Chef Scott Conant's Italian Cooking Essentials

By Emily Hsieh
March 4, 2010

Having sat at the helm of several three-star Italian restaurants—including the much-lauded Scarpetta, with outposts in New York City and Miami—in his 15 years as a professional chef, Scott Conant is an indisputable authority on Italian cuisine. Earlier this month, he debuted his latest venture, Faustina (named after an ancient Roman empress), in downtown Manhattan’s Cooper Square Hotel. “Faustina is about food I’ve always cooked. It’s not fussy or fancy. It’s honest and approachable, with an American influence,” he tells us of a menu filled with elegant, straightforward dishes like fried chicken with porcini and potato stufato and cannelloni with burrata and baby tomatoes.

As for less seasoned cooks looking for quick, no-fuss Italian meals to prepare at home, Conant says you can’t go wrong with pasta: “It’s a great go-to dish. It’s easy, economical, and you can do something start to finish in 30 minutes or less. And everyone loves pasta!” Here, the man who Gourmet magazine credited with “raising the roof on the Manhattan school of Italian cooking,” took time out from manning his kitchens to share a favorite, anyone-can-do-it recipe for tagliatelle with peas and prosciutto, along with all the pointers and products one needs to pull it off. “It’s pretty simple,” Conant encourages. “That’s the good thing about Italian food; you just need a couple tools and you’re on your way.”

Scott Conant and Faustina (images provided by Conant)

Scott Conant’s Tagliatelle with Peas & Prosciutto,
from his cookbook, Bold Italian:

Ingredients: Extra virgin olive oil; 1 shallot, thinly sliced lengthwise; Kosher salt; 1 cup frozen peas; 1 1/2 cups chicken broth; 1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley; 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon; 4 thin slices prosciutto, chopped; 3/4 pound fresh or dried tagliatelle

Directions:

Make a pea puree: In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot, season with a generous pinch of salt, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add half of the peas and the chicken broth. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook the peas until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the parsley and the tarragon. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor (or use a hand blender right in the pot) and puree.

Crisp the prosciutto: Heat about a teaspoon of olive oil in a medium sauté pan. Add the prosciutto and cook, stirring occasionally, until the prosciutto is quite crispy, 4 to 5 minutes.

To serve: Cook the pasta in well salted boiling water. If using fresh pasta, add it and the other half of the peas to the pot at the same time and cook until the pasta is al dente. If using dried, start the pasta first and add the peas for the last 2 minutes of cooking. Reserve a cup or so of the pasta water and then drain the pasta and peas. Return the pasta to the pot it cooked in, add the pea puree and toss to coat, adding a little of the reserved pasta water if it looks dry. Divide the pasta among warm bowls and top the pasta with the prosciutto. Drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil over each bowl and serve immediately.

Scott Conant’s Must-Have Tools For Italian Cooking

1. Oxo Pop Small Storage Container (buy it now price, $11.39) and 2. De Cecco Tins (buy it now price) $1.99

“Buy pasta and store it in a nice container. This makes it easier to access and to keep track of your inventory. De Cecco makes great old-fashioned tins. I also like clear containers so you know what you have to work with.”

3. Global 10” Chef’s Knife (buy it now price, $99.99)

“I love a 10” chef’s knife. It’s universal—you really could use it for everything. Global knives are great for home cooks. They’re light and made of a single piece of metal, which is more sanitary [than knives comprised of several different parts].”

4. iSi Basics 16" Tongs (buy it now price, $24.99)

“You definitely need tongs to stir and serve. I like stainless steel, spring action tongs with a good weight so you can feel them in your hands. Flimsy tongs aren’t going to work as well, and will break down over time.”

5. All Clad Pasta Pentola (buy it now price, $229.95)

“This comes with a basket for straining pasta. The lid is great so you can cover cooked pasta and maintain its heat.”

6. Revel Eclipse Baking Dish (buy it now price, $29.99)

“Baked pastas are excellent for groups. For both baking and serving, I like a rectangular ceramic dish in black or white. After working in kitchens for so long, I like to keep it simple.”

7. Peugot Daman U Select Series Pepper Mill (buy it now price, $60)

“There’s nothing worse than grabbing a grinder in the middle of cooking only to find it’s empty, which is why I like mine clear.”

8. Microplane Grater/Zester (buy it now price, $14.99)

“I love these; they have a really fine, smooth, consistent grate. You get a lot more yield out of your product, whether you’re shaving truffles or parmesan cheese.”

9. All Clad 3 Quart Stainless Steel Saute Pan with Lid (sold for, $125)

“Instead of throwing noodles on a platter and dumping on the sauce, always finish pasta in a sauté pan to get the starch from the pasta and the oils from the sauce to mix really well. All-Clad is at the top of my list for home cookware. I like the weight, which lends itself to long cooking or braising.”

10. Olive Oil and Vinegar Cruets (buy it now price, $6.99)

“A cruet allows you to buy oil in bulk. Just remember to store oil in a cabinet, where it’s dark and room temperature, so it keeps longer.”

11. Wooden Spoon (buy it now price, $20)

“You can’t cook Italian food without a wooden spoon. It’s great for stirring pasta in a pan—you won’t break it the way you would with metal tongs. It’s also perfect for stirring polenta, rather than using a metal utensil which could scrape against your pot and create a metallic taste in your food.”

Tags: