AUG 19      WRITTEN BY COOL HAND FRANK

GIVE ME PASTA OR GIVE ME PASTA!!

I love pasta. Aglio y olio is my go-to when I want to make a simple yet mesmerizing bowl of linguini. It’s also a legendary pasta for seduction, but that’s another story.

I make all kinds, too. My preference is linguini, though also enjoy spaghetti (who doesn’t?), and, for certain dishes with light, loose ingredients like shrimp and cherry tomatoes, angel hair. The fresher the ingredients, the better.

Want to make your pasta go from great to mind-blowing? Of course, you do.

  1. Spend the money and buy high-quality olive oil. Don’t settle for generic EVOO. Get the good stuff. Artisanal, small batch is best. There’s a store a couple of miles west of my house called Leaning Ladder. Their primary focus is exactly that, as well as bottles of vinegar, no surprise there. Should a small business like theirs exist in your town, do the right thing: visit often, find what you like, and buy. Wins for everybody.

  2. Grow your Italian parsley and basil. And if you have the space and the soil, grow your tomatoes and oregano. If not, seek a community garden or farmer’s market. Go natural: the flavors are better.

  3. Pour-over sauce is a sucker’s bet. Always, always, always one pot for the pasta and one large pan for the sauce. Drain the pasta from the pot, rinse, then throw the pasta in the pan. Stir that pasta in the pan. Easy.

  4. That saltwater from the pot? Grab your ladle, grab your measuring cup, scoop a quarter cup of water per serving, and slowly pour over the pasta while stirring in the pan. Counter-intuitive? Sure. But that water makes the flavor more robust.

  5. If you’re hedonistic: pour a little wine in the sauce. Its zing is king.

Make for four, make for two, make for yourself. Eat up!