Capellini al estilo de Tejas

Capellini al estilo de Tejas - Capellini Texas Style

This is a slight twist on traditional capellini.  Typically, when you order capellini in a traditional Italian restaurant it will be served with a light sauce.  Traditionally capiellini is made from fresh vegetables that are cooked for only a few minutes then it is served with the thin pasta.    Here we are doing the same thing but we are adding some salsa to spice it up.  Most likely, you will have to play around with the salsas to find the one that you like best, but here are a few suggestions.  First, get a smooth well-blended salsa, not one of the chunky varieties otherwise; you will have large chunks of salsa in your pasta.  Second, the heat of the salsa is going to intensify in this recipe, I like hot salsa, but for this recipe, I only use mild.  Half to two thirds of the moisture from the salsa is going to boil off when the salsa hit the hot pan, leaving a salsa concentrate that will be much spicier than what came from the jar.  Third, identify the stronger flavors of the salsa, some have a strong vinegar taste, while others are strong with the flavor of onions, garlic, salt or even sugar.  Just as the heat from the peppers intensify, the flavors from other ingredients will also intensify.  Now I like to use a salsa for this recipe that has a strong garlic flavor, therefore if that is what I use then I will reduce or eliminate the garlic.  My preferred salsa is Albert’s mild hot sauce, but my local store does not carry it, probably because it has to be stored in the refrigerated section and not on the shelves with the other salsas.  Albert’s has less vinegar in it therefore; it should be in the refrigerated section.  

When we serve this, it is never the main course but a portion of the main course.  For example, this week we had a small cut of pan seared salmon with the Capellini al estilo de Texas and fruit salsa.  I will also serve it with chicken, shrimp, and pork chops.  I have even served it with crawfish.

It is very important to prepare all of the ingredients and to have them in small bowls or containers beforehand.  Once you start cooking, it will only be minutes until it is ready to eat. 

If I am not rushed, I prefer the tomatoes peeled.  Peeling tomatoes is very easy, especially with this recipe, because you already have the boiling water for the pasta.  All that you have to do is to blanch the tomatoes for about 30 seconds, then peel.  Here is a step-by-step link for peeling tomatoes.

This recipe is for four

The Ingredients

1-2 cloves of garlic

2 - Roma tomatoes - approximately 1 cup,   I normally use Roma tomatoes, but will use anything that I have on hand from small grape tomatoes to large Brandywines.  Sometimes I will add sundried tomatoes with the fresh tomatoes.

2 - green onions – scallions

1/8 to ¼ cup of salsa

1 tablespoon olive oil or clarified butter

8 oz capellini or angel hair pasta

Preparing the Sauce

Mince the garlic I prefer to use a garlic press.  Place into a bowl

Dice the tomatoes into approximately ¼ cubes collecting as much as practical. Place into a bowl

Dice the green onions both the white and green portions.  Place into a bowl

 Be sure that your water for the pasta is boiling, add 1 teaspoon of salt if you have already done so.

Heat the skillet over medium to medium-high heat.

Also at this time start the pasta to cooking.

Add olive oil or clarified butter

Spread the oil to cover the bottom of the skillet.

Add garlic and cook for 1 minute stirring as needed, do not let the garlic burn.  If the garlic starts to turn brown, add the tomatoes.

Add tomatoes, green onions, and salsa. Stir and mix well for approximately 2 minutes, most of the liquid should have reduced by about 50%.

Combining the Pasta and the Sauce

Check your pasta.  It should be al dente, if it is drain the past and add it to the fresh sauce in the skillet.  If the pasta is not ready, remove the sauce from the heat, so it does not overcook, or remove it from the pan and put in a bowl.  It may be necessary to reheat the skillet and combine the ingredients.

Bowl the pasta with the sauce, and serve, or serve directly from the skillet

Side note, if you cooked the meat portion of the meal in a skillet, then use the same skillet for cooking the sauce.  The flavors in the bottom of the pan will carry over to the sauce.  If there, is little or no grease in the pan, then deglaze the pan with 2 tablespoons of white wine then start cooking the sauce otherwise pour off most of the grease leaving 1 or 2 tablespoons, then proceed with cooking the sauce.

Clifton