There can be many reasons why a man doesn’t cook for himself: he never learned (too old). It never interested him (others cook for him). Or he doesn’t care (he doesn’t enjoy eating well anyway). In the latter case he is the grateful prey of the fast-food and convenience culture that has turned this male weakness into a billion-dollar business.
But what happens when hunger strikes at home and the fridge is empty? The restaurants already closed, you’re sick to the back teeth of fast food, and neither Mamma nor a former flame is reachable as an emergency cook? This could be the moment when a man should finally give it a go himself. And make astonishing discoveries: it works! It’s not complicated! It tastes superb! And you are so very proud of it!
To make it work, let’s start with something simple: pasta. We all love it, it’s easy to make and needs neither lots of kitchen gadgets nor fresh things from the fridge. All the recipes presented here can be made from ingredients that will happily wait months to be used. It doesn’t get more convenient.
The only real challenge: you have to learn to cook pasta properly. Hard as it is to believe – most people in Switzerland don’t know how! Otherwise we’d eat as well as the Italians. Sadly we don’t, as we can confirm after every trip to Italy. So, to begin, the ABC of cooking pasta.
The ABC of Cooking Pasta
1. The pasta. We distinguish durum-wheat pasta («pasta secca», dried) from egg pasta («pasta fresca», fresh). Fresh tastes best fresh, must be refrigerated and used quickly – less suited to beginners. Let’s focus on pasta secca: it keeps forever (forget the date on the packet). Hands off industrial stuff! Rule of thumb: the smaller the maker, the better the odds of quality. And: the paler the pasta, the better. Top pasta is almost white.
2. The pot, the salt and the water. The basic formula is 1:10:100 – that is, 1 litre of water with 10 grams of salt for 100 grams of pasta. Bring the water to the boil and only then add the pasta. And: olive oil does not belong in the water! It just floats on top and does nothing. What does matter: especially in the first minutes, keep stirring the pasta so it doesn’t stick together.
3. The order. Basic rule: prepare the sauce before the pasta goes into the water. For some recipes the two happen together – precisely the ones presented here.
4. No draining allowed! The pasta water is culinary gold: it contains starch that binds every sauce and makes it creamier. That’s why pasta is never drained but lifted with a ladle into the sauce pan. There, sauce and pasta finally get to know each other. It’s like love: it takes time. Let’s give our dish that time.
5. The timing. The great secret behind perfect pasta! Take the pasta out two or three minutes before the stated cooking time and toss it with the sauce. If it’s too dry, add a little pasta water. If it’s too runny, just turn up the heat.
6. Toss, toss, toss. The top Roman chef Max Mariola calls it «il suono dell’amore» – the sound of love: that moment when you toss pasta and sauce together in the pan. As a beginner a wooden spoon will do; with a little practice the artful pan-toss succeeds and the pasta flies elegantly through the air. It really does sound like love – and above all, everything blends to perfection.
7. The tablecloth. Okay, this has nothing directly to do with cooking. But anyone who really wants to enjoy treats themselves to a cloth tablecloth and napkin. What lends fine ambience in a restaurant works at home too. Even when you eat alone: the tablecloth is a game changer. Guaranteed.
Spaghetti alla puttanesca
«Puttanesca» translates as «prostitute». One legend goes: Italian brothels of the 1950s were «case chiuse» (closed houses) whose residents could go out shopping only once a week. The dish is said to have arisen from the most durable leftovers in the pantry when supplies ran low. So these ingredients need no fridge.
For 2 people: 250 g spaghetti · 1 tin of anchovies · 1 head of garlic, finely sliced · a handful of pitted black olives, halved · chilli (fresh, dried or as a salsa) · 1 tin of peeled tomatoes · a handful of capers · salt · chopped flat-leaf parsley (if available).
Method: 1. Pour a glass of wine into the cook. 2. Bring two litres of water to the boil, salt it. 3. In a pan, sweat the anchovies in olive oil over low heat until they break down. 4. Soften the garlic, olives and chilli. 5. Crush the tomatoes by hand and add with the capers. 6. Let the sauce reduce to a creamy consistency over low heat. 7. Slide in the spaghetti. Just before al dente, toss with the sauce and let them marry for two minutes, adding a little cooking water if needed. If you have parsley, stir it in at the end.
Pasta con tonno
Not just for fish lovers: quick, simple, delicious, refreshing.
For 2 people: 250 g pasta of your choice · 1 tin of tuna of about 160 g (preferably without oil) · the juice of half an organic lemon · 1 clove of garlic · dried chilli · if available: flat-leaf parsley.
Method: 1. Bring two litres of water to the boil, salt it, add the pasta. 2. Drain the tuna, put it in a pan and flake it with a spoon. Add the lemon juice and simmer over low heat for five minutes with the garlic clove (if you have it, add a sprig of parsley and a splash of white wine). 3. Remove the garlic and parsley sprig. 4. Add the pasta to the pan three minutes before al dente. 5. Turn up the heat, toss and keep adding a little pasta water until a creamy sauce forms. 6. To finish, add the chilli and a little grated lemon zest, and scatter over the parsley.
This article appeared in MEN issue 2/23 (November 2023).
