Great food shared with wonderful friends and family. What could be sweeter than that? It’s day three of our “7 Days of Suiteness” series celebrating our new blog rollout. All week long, we’re talking about what we think makes up the good life, and today we’re going with a simple and delightful pasta recipe that’s perfect for summer entertaining … because life just doesn’t have to be that complicated
The recipe for gemelli casarecce is so easy anyone can do it: It’s a medley of mixed vegetables, herbs and gemelli pasta. (Gemelli, aka “unicorn horn,” is pasta that is twisted into a spiral like a strand of DNA, and it’s readily found in supermarkets and specialty stores.) And this gem of a dish comes courtesy of Chef Roberto Leoci at our Pacci Italian Kitchen + Bar in Savannah, GA. Chef Roberto may be a Canadian expat, but he grew up in Montreal’s vibrant Italian community, learning to cook the old-country staples. He then headed to the motherland for his formal training at La Scuola di Arte Culinaria Cordon Bleu in Florence, Italy. And since 2009, he’s been wowing Savannah with fresh, locally sourced, back-to-basics Italian food. And now with the recent opening of Pacci, he’s combining Southern hospitality with Southern Italian coastal cuisine. And that’s pretty sweet.
(Have you had a to-die-for dish at a Kimpton restaurant recently? Let us know and we’ll dig up the recipe and post it to Life is Suite. Because sharing the good stuff is what makes life especially sweet.)
Chef Roberto Leoci.
Gemelli Casarecce
Ingredients:
1 pound gemelli pasta
½ cup diced carrots
½ cup diced celery
2 cups diced yellow squash
½ cup diced zucchini
1 Vidalia onion, diced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons finely shaved grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
3 tablespoons chopped herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme)
½ cup vegetable stock
½ cup white wine
2 tablespoons sea salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Pasta Directions:
In a four-quart heavy pot of water over high heat, bring water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of sea salt to the water; add pasta, stirring for 7 minutes; cook al dente, then strain and put aside.
Sauce Directions:
In a sauté pan over moderate heat, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and chopped herbs, then sauté the onion, diced carrots, celery, squash and zucchini for about 5 minutes. Add wine and vegetable stock and let simmer for another 5-10 minutes to reduce slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Final Directions:
In a medium-size saucepan over medium heat, add pasta, sauce and butter. Stir for 4 minutes then top with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serves four to six people.
Where doo you add in the wine?
We’re checking with the chef, Patricia. We should have the corrected recipe up by the end of the week.
Sounds great … but I’m gluten and dairy free now, any suggestions on some alternative ingredients?
We’re checking in with the chef, Gary. And some gluten-free recipes is a great idea for a blog post. Thanks!
…and the wine is to drink??
Exactly! And in the meantime we’re checking in with the chef on how else it might be used.
This recipe is most likely incorrect. Would make soup with so much stock and no instruction for wine
Hi, Doryce — We’re running the recipe by the chef again to see what happened. Check back in a couple days.
I am wondering about the amount of stock and the wine too – guess we could saute the veges in the wine or drink it as someone suggested below 🙂
Hey, Lori … yes, enjoy the glass of wine and in the meantime we’ll check with the chef on the proper directions.
Arthur Ellis, all you have to do is substitute brown rice pasta to make the dish gluten free. Try different kinds. They can give you different textures. You can also look for a quinoa pasta too. Will take up the protein content.
ToMyFriendsHealth
Great tips, Duane … thanks for pitching in!
The picture of the pasta dish shown in this blog is not the same as the recipe above. The pasta types are different as well as ingredients pictured. Can you please either display the picture for the recipe given or give the recipe for the pictured pasta?
Would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks, Christine — We’ll check in with the restaurant and see what’s up.
A Summer Pasta Recipe from Savannah’s Pacci Restaurant – Life is Suite