Nicole Kidman’s Pasta

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Nicole Kidman’s Pasta is a pasta that is unlike any other pasta dish I’d ever had before. It is a vegetarian dish: a pasta that is FRIED to a crispy golden brown. Addictive at first bite, it made me love broccoli in a way I’d never loved broccoli before. I first discovered it when my kids were babies, in 1998, when Paul Newman published his cookbook, benefitting his Hole in the Wall Gang camp for sick children. Someone asked the actor with the gorgeous blue eyes what his favorite recipe was in his book, and he named Miss Kidman’s Pasta. 

At that point, I knew I had to try it! When you are lucky enough to hear from the cookbook author THEIR favorite recipe? You know it’s a sure fire winner! And it’s certainly one of OUR family favorites!
Plus, whether your family is vegetarian or not, this dish is exquisite. I think it’s important even if you’re NOT a vegetarian, to have a delicious vegetarian recipe or two in your back pocket, available to you whenever you want to entertain friends who ARE vegetarians. 

Wait a Minute: Fried Pasta???

Nicole Kidman’s Pasta has a few steps, but all the steps are easy. (Remember, I’ve made it since my kids were babies, so if I could do it then, you can do it now!) The most important step to remember is that you need to exercise patience, initially, when you brown the pasta, to get that golden edge on the noodles. It’s also important to choose a pasta with a large surface area that will lie flat in the pan, so that it can get that caramelized edge that will make is so crispy, crunchy, and delicious. Orechiette (which means little ears) is the pasta Ms Kidman calls for, but it can be harder to find, so if you can’t find it at your local market, just look for a pasta that has a large surface area that will lie flat in the pan. The pictures in this post show that I ran out of orechiette, so I used a rigatoni that I had on hand, which worked really well. 

The Broccoli

Another step that I think is important is to peel the broccoli “trunks” or stems, and cook them as well. The stems are perfectly edible if you peel off the tougher outer coating, and are some people’s favorite part of the vegetable. The trick is understanding how to cook them: they take a bit longer than the broccoli top. So peel your broccoli stems, slice them into circles/pennies, and then drop them in your cast iron pan/sauté pan first. They take a couple minutes longer to cook than the “tree tops” do. Cut the tops into bite sized pieces. No one wants to try to stuff an overly large floret in their mouth.

 

 

Toasting the Pine Nuts

You’ll want to toast your pine nuts before you begin cooking, maybe while your pasta water is coming to a boil. To toast my pine nuts, I just pour them into a small sauté pan and heat them for a few minutes over medium low heat, stirring often. When they start to get brown, they can burn quickly, so keep a close eye on them. The aroma will help you know when  you’re almost there, so keep sniffing as well. When you get them the color you like, remove them quickly from the pan. I pour mine out onto a little saucer so they can cool. If you leave them in the pan, merely removing the pan from the heat, they are likely to burn, and pine nuts are a bit expensive, so you don’t want to do that.

The Cheese

It goes without saying that you don’t want to use the Parmesan in the green can, doesn’t it? (Please, tell me it does!) You want to use the real deal: you NEED the gorgeous nuttiness of Parmigiano Reggiano, grated with a zester/microplane/rasp type kitchen tool. Do not cut this corner, I’m begging you. If you haven’t tried it before, you will kiss me later for making you go the extra mile. There just is no comparison.

If you’re looking for other delicious pasta recipes, I have several I’d love for you to inspect. They’re unique, but out of this world delicious, and family favorites all. My family’s favorite Macaroni and Cheese Recipe is made of goat cheese, of all things. But it’s to die for! Check out Iron Chef Michael Symon’s Goat Cheese Macaroni and Cheese. I make our amazing Spaghetti and Meatballs out of venison, but you can use beef if you prefer. Finally, I think this Perciatelli all’Amatriciana really might be my favorite, because bacon. 

I’d really appreciate a pin on Pinterest for Nicole Kidman’s Pasta, or any social media love you’d care to share! A share on Facebook, a tweet on Twitter…whatever you’d care to send my way!