Long Fusilli with Roasted Tomatoes

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Set a rack in the middle of the oven, and heat to 375˚. (If using a convection oven, which roasts the tomatoes well, set the thermostat to 350˚.)

   Step 2

   Put the bread crumbs in a medium-sized bowl, and mix in the chopped capers, 1 tablespoon of chopped basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, the peperoncino, oregano, and 1/3 cup of grated cheese. Drizzle 4 tablespoons of the olive oil over the crumbs, tossing to moisten and mix thoroughly.

   Step 3

   Rinse and dry the tomatoes, and slice them in half lengthwise. Oil the baking sheet lightly with a bit of the olive oil. Working over the bowl of bread crumbs, cover the cut side of each tomato half with a layer of the crumb mixture—a tablespoon, more or less, depending on the size of the tomatoes. Compress the crumbs lightly so they stay on, and set the tomato (crumbs up) on the baking sheet. Use up all the crumbs, topping all the tomatoes equally. Separate the tomatoes as much as possible on the sheet, so all sides are exposed to the heat, drizzle a little more olive oil over each, and put the sheet in the oven.

   Step 4

   Now pour 4 more tablespoons olive oil in a small bowl, drop in the garlic slices, and let steep—you’ll use the infused oil for dressing the pasta.

   Step 5

   Roast the tomatoes for 30 minutes, or until the crumbs are nicely browned and the halves are slightly shriveled. Remove the sheet from the oven, and let the tomatoes cool for 15 minutes or so, then slice each one lengthwise, right through the crumbs, making two narrow wedges. If the tomatoes are fat, slice the roasted halves into three or four wedges that will be easy to toss with the pasta. With a wide spatula, loosen the cut tomatoes and slide them together on the sheet, so you can transfer them to the pasta bowl easily and quickly.

   Step 6

   Meanwhile, heat 6 quarts of water, with 1 tablespoon salt, to the boil in the large pot. Drop in the long fusilli, and cook until the strands are al dente, as you like to eat them. In this dish, the pasta does not cook longer with the dressing in a hot skillet: instead, the heat of the pasta cooks the dressing when they’re tossed in the bowl.

   Step 7

   Have the big bowl near the stove, and heat it with some boiling water from the pasta-cooking pot before the fusilli are done (remember to pour out the heating water). When the pasta is perfectly cooked, lift it out with tongs, drain off the moisture for a moment, and drop it into the warm bowl.

   Step 8

   Immediately scatter the garlic-infused olive oil (and the garlic slices) all over the pasta, and toss well. Slide all the wedges of roast tomato off the sheet and on top of the hot fusilli. Toss well to disperse the tomatoes and seasoned crumbs and dress all the pasta. Sprinkle the remaining chopped basil over it, and toss in. Finally, toss in the grated cheese and serve right away, in warm bowls.

2. Canestrato Pugliese: A Rare Treat for Cheese Lovers

   Step 9

   In Puglia, as in all the southern regions, a bowl of pasta is rarely served without a shower of local aged pecorino over the top. As a lover of sheep’s-milk cheeses of almost every kind, I am especially happy when this shower falls from a block of Canestrato Pugliese, the region’s most prized and flavorful pecorino.

3. Step 10

   Produced in small quantity, Canestrato Pugliese is not as well known as Pecorino Romano genuine and Pecorino Toscano. But, like them, it is recognized as a culinary treasure of Italy, and has been granted the coveted status of Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC), which means its name, character, and quality are protected by law. Canestrato Pugliese is made only with milk from sheep grazing on Puglia’s lushest pastures, and hard-ripened to exacting specifications in reed baskets (canestri)—which accounts both for the name and the distinctive pattern on the rind. Most important to me, it tastes marvelous, rich and complex, with nuances that somehow express the flavor of the land and the grasses from which it comes.

4. Step 11

   In recent years, during which so many of Italy’s superb regional cheeses have become available in the States, Canestrato Pugliese has remained a treat to be enjoyed only when visiting Puglia. At last, though, I am happy to report, it is being imported on a regular basis. Thanks to the Internet (see Sources, page 340), you can now have a basket-patterned round of this rare and delightful cheese delivered to your door!

5. Step 12

   For all the pastas in this chapter—and wherever a hard, aged pecorino is listed—Canestrato Pugliese will provide a truly special final flourish.