Garliky, Peppery, Oniony, Chili...y, Rapini Linguine!

Big shout out to Daddy-O for introducing this baby to me.  There is just something about the fabulous mixture of the bitterness from the rapini, with the sweetness of the peppers, with the saltiness from the cheese and a little heat from the chili's that make this pasta an absolute flavor explosion in your lucky lucky mouth.  A little tip for my bloggy lovers - if you have never had reheated leftover pasta before - this is the recipe to try it out with.  And no I don't mean pushing start on the microwave reheating, I mean sizzling up your leftovers in a pan with some olive oil on high heat so it gets that niccceeee crisp.  The flavours are more pronounced, the pasta has an amazing texture and i'm not even kidding, sometimes it's even better than eating it fresh!  However, in order to "reheat" leftovers, you've gotta make the dish first so let's take it one step at a time shall we.

Ladies and Gents.... I'd like to present you with this special gift of a recipe... Pasta a la Natola

You will need: (Serves 4)
500g good quality linguine pasta
2 bunches of Rapini (Broccoli Rabe)
2 Red Bell Peppers (sliced thinly, lengthwise)
1 Large Spanish Onion (roughly chopped)
1 Head of Garlic (chopped)
2-3 tsp dried chili peppers
A generous handful of grated Parmesan cheese - plus more for serving
EVOO
Sea Salt
Fresh ground pepper

To start, fill up a steamer pot with 2 inches of water, place your rapini in the steamer insert, bring to a boil, cover and steam!

While your rapini is steaming, bring a separate pot of salted water to a boil for your pasta.   At the same time, in a large deep bottom pan, add 3 tbsp of EVOO and saute your onions and garlic on medium high heat until slightly soft (about 3 minutes), add your peppers and chili peppers and some salt and pepper to taste. Cook on medium heat until the onions and peppers are soft.

When the rapini has steamed and is cool enough to handle, roughly chop it and then add it to your pepper mixture.  Add some more EVOO if needed.  When your pasta is cooked al dente, all it to the pan, add your handful of parmesan cheese and toss thoroughly.  Serve with some extra parm on top and voila!

Serve and Enjoy :)


Chef Tip:
For day-after reheating,  simply add a couple tablespoons of EVOO into a hot pan,  add your pasta and let it sit (untouched) for a few minutes before stirring (this way you get a nice light brown crust on the noodles).

xo Chef Natty