The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 853

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest and 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon Freshly ground black pepper Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil Heat the oil and 4 smashed garlic cloves in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until the garlic cloves are gently sizzling Reduce the heat to medium-low and sizzle until the garlic is golden brown, to minutes Discard the garlic cloves, leaving the oil in the skillet, and return the pan to high heat Add the sliced garlic and pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the garlic just begins to turn pale golden brown, about 45 seconds Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds Add the wine, butter, and clams, cover, and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the clams open, about minutes Transfer the clams to a bowl, and set the sauce aside Cook the pasta in the boiling water until it fully softened but retains a slight bite in the center (about 1 minute less than the package recommends after the pasta reaches a boil) Drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup of cooking liquid, and return to the pot set over medium-low heat Pour the sauce over the pasta, add half of reserved pasta water, and stir until the sauce comes together and coats the pasta, about minutes, adding more pasta water as necessary until the desired consistency is reached Stir in the clams, parsley, and lemon zest and juice and season to taste with salt and pepper Serve immediately Mother SAUCE #2: CLASSIC RED SAUCE A basic red sauce is an essential staple in any Western cook’s pantry Countless Italian-American restaurants are based on this sauce Marcella Hazan’s recipe for tomato sauce may deliver the most culinary bang for your buck that you’ll ever see It’s so simple it doesn’t even need a full recipe—just simmer a 28ounce can of whole tomatoes with tablespoons unsalted butter and an onion split in half, crushing the tomatoes against the sides of the pot with a spoon—but the flavor you end up with is rich, fresh, and perfectly balanced It’s the butter that makes the difference Unlike olive oil, butter contains natural emulsifiers that help keep the sauce nice and creamy And the dairy sweetness works in tandem with the sweetness of the onions while rounding out the harsher acidic notes of the tomatoes Building from where Marcella leaves off, it’s not a far jump to a classic Italian-American marinara sauce—tomato sauce flavored with garlic, oregano, and olive oil Butter is still essential for smoothing out the rough edges of the acidic tomatoes, but here I like to substitute extra-virgin olive oil for half of it to bring some extra complexity into the mix I make it in quadruple batches and store it in sealed Ball jars Bottle while hot in sterile jars, seal them, and allow the sauce to cool to room temperature before refrigerating It’ll keep in the fridge for at least a month, ready to reheat ... split in half, crushing the tomatoes against the sides of the pot with a spoon—but the flavor you end up with is rich, fresh, and perfectly balanced It’s the butter that makes the difference Unlike... emulsifiers that help keep the sauce nice and creamy And the dairy sweetness works in tandem with the sweetness of the onions while rounding out the harsher acidic notes of the tomatoes Building from... essential for smoothing out the rough edges of the acidic tomatoes, but here I like to substitute extra-virgin olive oil for half of it to bring some extra complexity into the mix I make it in quadruple batches and store it in sealed