A few years back, Dan Pashman, host of The Sporkful, began a quest to create a new pasta shape. He aired details of the quest, dubbed "Mission Impastable," on his podcast and the resulting shape, "Cascatelli," became a success. It was named one of the best inventions of 2021 by Time Magazine.
What does one make with cascatelli? Pashman, an inveterate tinkerer, has ideas. His new cookbook is Anything's Pastable.
Pureed mapo tofu gets inside the ruffles of the cascatelli in this recipe developed by Andrea Nguyen. "It's flavor for days," Pashman says. Photo by Dan Liberti.
People sent Pashman photographs of plates of cascatelli, 75% of which were heaped with tomato sauce, meat sauce, mac and cheese, and pesto. "I'm not against them, it's just an awfully narrow range," Pashman says.
He offers a couple of takes on pangrattato (seasoned, toasted breadcrumbs). "I'm a huge texture eater," he says. In Italian culture, varied textures are common and can transform a dish. He introduces Ritz Crackers and chives, crushed Corn Nuts and lime zest, and furikake pangrattato sprinkled over a mushroom pasta dish.
"We tend to think new ideas in food come from fancy chefs. But often it's home cooks who have a few different things in the pantry and combine them," Pashman says. And pasta is a natural vehicle for exploration.
Kick up your heels after work with a quick, pantry-friendly dish of shells with miso butter. Photo by Dan Liberti.
Mapo Tofu Cascatelli
Serves 4 to 6
Total Time: 40 minutes
This is my absolute favorite way to eat cascatelli. The chewy bits of meat and chewiest parts of the pasta combine for incredibly toothsinkable bites, and the high viscosity of the sauce combined with cascatelli’s patented Sauce Trough ensure that every bite arrives at your mouth fully loaded. Add to that the deep, soul- satisfying spice that comes from Sichuan peppercorns and doubanjiang and you have texture and flavor that’ll bring a tear to your eye.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- One 16-ounce package silken tofu
- 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns (see note)
- 3 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
- 8 ounces ground pork (or 80/20 ground beef or other ground meat)
- 3 tablespoons doubanjiang (see note)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger (or 1 tablespoon tubed ginger)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 pound cascatelli pasta (or quattrotini, vesuvio, or rigatoni)
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
Instructions
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Bring 4 quarts of water and the salt to a boil in a large pot.
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Drain the excess water from the tofu, transfer to a blender (or use an immersion blender or food processor), and puree until smooth, about 30 seconds; set aside.
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Toast the peppercorns in a large saucepan over medium heat until fragrant and slightly darkened, about 3 minutes. Let cool slightly, then coarsely grind in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder; reserve the pan.
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Add the oil to the pan and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the meat and cook, stirring and breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the doubanjiang, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring constantly, until dark reddish brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce, sugar, and reserved tofu, scraping out the blender jar, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, leaving the lid slightly ajar, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the corners of the pan. (Orange oil will appear on the surface.)
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Meanwhile, combine the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water in a bowl.
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Add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce and simmer for 1 minute. Remove
the pan from the heat and stir in half of the peppercorns; let sit while cooking
the pasta to allow the flavor to deepen. (At this point the sauce can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 3 days.) -
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes less than the low end of the package instructions. Reserve 2 cups of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta. Scrape the sauce into the empty pasta pot, add 1 cup of the reserved pasta water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the pasta to the sauce along with the scallion whites and stir until the pasta is well coated but the sauce still pools slightly at the bottom of the pot, 1 to 3 minutes. (If the sauce seems too thick, add more pasta water 2 tablespoons at a time until the sauce loosens but still clings to the pasta.)
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Transfer the pasta to a serving dish or individual bowls, sprinkle with the scallion greens and remaining peppercorns, and serve
Dan Pashman penned a book of recipes to accompany cascatelli, the pasta shape he invented. Photo courtesy of William Morrow Cookbooks.