Batali Meets Gardein

BATALI MEETS GARDEIN

Mario Batali’s Bronze Extruded Tortiglioni tossed with a Pasta Rub of Pumpkin Seed Snow, smoked paprika and garlic. Tossed with a saute of Gardein Chick’n with peppers and red onion in a smokey tomato marinara and peas with a splash of orange! And it’s all cooked up in Guy Fieri’s non-stick cast iron fry pan! Oh, and a fresh basil garnish!

Makes 15 cups pasta w/sauce

16 oz. box Bronze Extruded Pasta Tortiglioni style (large ribbed tubes) – I used Mario Batali brand – cooked in lots of sufficiently salted boiling water till tender, then drained and left in colander to continue the drain, shaking them every few minutes to reposition the tubes in the colander – we want as little moisture as possible on the tubes

Smokey Marinara With Onions Peppers And Peas:

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

10.5 oz. pkg. froz. Gardein Chick’n Strips (discard the flavor packet or use for something else) – thaw a little bit at room temperature, or place in microwave out of the bag for 1 minute or less so you can cut each strip in half crosswise, making twice as many bites

1/2 t. pink Himalayan salt

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 c. peeled diced red onion

2 c. drained Dunbars Sweet Bell Peppers Mixed Strips (sold in extra large cans)

1/2 t. pink Himalayan salt

28 oz. can petite diced tomatoes including liquid – I used Dei Fratelli brand

28 oz. can tomato sauce – I used Dei Fratelli brand – just be sure to use a good quality sauce

2 t. garlic powder

2 t. smoked paprika

1 t. dried basil

1 t. dried oregano or to taste

2 t. dried rubbed sage – if using ground, then use about 1/2 t. or to taste

1/4 t. ground allspice

1/4 t. red cayenne pepper

freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 t. sugar

1 T. liquid smoke

zest and strained juice of 1 sm. orange

2 c. froz. peas cooked in water till plump, then drained well

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In extra-large skillet over medium heat melt olive oil.

Add partially thawed and cut chick’n strips with 1/2 t. salt and 1/2 t. garlic powder. Fry strips, turning as they brown, about 3-4 minutes.

Add diced onion, stir to coat with oil, and cook a few minutes till edges soften.

Add peppers, salt, then stir slowly to prevent chick’n from breaking apart.

Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic powder, smoked paprika, basil, oregano, sage, allspice, red cayenne pepper, fresh grind black pepper, sugar and liquid smoke. Stir slowly till all ingredients are evenly dispersed. Continue to cook on low heat till herbs and spices flavor the sauce. Remove from heat.

When ready to serve, reheat sauce, then add zest and strained juice of 1 orange plus cooked, drained peas. Toss.

AFC Pasta Rub: COPPER SPONGES – makes 1 cup

1 c. Pumpkin Seed Snow – using a coffee grinder, grind raw unsalted pumpkin seeds till a ‘snow’ texture is achieved

1 t. garlic powder

1 t. smoked paprika

1 t. sugar

1/4 t. fine grind black pepper

1 t. Celtic salt – used for it’s soft moist texture (if you have none, then use what salt you have to taste)

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In extra-large mixing bowl combine Pumpkin Seed Snow, garlic, paprika, sugar, black pepper, salt. Toss with gloved hands till evenly dispersed.

Place drained pasta into AFC Pasta Rub. Toss with hands to evenly coat.

Add all of heated sauce to pasta. Toss to distribute, then either serve family style with a sliced fresh basil garnish, or on individual plates with the basil garnish.

This time with this pasta I divided it into five portions for Steve’s lunch throughout the week. One and a half pounds per serving.

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Notes: Progressive Brand tomato products don’t work well with veggie Italian dishes. It’s high acidic content is designed to work best with animal meats, so steer clear if you’re animal-free. The high acid is a lot to handle.

I prefer tomato puree instead of tomato sauce, but Steve always buys the sauce, because he likes the one Dei Fratelli makes, so for this time we use sauce and not puree. Not every company makes a good sauce, so use puree if you’re unsure.

Once the pasta is coated with the AFC Pasta Rub, I could eat it plain as a snack – just like that -with no sauce or any other treatment. Put a shot glass of toothpicks near a basket of Copper Sponges and let guests spear their own. Be sure the pasta is dry after cooking though. If the rub gets wet it’s not the same. It would be like eating a wet pretzel (only better of course). Dry, keep the tubes dry.

Bronze Extruded Pasta: Bronze dies or molds create a rougher textured pasta compared to teflon dies/molds that create a smooth surface. The result is that they hold the sauce better. They also absorb the liquid from the sauce more, which means leftovers will be less saucy with more solids.

The texture I found to be spongy compared to smoother pastas and I like that feel.

So I guess we owe it all to the skillet?

By Guy Fieri. Of course just as Mario didn’t make the pasta, Guy didn’t make the cast iron fry pan, but they put their names on these two products and I can see why.

Something to remember when using the fry pan is that it heats up quicker – a lot quicker – than most other skillets or even quicker than a standard cast iron. I like the ribbed texture. Jeeze, we’ve got ribs on the tortiglioni and ribs on the surface of the cast iron. So bronze meets iron. And Gardein made the chicken happen without ever having to consider what came first: the chicken or the egg. The plant came first.

A configuration of elements mixed with water created a bond and from that bond a structure that supported the growth of a seed, quite by accidental design, so as to further the production once the seed was complete enough to grow another plant – or whatever it would have been called in the beginning (probably not a whole plant as we know it). Osmosis meets integration. Just different enough to create something new from many elements coming together and promising somehow a new face on an old mystery. Water.

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