Episode
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We don’t have anything against spaghetti and meatballs or pasta with marinara, but the world of pasta and tomatoes
extends far beyond these popular standbys. Enter Penne alla Vodka and Pasta Caprese.
In an ideal recipe for Pasta Caprese, tomatoes warm and sweeten, fresh basil releases its fragrant oils, and
mozzarella cheese melts into creamy pockets that blend with pasta. But too often this simple-sounding dish fails.
When you’re working with substandard tomatoes (sadly it happens even in summer), the dish falls flat. The
mozzarella, too, can be particularly vexing, seizing into chewy wads seconds after it hits the hot pasta. Our goal was
twofold: We had to find a way to boost the flavor of less-than-stellar tomatoes and solve the mystery of why the
cheese seizes in this dish—and how to prevent it.
Penne alla Vodka is a delicate take on the familiar pairing of pasta and tomatoes. But a heavy hand with the vodka,
or adding it too late in the process (so the alcohol doesn’t cook off) often ruins this dish. The cream must also be
carefully considered—too much dulls the sauce. In order to turn out an estimable version of Penne alla Vodka, we
needed to test each ingredient as well as the process by which they’re combined.
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