# Rigatoni with sage and butter



## Luca Lazzari (Aug 21, 2011)

August is a tough month.
It's holiday time for me, and I'm eating like an idiot, my lovely belly looks like a big watermelon. So last night I decided to take a pause and I prepared a simple, light rofl rigatoni recipe.
In Italy we usually prepare it using spaghetti, and we call it "spaghetti burro e salvia", that is spaghetti butter and sage. But I'm a hopeless glutton, so I added lard an pepper to the standard recipe. Let's go.

For 4 people (I'm not talking about normal people, but people more like me) you need: 500 g of rigatoni; 150 g of butter; 6/8 big leaves of sage; 1 tablespoon of lard; salt and pepper; coarse salt; 4/6 tablespoons of parmigiano reggiano.
You can use more butter if you like it 

Wash the sage leafs, dry them and cut them in little pieces. Melt the butter in a pan, don't keep the fire too high, add the lard and melt it too, I love tinkering these beautiful fats with a wooden spoon. Use butter, not oil, because this recipe's taste is completely based on it. Then add the sage pieces and saute them for 5 minutes, more or less, taking care not to burn them nor the butter and lard, then let this sauce rest.
Boil the water, add the coarse salt, cook the rigatoni. A couple of minutes before the rigatoni are cooked, put the sauce pan on fire again. Drain the rigatoni and put them in a large bowl, then pour the sauce on top of the pasta. Keep the pan near to the rigatoni and, with a wooden spoon, put some rigatoni inside the pan and thoroughly "clean" the sauce using the rigatoni; mix well. Add the parmigiano reggiano, the pepper (I like to grate it directly on the pasta). Again mix well and serve.

Buon appetito!

PS I'm using Italian butter, I don't know what different types of butter, if any, are available all around the world, I'm sorry...


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 21, 2011)

Sounds wonderful!  Copied and pasted.


----------



## vitauta (Aug 21, 2011)

you certainly seem to have a way of making a simple pasta dish into something savory and delectable. i'll be following you.... wonder what we'll be eating once you are "back in shape".


----------



## Snip 13 (Aug 21, 2011)

Looks tasty Luca, thank you  I think I'll skip the lard!


----------



## Luca Lazzari (Aug 21, 2011)

vitauta said:


> you certainly seem to have a way of making a simple pasta dish into something savory and delectable.



Thank you!



vitauta said:


> i'll be following you.... wonder what we'll be eating once you are "back in shape".



It will be autumn and winter, wonderful time of the year in which the pork rules, so we'll have cotechini and zamponi, but also roasted meats, powerful side dishes with beans and rinds, and gorgeous soups, buoyant risotti and bountiful pasta!


----------



## Luca Lazzari (Aug 21, 2011)

Snip 13 said:


> Looks tasty Luca, thank you  I think I'll skip the lard!



At least, keep the pepper!


----------



## Snip 13 (Aug 22, 2011)

Luca Lazzari said:


> At least, keep the pepper!



Don't worry about that, I pepper everything!! Even my breakfast 
My rule is when your arm feels like it's going to fall off from grinding then you've added enough


----------



## Bolas De Fraile (Aug 22, 2011)

Luca mate there was a thread here asking what sauce you like best on your pasta. I put butter and a sprinkle of pecorino sardo or romano, you northern polentone are in denial pecorino is better than parm
I do like veal escalopes fried in lots butter and sage with polenta.


----------



## Luca Lazzari (Aug 22, 2011)

Bolas De Fraile said:


> Luca mate there was a thread here asking what sauce you like best on your pasta. I put butter and a sprinkle of pecorino sardo or romano, you northern polentone are in denial pecorino is better than parm
> I do like veal escalopes fried in lots butter and sage with polenta.



Listen Bolas, old lad, we Italians are always at war one against the other, kingdom against kingdom, diocese against diocese, north against center against south against west against east against islands against continent, region against region, province against province, courtyard against courtyard, neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother, my finger against my nostril, but there are three things in which we are all Brothers: eating, drinking and, well, I think you, a true man of the world, can guess the third one... 

I LOVE pecorino, for example nothing beats some pecorino flakes and taggiasche olives as a starter, with some cold white wine from Puglia, and I like it with some pasta recipe, like the Gricia. But my fiancé comes from Modena, the homeland of Parmigiano, so I have to eat some Parmigiano once in a while


----------



## Bolas De Fraile (Aug 22, 2011)

Luca this is my cheat Sardinian Sebadas in homage to all those Badass bandits from Nuoro
It should be made with young pecorino sardo and lard.
Mix ricotta with lots of lemon zest and a bit of honey and leave for about 1 hour.
Heat more honey with lemon zest and juice for sauce.
Roll shop bought puff pastry thinly, cut into a circle and prick all over, put a big blob of ricotta on the pastry then fold and crimp to make a flat pasty shape.Shallow  fry gently in oil, do this slowly as the pastry burns easily, flip over when its golden all over drain and drizzle with the lemon scented honey. I like it much better for pud than the cheese with maggots in.


----------



## Luca Lazzari (Aug 22, 2011)

Ahhh, the marriage of pecorino and lard....

And me too cannot stand those infested cheeses!!!


----------



## pacanis (Aug 22, 2011)

Luca, what exactly is Italian butter?
Google searches are taking me to butter or olive oil flavored with herbs and red pepper flakes for bread dipping. I'm not sure if that is what you mean.
This is a pretty simple, delicious sounding recipe and I'd like to duplicate it as close as possible my first time with it.
Maybe I will even stir it with finger against nostril, in honor of all the Italians against one another


----------



## Luca Lazzari (Aug 22, 2011)

pacanis said:


> Luca, what exactly is Italian butter?
> Google searches are taking me to butter or olive oil flavored with herbs and red pepper flakes for bread dipping. I'm not sure if that is what you mean.
> This is a pretty simple, delicious sounding recipe and I'd like to duplicate it as close as possible my first time with it.
> Maybe I will even stir it with finger against nostril, in honor of all the Italians against one another



I'm sorry Pacanis, I'm a little confused by something I read about differences in butter, but I cannot remember it.
Generally, in Italy we use oil (olive oil or other kinds) and butter in our recipes.
I thought the butter we have in Italy could be different from the butter used in other nations. From a superquick web research I think here we mainly use "sweet butter", that is produced from pasteurized cream without the addition of salt, while in other nations they could use butter with added salt.
I'm not an expert, I'll try to solve this puzzle!!!


----------



## pacanis (Aug 22, 2011)

It sounds like what I have, regular butter, will work. I just didn't want to mix up a batch of seasoned butter if that wasn't what you were using. Thanks.


----------



## Luca Lazzari (Aug 22, 2011)

pacanis said:


> It sounds like what I have, regular butter, will work. I just didn't want to mix up a batch of seasoned butter if that wasn't what you were using. Thanks.



You're welcome


----------



## Snip 13 (Aug 22, 2011)

Luca Lazzari said:


> You're welcome



I'll use Kerrygold, the Irish sure know how to make good butter! It comes in salted and unsalted and it's really creamy.
When it comes to pasta, balsamic vinegar, parmesan and olive oil I will stick to Italian though!


----------



## Luca Lazzari (Aug 22, 2011)

Snip 13 said:


> ... When it comes to pasta, balsamic vinegar, parmesan and olive oil I will stick to Italian though!



 Can't find Italian Casanova smilies


----------



## Snip 13 (Aug 22, 2011)

Luca Lazzari said:


> Can't find Italian Casanova smilies



 Just post the pic of you in the blonde wig :p


----------



## Luca Lazzari (Aug 22, 2011)

Snip 13 said:


> Just post the pic of you in the blonde wig :p









I love you baby, and if it's quite all right, 
I need you, baby, to warm the lonely night.​


----------



## Snip 13 (Aug 22, 2011)

Luca Lazzari said:


> I love you baby, and if it's quite all right,
> I need you, baby, to warm the lonely night.​



That pic is awesome, love it!  
You actually look handsome on that photo, a bit gay perhaps but handsome!


----------



## Luca Lazzari (Aug 22, 2011)

Thank you Odette! 

And last time I checked, mi fiancé was still a good girl...


----------



## Snip 13 (Aug 22, 2011)

Luca Lazzari said:


> Thank you Odette!
> 
> And last time I checked, mi fiancé was still a good girl...



My pleasure and I'm sure your fiance is all woman


----------

