Pasta With Mussels Tomatoes And Fried Capers Recipes

PASTA WITH MUSSELS, TOMATOES AND FRIED CAPERS

Steps:

• Bring a medium pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions until 2 minutes shy of al dente. Drain.
• As pasta cooks, prepare the bread crumbs: In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add capers and minced garlic, and let sizzle for 30 seconds. Add bread crumbs, and fry until both crumbs and capers are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Scrape the crumbs and capers onto a plate, and season to taste with salt.
• Add remaining tablespoon oil to pot and let it get hot. Add sliced garlic and red-pepper flakes, and let sizzle until garlic is golden at the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until tomatoes have softened and start to lose their shape, about 6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer tomato solids to a small bowl, add lemon juice to taste, and set aside.
• Add wine and oregano to the pot and bring to a simmer. Add mussels, cover and cook over medium heat, shaking the pot occasionally, until mussels have opened and are cooked through, about 4 to 7 minutes. Transfer mussels with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, and let cool slightly. Discard any unopened mussels.
• Simmer the mussels liquid until reduced to a glaze, about 5 minutes. Discard oregano sprigs.
• When mussels are still hot (but not too hot to handle), pull meat from shells and add to the pot with reduced mussel broth (discard shells). Add pasta, tomatoes and butter, and toss well. Taste and add more lemon juice and salt if needed.
• Transfer mixture to a shallow serving bowl and toss with herbs. Top with bread crumb-caper mixture and serve.

PASTA WITH ROASTED TOMATOES AND CAPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss tomatoes, capers, and oregano with oil and season with salt. Roast until tomatoes burst and begin to brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain.
• Return pasta and 1/4 cup pasta water to pot and add tomato mixture. Cook over high until sauce is slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. If necessary, add remaining pasta water to create a light sauce that coats pasta. Serve sprinkled with oregano.

PASTA WITH MUSSELS IN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Pulse tomatoes with juices in food processor just a few times to break down into a coarse purée; set aside. Bring large pot of water to boil for pasta.
• Meanwhile, in a wide skillet or saucepan with lid, combine crushed garlic clove and shallot with white wine. Bring to a boil and add mussels. Cover and cook, shaking pan from time to time, 2 to 4 minutes, or until mussels open up. Check mussels after 2 minutes; transfer open mussels to a bowl using tongs. Cover pan again, wait another minute, and repeat until all mussels have opened.
• Leave mussels to cool in bowl until easily removed from shells. Remove half from shells and leave other half intact. Taste a mussel; if it is sandy, give them all a very quick rinse and drain in a colander. Transfer to a bowl and keep covered while you make tomato sauce.
• Place a strainer over another bowl, line with cheesecloth and strain the liquid in the pan into bowl. Reserve 1/2 cup. Rinse and dry pan.
• Heat olive oil over medium heat in pan and add minced garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, just until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add tomatoes, thyme or marjoram (or both), and sugar.
• Turn heat up to medium-high and cook, stirring often, 5 to 10 minutes, until tomatoes have cooked down slightly. Add 1/2 cup broth from mussels, stir together and bring to a simmer. Taste and add salt as needed (you may not need to add any). Tip all mussels, shelled and unshelled, into sauce, cover and turn heat to very low or remove from heat if not serving right away. Keep warm while you cook pasta.
• Warm a large bowl for the pasta. When water for pasta comes to a rolling boil, salt generously and add pasta. Cook al dente, following the directions on the package. Drain and toss in the warm bowl with tomato sauce, mussels and parsley. Serve right away.

PASTA WITH SMOKED MUSSELS AND CAPERS

Steps:

• Bring large pot of water to a boil and boil pasta. Meanwhile prepare the ingredients: Coarsely chopping the mussels, sardines, capers and parsley and adding them to the bottom of a mixing bowl. Add lemon juice and olive oil and season to taste with salt and crushed red pepper.
• When pasta is done, drain and shake dry and add to the bowl; toss with scallions, reserving some for garnish. Serve warm.
• Refresh leftovers with vinaigrette.

PASTA WITH MUSSELS, TOMATOES AND FRIED CAPERS

Steps:

• Bring a medium pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions until 2 minutes shy of al dente. Drain.
• As pasta cooks, prepare the bread crumbs: In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add capers and minced garlic, and let sizzle for 30 seconds. Add bread crumbs, and fry until both crumbs and capers are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Scrape the crumbs and capers onto a plate, and season to taste with salt.
• Add remaining tablespoon oil to pot and let it get hot. Add sliced garlic and red-pepper flakes, and let sizzle until garlic is golden at the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until tomatoes have softened and start to lose their shape, about 6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer tomato solids to a small bowl, add lemon juice to taste, and set aside.
• Add remaining tablespoon oil to pot and let it get hot. Add sliced garlic and red-pepper flakes, and let sizzle until garlic is golden at the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until tomatoes have softened and start to lose their shape, about 6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer tomato solids to a small bowl, add lemon juice to taste, and set aside.
• Simmer the mussels liquid until reduced to a glaze, about 5 minutes. Discard oregano sprigs.
• When mussels are still hot (but not too hot to handle), pull meat from shells and add to the pot with reduced mussel broth (discard shells). Add pasta, tomatoes and butter, and toss well. Taste and add more lemon juice and salt if needed.
• Transfer mixture to a shallow serving bowl and toss with herbs. Top with bread crumb-caper mixture and serve.

DOUBLE-TOMATO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Holding back the sun-dried tomatoes with your fingers, drain the oil from the jar into a large pot. Coarsely chop the sun-dried tomatoes and add them to the pot, along with the nuts and olive oil. Set over medium-low and cook, stirring often, until the nuts are toasted, 5 to 6 minutes. Scrape into a large bowl (reserve the pot), then stir in the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
• Fill the reserved pot with water (no need to wash) and bring to a boil. Season water with salt, add the pasta and cook until just past al dente. (The pasta will not cook further in the sauce.) Drain the pasta.
• While the water is coming to a boil, coarsely chop the ripe tomatoes. Add to the sun-dried tomato mixture, season with 1 teaspoon salt and stir to combine. (Tomato mixture can be made up to 2 hours ahead.)
• Add the drained pasta to the tomato mixture and stir to combine. Let sit until room temperature, about 15 minutes or up to 2 hours. Pasta salad will keep up to 3 days if refrigerated.
• When ready to eat, taste the pasta salad. If flavors are muted, add salt and lemon juice or red wine vinegar. If it's too sweet, add black pepper and lemon juice or red wine vinegar. Stir in the greens and eat.

FETTUCCINE WITH TOMATOES AND CRISPY CAPERS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil.
• In a small bowl, toss the capers with the cornstarch and transfer to a sieve; shake off the excess cornstarch.
• Add the coated capers to the oil and fry over high heat, tilting and gently shaking the pan, until the capers are crispy and golden, about 3 minutes.
• Drain the capers, reserving 2 tablespoons of the oil in the skillet.
• Spread the capers on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Add the anchovies and garlic to the skillet and cook over high heat, stirring, until the garlic is golden and the anchovies dissolve, about 3 minutes.
• Add the prosciutto, separating the ribbons, and cook until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
• Add the tomatoes and crushed red pepper and cook just until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 3 minutes; stir in the basil.
• Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente.
• Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
• Return the pasta to the pot along with the water and pour the sauce on top.
• Toss over high heat just until the sauce is thickened, about 2 minutes.
• Serve the pasta in bowls, garnished with the crispy capers.
• Pass the grated cheese at the table.
• A Light Chardonnay: 2007 Terres Dorées Beaujolais Blanc will be a great addition to the meal, as well as, garlic breadsticks & a salad of greens.
• Enjoy!

PASTA WITH TOMATOES, CAPERS, OLIVES AND BREADCRUMBS

Steps:

• 1. Combine 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the sliced garlic over medium-low heat in a medium saucepan or skillet. Cook, stirring often, until the garlic turns golden, about two minutes. Do not let it take on any more color than this. Remove the garlic slices with a slotted spoon and discard (or use as a garnish later), then add the bread crumbs to the pan. Turn the heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until the bread crumbs are crisp. Remove from the heat, and set aside.
• 2. Return the pan to medium heat, and add the remaining olive oil, the red pepper flakes and the minced garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds until the garlic smells fragrant, and add the tomatoes, capers and olives. Bring to a simmer, and simmer until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• 3. Meanwhile heat water to a boil, salt generously and add the spaghetti. Cook al dente, following the cooking recommendations on the package but checking about a minute before the suggested time. Drain, and toss with the tomato sauce. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and parsley on top, toss again briefly and serve, passing the Parmesan at the table.