Gracefully balancing the honesty and simplicity of Italy’s cucina rustica with the ambitious refined notes of alta cucina, chef Scott Conant has simultaneously tapped into America’s love affair with Italian food and redefined it, creating his own new, interpretive and widely appealing cuisine.
Q:Many people have fond memories of cooking either with friends or family? What is your dearest pasta memory?
A: I have so many.....pasta is such an interesting and misunderstood passion. I know people that can't believe that Italians eat pasta so often. One of my first pasta memories is watching my grandmother make cavatelli and orecchiette from scratch on a big wooden board. Also being in Rome and eating a squid ink pasta with lobster and olive oil. It was magic!??
Q: What pasta cut do you prefer cooking with?
A: I love a simple spaghetti. It holds so much potential......just let it be and it is already great. Less is more.
Q: Pasta is such a flexible food medium? What do you think is the best thing about cooking with pasta?
A: I love cooking pasta......it is my favorite thing to cook. The simplicity and knowing that very few ingredients can make something wonderful and healthy at the same time.
Q: Of all the pasta dishes you cook, which one do think people enjoy the most?
A: It has to be the spaghetti with tomato and basil. All fresh tomatoes fresh basil and Parmigiano cheese. Simple and spectacular!
Q: What is your all-time favorite pasta dish?
A: Spaghetti with peperoncino, garlic, olive oil and fresh chopped parsley. Fantastico!
Q: What do you think it is about pasta that makes people like it so much?
A: The texture and soulfulness. It makes you think of Italy......and who doesn't like to think of Italy!?!?
Q: A lot of people don’t realize how many ways you can use pasta in your everyday cooking. Do you have any tips for enjoying pasta more at home?
A: When you cook pasta, you have to toss it in the sauce before you serve it. I always cook it three quarters of the way in boiling salted water and then the rest of the way in the sauce. Adjusting with the pasta cooking liquid.
Q: What do you think are the qualities of a good brand of pasta?
A: Cooks up al dente with a slight room for error. High protein content. And fresh....even dried pasta gets old.
Q: What’s your pasta philosophy?
A: Cook the pasta to the right texture in the sauce, and all the flavors should be singular yet harmonious.
Q: Imagine you've been banished to a deserted island and can only bring one kind of pasta. Which cut would you take with you and why?
A: Again, spaghetti.......or if you need me to say something other than spaghetti, I can say Penne Rigate, because it also has so many wonderful possibilities.
Chef Scott Conants's recipe:
No pasta could be easier than spaghetti and olive oil, right? Yet I can’t believe how badly this sublime and simple pasta gets made, with not enough oil, undercooked garlic, and the addition of cheese, which I think is sinful. Here’s my
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. 