I didn’t realize that Dan Pashman of cascatelli fame had a new cookbook until I saw he was recently a guest on the “Hotdog is a Sandwich” podcast. I suppose it should not be be a surprise that the new cookbook is called “Anything’s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People.” This is not a collection of recipes that an Italian nonna is going to have, and that’s what I love about it. There is a lot of global influence, and well thought out fusion recipes.
The book is divided into:
- Pestos, pangrattatos, and the jarred tomato sauce decision tree
- Classic comfort: Hugs on a plate
- Carby and crispy: adventures in texture
- Zing: flavor bombs, not belly bombs
- Stews, rouxes, and ragus: thick and hearty, warm and toasty
- Pasta salads redeemed: fresh and bright, hold the mayo
- To the forno!: baked pasta dishes
You’ll find recipes like:
- Ritz cracker and chive pangrattato,
- Shells with miso butter and scallions,
- Mac ‘n’ dal,
- Scallion oil bucatini with runny eggs,
- Swordfish with salsa verde sagne a pezzi,
- Kimchi carbonara,
- Shakshuka and shells,
- Gnocchi with bacon and sauerkraut,
- Keema bolognese,
- Mapo tofu cascatelli,
- Tteokbokki bolognese,
- Cavatelli with crunchy fresh corn, tomatoes, ricotta salata, and mozzarella,
- Crispy gnocchi salad with preserved lemon-tomato dressing,
- Italian cafeteria hot dog pasta salad with canned vegetables,
- Pasta pizza,
- Smoked cheddar and chicken manicotti “enchiladas”
The recipe that immediately caught my attention was tortellini in kimchi parmesan brodo. It’s made with butter, bacon, scallions, napa cabbage kimchi, gochugaru, chicken stock, lemon, Parmesan, black pepper, and refrigerated cheese or spinach-and-cheese tortellini. Freshly made, I liked the soup but I wasn’t in love with it. For me, the lemon flavor seemed to overtake the cheese flavor. But then I realized that I liked this recipe so much more as leftovers. I found the lemon mellowed out and gave a nice acidity, and the cheese flavor seemed stronger the next day. Overall, it was better balanced. There’s a lot of liquid for the amount of pasta, but it gave me the flexibility to bulk up the leftovers with tofu and kale.
The second recipe I made was for ssamjang aglio olio which has a short ingredient list: salt garlic, extra virgin olive oil, ssamjang, red pepper flakes, mafalde (bucatini, fettuccine, spaghetti), and roasted unsalted peanuts. (I used fettuccine.) I’ve never made the original aglio e olio even though I am a garlic lover. This recipe took me longer to make than I thought it would, but I assume that it’ll go faster next time. Basically, you make a garlic infused oil, then use it for the ssamjang sauce base. Next, you boil the pasta, and finish the pasta and sauce together with pasta cooking water. Plate up the pasta, and garnish with peanuts.
There’s really not much to say except that I loved the ssamjang aglio olio. I think everyone who loves Asian flavors will love this pasta sauce. It also reminds me to use ssamjang more often.
I can’t wait to cook more from this book. I recommend this book to everyone. And I mean “everyone.” Don’t eat pasta much? Doesn’t matter! Feel free to serve the sauces over tofu, over vegetables, etc. Not to sound hyperbolic, but this might be my favorite cookbook of 2024.
Disclaimer – I kindly received a copy of this book from William Morrow/Harper Collins for this review. I’m not getting paid for this post. The views and opinions expressed are purely my own. This cookbook is available for purchase from your favorite bookshops.
Reference Links:
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/anythings-pastable-dan-pashman
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