)
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 6-7 (4oz) tablespoons StraCapra [or other semi soft goat cheese]
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Procedure:
Bring the water to boil in a large pot. Add the salt and the pasta and cook until very al dente. Drain the pasta and return it to its pot along with the pommarola and ¾ tablespoon of the oregano. Mix and cook over medium for 3-4 minutes. Add the StraCapra slowly, and stir. Spoon the pasta on the plates and serve with the sprinkled oregano and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
POMMAROLA (Pommarola is the name of Special tomato sauce in Lucca)
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 oz pancetta chopped [ optional ]
- 7 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
- 2 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup red onion chopped
- 1 cup fresh basil sliced
- 3 ½ pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cut into pieces (or 3 pounds canned Italian tomatoes)
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- Water, as needed
Procedure:
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil, pancetta (if using), garlic, celery, carrot, red pepper, ½ cup of the basil, and the onion over medium until the carrots are soft, about 15-20 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Add the remaining ½ cup of basil, remove from the heat, and puree the mixture in a food processor. Return the sauce to the saucepan and cook for another 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. If the sauce seems too thick, add a little water. The pommarola is ready.
NOTE: If you want, you can store pommarola in the refrigerator for 5 days, or you can freeze it in small containers for up to 3 months. If you freeze it in small containers, you can create serving portions for two or three instead of freezing and unfreezing all of it.
