My excellent editor, Mia Leimkuhler, recently asked me to reconsider angel hair pasta and — while I was revisiting the 1990s — watch the movie “Twister,” which came out in 1996 and has a new sequel, “Twisters.”
I’ve completed this assignment. Here goes.
Angel hair, aka capellini, was embraced in the ’90s for being lighter than other pastas, a finely twirled pairing for the simplest of sauces, vegetables and seafood. I loved angel hair pasta when it was in vogue, and then I turned on it when it fell out of style. (Pasta lovers: We’re capricious!)
But just look at Dan Pelosi’s recipe for angel hair pasta below: The strands are tossed with olive oil, butter, garlic, herbs and those blistered cherry tomatoes, like elegant flavor balloons. It’s the perfect pan of pasta for a high-summer dinner.
There are a few things to know about angel hair. For starters, “al dente” is not its vibe. This pasta cooks rapidly and thoroughly. Start checking for doneness early, as overcooked angel hair is a soppy Koosh ball on your plate. Angel hair doesn’t really do heavy sauces or substantial mix-ins, so save your eggplant cubes or sausage hunks to toss with a less sensitive pasta shape. (As for “Twister,” which I’d never seen, Helen Hunt is a treasure.)
Angel Hair Pasta
This simple yet satisfying pasta recipe is made with just a few pantry staples. It comes together quickly and with ease, as angel hair is one of the fastest-cooking pastas. The classic combination of olive oil, butter, garlic and herbs is enough to coat the thin, delicate strands of pasta, but the addition of soft, bursting cherry tomatoes really sweetens the deal. Be sure to serve with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan for the ultimate bowl of comfort.
— Recipe by Dan Pelosi
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
Salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
Crushed red pepper (optional)
1 pound angel hair pasta
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil
Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving
Preparation:
1. Heat a large pasta pot of salted water to a boil.
2. To a large pan over medium heat, add olive oil and butter. Allow the butter to melt, then add cherry tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes are beginning to soften and the skins are a little blistered, 4 to 6 minutes.
3. Add garlic, shallot, 1 teaspoon each of kosher salt and black pepper, and a pinch of red pepper, if using, and toss to combine with the tomatoes. Cook for about 6 minutes, until the shallots are translucent and the tomatoes are fully softened yet still intact. Meanwhile, add pasta to the boiling salted water and cook until al dente according to the packaging directions, about 2 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then strain the pasta.
4. Add the cooked pasta, herbs and a bit of the reserved pasta water to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to combine, until you have a glossy pasta sauce; add more pasta water slowly, if needed. Serve topped with plenty of Parmesan.
Chicken and herb salad with Nuoc Cham
Nuoc cham, a Vietnamese sauce bright with lime juice and chile, is tossed into this simple, satisfying salad to give it a salty-sweet finish. Thinly sliced bell pepper and shaved cabbage provide crunch, while meat pulled from a store-bought rotisserie chicken — or any leftover chicken — soaks up the dressing. Serve this by itself or alongside steamed rice or room-temperature cooked rice vermicelli.
— Recipe by Yewande Komolafe
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bird’s-eye chile or other small hot chile, minced with seeds
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 loosely packed cups chicken meat (12 ounces, pulled from store-bought rotisserie chicken or roast chicken)
2 cups thinly sliced red or green cabbage
1 small English cucumber, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 medium bell pepper (any color), thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups peppery leafy greens, such as watercress with tender stems, arugula or mizuna
1 loosely packed cup Thai or sweet basil leaves
1 loosely packed cup mint leaves
1/2 cup crispy fried shallots or onions, store-bought or homemade
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and 1/4 cup water. Whisk to dissolve the sugar. Add the garlic, chile, lime juice and fish sauce. Stir to combine.
2. Add the chicken, cabbage, cucumbers and bell pepper to the dressing. Toss to coat. Add the leafy greens and the basil and mint leaves. Toss to combine.
3. Divide the salad among bowls, garnish with the crispy shallots and serve immediately.
Pearl Couscous Salad
Bright lemon, mint and cilantro offset creamy feta and sweet corn in this crisp and crunchy salad. Pearl couscous, also known as Israeli couscous, is made of small pearls of chewy pasta that are a great base for so many flavors. Make sure to thoroughly drain the couscous after cooking to avoid a soggy salad. Sautéed shrimp make this into a meal, but feel free to add chopped chicken or your protein of choice.
— Recipe by Yossy Arefi
Yield: 6 servings
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 pound large shrimp (16 to 25), peeled and deveined, tails on or off
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon, plus more as needed
1 cup pearl couscous
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 Persian cucumbers, diced (about 2 cups)
2 ears corn, kernels cut off of the cob (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced cilantro leaves and tender stems, plus more for garnishing
1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves, plus more for garnishing
Preparation:
1. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. In a medium skillet over medium-high, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Sauté the shrimp until opaque and just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a plate and zest half the lemon over top (about 1/2 teaspoon or to taste), then juice the lemon into a large bowl, sprinkle about one-fourth of the juice over the shrimp and set the bowl with the remaining juice aside.
2. Cook the couscous in a pot of heavily salted water until al dente, according to the package directions. Rinse with cool water and drain well.
3. While the couscous is cooking, make the dressing. In the bowl with the lemon juice, whisk together the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, the garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
4. Add the cooked couscous to the bowl with the dressing and toss to combine. Add the cucumbers, corn, radishes, feta, cilantro and mint. Toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings by adding more salt, pepper and/or lemon juice as needed.
5. Top with shrimp and a sprinkling of cilantro and mint. Enjoy immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
Sausage Smash Burgers
The delightful characteristics of a beef smash burger — thin, quick-cooking patties with a superbly caramelized ragged edge — are applied here to Italian-style sausage. (The stress relief from smashing food is yet another smash burger perk.) Mayo smeared on soft brioche buns along with a tangle of sautéed sweet peppers and onions top the patties, making this a bit like the sausage and peppers of the burger world. Optional oregano adds a fresh herbal accent. Each bite is savory, rich, sweet and smashingly craveable. These sandwiches are delicious all by themselves, but if you’d like a side, serve with a green salad or french fries.
— Recipe by Christian Reynoso
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
1 pound loose pork sausage, such as mild or hot Italian sausage
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons neutral oil, plus more if needed
2 small yellow, orange or red bell peppers (about 10 ounces total), halved, stemmed and thinly sliced
1/2 large red or yellow onion (about 5 ounces), thinly sliced from root to stem
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons red or white wine vinegar
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 brioche or burger buns, split and lightly toasted
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves (optional)
Preparation:
1. Form the sausage into 4 roughly shaped spheres and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, preferably cast-iron, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high. Add the peppers, onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. (Cook in batches, if the pan seems crowded.) Transfer to a medium bowl, add the vinegar, toss and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the same skillet and heat on high. Once very hot, add 2 sausage portions to the pan, then smash them down with a spatula or metal press into 1/2-inch-thick patties. Cook, undisturbed, until deeply browned and caramelized on the bottom, about 2 minutes, then flip over and cook until just cooked through, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining sausage, adding more oil if necessary.
4. While the burgers are cooking, spread the mayonnaise on the inside of each piece of brioche, and, if using, sprinkle the oregano over. Top bottom buns with sausage patties, sautéed peppers and onions, then top buns, and serve.
