Q&A with Francine Segan: Today’s Pasta!
We were delighted to find out that food historian, cookbook author, and all around food genius, Francine Segan has just released a new book entitled Pasta Modern: New & Inspired Recipes from Italy, so we asked her if she would mind answering a few questions about pasta for our November Spotlight. Take a look and be ready to be amazed with Francine’s knowledge of pasta and food history!
1. We love that you are a food historian as well as a cookbook author! We know pasta has a long history, but are there any stories about pasta that you just love?
I love playing pasta archeologist and digging up the origins of pasta dishes. First off, let’s bust the Marco Polo myth! He traveled to China in the late 1200s, and yes, he wrote about seeing noodles over there, but pasta was already very common in Italy then. Italian museums are stuffed with colanders to drain noodles and pasta-making equipment that date back to 1st century BC, ancient Roman and Etruscan times and there are lots of documents about commercial pasta factories dating to the year 800AD.
One of my favorite recipes in the book is Cheapskate Pasta, which is not only must-try delicious, but has a fun backstory: Back in the 1800s many in Naples were too poor to afford expensive ingredients like fish for their Christmas Eve dinner. Instead, they added all the odds and ends they had in the pantry. A handful of this and a pinch of that wound up creating an amazing umami: crunchy, sweet, savory, and salty. Nowadays in Naples they call it Christmas Pasta, but I like the original name better! Super simple to make, it’s a practically no-cook sauce made by combining diced tomatoes, olives, dried fruit and nuts. Best of all, it’s totally vegan! No cheese, meat or fish. Fruit and nuts in tomato sauce may seem weird but taste wonderful. Special-occasion, fancy-pants taste–but economical and embarrassingly easy to assemble.
2. Your new cookbook is called Pasta Modern: New & Inspired Recipes from Italy, can you tell us the difference between the way that modern pasta is cooked compared to traditional pasta?
Traditionally, pasta is cooked in boiling water, but nowadays Italians often use other liquids instead, like wine, chicken stock or vegetable juice. They even make it without water! Raw dried pasta is tossed with all sorts of veggies and cheese, covered, and bake. The liquid in the vegetables soaks into the pasta until it’s al dente. I really flipped my lid for the vegetable juice pastas and put several into Pasta Modern. The idea is to boil the pasta for just a few minutes in a little water, then finish cooking it in vegetable juice, which becomes the “sauce.” You can use or a juicer or buy veg juice, but my personal favorite is Zucchini-Glazed Pasta. Grate zukes with a cheese grater, which releases its delicious green juice. Use that to cook the pasta, coating it in a gorgeous glossy glaze. The grated pieces are then tossed with hot pasta to complete the light, yet richly satisfying dish. Fat-free, fast & delicious.
3. We see that you cook with all different types of pasta shapes in your book – do you have a favorite?
I first tasted what is now my hands-down favorite pasta shape while visiting the Garofalo pasta company in Naples, one of Italy’s most popular and historic pasta makers. The pasta shape, which looks like a big hair curler, is called Paccheri. Wonderfully chewy and fun to eat, it gets its name from the sound these wide tubes make when plopped onto a plate—slap! I liked learning the Italian for some of our common pasta shapes like fettuccini=ribbons, linguine=little tongues and spaghetti=little strings. Italians have given pasta has adorable names: elbows, bow ties, corkscrews, wagon wheels and even little ears, orecchiette.
4. We love that pasta can be made quickly and can fit into a tight schedule – do you have any tips on how to make quick and nutritious meals during the week?
Here’s a trick from Italy—When the pasta has boiled for half the time suggested on the package add diced raw veggies. They’ll be perfectly done by the time the pasta is al dente. Drain, then toss with grated cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and you have a quick, inexpensive and satisfying one-pot, one-dish meal. You can toss cooked pasta with lots of other ingredients like chopped nuts and minced herbs for instant pesto. Pasta is my go-to when I’m in a hurry. I have even done experiments with my kids where they order something online at the same time that I put the water on the stove. My “instant” pasta is always done before their food arrives. Bragging rights– everyone always ends up liking my impromptu creation more than the same-old, same-old delivery pizza or Chinese take out.
5. How do you fit pasta into a healthy diet?
Better question: How can you have a healthy diet without pasta?! Pasta is quick and easy to make, inexpensive, and fat-free. One of my favorite finds is Felicetti Monograno pasta, made with whole grains like kamut or farro flour. I had never heard of them before I started working on Pasta Modern. I love the naturally nutty, buttery flavor of the pasta. It’s great even plain. Pasta is the perfect canvas for vegetables, lean proteins, beans and other healthy ingredients, especially this one that has so much flavor of its own.
6. Would you mind sharing your favorite pasta recipe with us?
One of my favorite recipes from my new book is the recipe I discussed before, called Cheapskate Pasta! I love this recipe because there’s hardly any chopping or fussing. A handful of chopped nuts, a few raisins for sweetness, capers and black olives for tang with a hint of garlic and tomatoes— a feast in 5 minutes. I’ve suggested measurements, but you can really ignore them. The idea of this recipe is to empty your cupboards into the pot, so feel free to use any sort of nuts, dried fruit and pantry favorites in any quantities you like! You can view the Cheapskate Pasta recipe here on Pasta Fits!
7. Tell us about your new cookbook!
Have you got a few days? I had a ball traveling through Italy meeting with chefs, home cooks, hip young bloggers and grandmas in villages so remote they didn’t even have internet. So many great meals, so many terrific experiences! Besides great recipes and cooking tips I learned lots of whimsical foodie sayings. I try to post one-a-day on Twitter @FrancineSegan. Here are some that make me smile:
-1- Americans say, “through rose-colored glasses” Italians say you’ve got “slices of salami over your eyes”
-2- American say something fantastic is like “icing on the cake”, Italians say it’s like “cheese on macaroni”
-3- Instead of “an apple a day keeping the doctor away” Italians think “a glass of wine a day is a kick in the butt to the doctor”
If you’d like to try out Francine’s fantastic Cheapskate Pasta check out the recipe here. For more information, you can also visit her website or follow her on twitter @FrancineSegan.
About Francine:
Francine Segan, acclaimed food historian, is the author of six books. Her most recent book is Pasta Modern: New & Inspired Recipes from Italy (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2013). Other titles include: DOLCI: Italy’s Sweets, Shakespeare’s Kitchen and Opera Lover’s Cookbook, nominated for both James Beard and IACP awards. She co-edited Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Superbowl, a two-volume encyclopedia that was a Gourmand World Award finalist and also contributed the chapter on Ruth Reichl for the book Icons Of American Cooking. Segan lectures across the country for organizations such as the Smithsonian Museum, the Virginia Fine Arts Museum, Abigail Adams Museum, Norman Rockwell Museum, and Museum of Natural History. She is on the Advisory Board of the French Culinary Institute and teaches cooking classes at Eataly, 92Y, the Institute of Culinary Education, and venues around the country. In addition, Segan has been featured on specials for the History, Sundance and Discovery channels, Food Network and PBS. She divides her time between New York and Italy.