Beyond Pizza and Spaghetti: Making Picatta

Many people love Italian food. Spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, alfredo and so many others, but we also crave variety. But everything sounds so complicated in those old cookbooks and you would never dare to try and cook something that you had at your local Italian restaurant. After all, those are trained chefs who spent years learning how to cook like that. No home cook could pull that off, right? Wrong. Italian food is all about using fresh, local ingredients, not overcomplicating things, and just making sure that it tastes good. Contrary to popular belief, there is more to Italian food than pizza and pasta. If you're ready to venture past pizza and spaghetti, try picatta.

Assuming a family of 3-4 you are looking to have specifically

2-5 cloves of garlic sliced thin depending on your taste

1 medium onion sliced thin

1/4 cup of capers (rinsed well)

2 or 3 tablespoons of butter

2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil for the sauce and another 1 or 2 for the pasta water

1/4 cup of lemon juice

2 cups of broth or white wine. If you do not have either of these then reserve 2 cups of pasta water when you drain the pasta.

1 lb of pasta preferably wide, long noodles like linguine or fettuccini

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, preferably flat leaf

1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Start by putting a pot with plenty of water, 3 or 4 quarts for 1 lb of pasta, over high heat. Add a handful, yes a full handful, of salt to the water. Also add 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil to this water. Cook your pasta for whatever the instructions say, minus 2 minutes. For example, if you are using fettuccini noodles that take 12 minutes, set a timer for10 minutes. When the timer goes off drain the pasta and reserve liquid if you had planned to use it.

While the water is boiling and your pasta is cooking add the butter and remaining 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a hot pan on medium heat. You are looking for a pan large and wide enough to hold all of the sauce and the pasta and leave you plenty room to stir at the end. After the butter is melted add the onions and a small pinch of salt and stir for a minute. Next add the garlic and stir until the onions are soft. The heat should be low enough that they nothing is turning dark brown, but light brown is okay.

Next add the capers. Capers are the fruit of a specific fern tree. They are packed in either salt or brine and jarred. The best place to find them in stores is with the oils, tomato sauces, or the Italian section depending how the store is organized. Before using capers be sure to soak them in water and rinse them off thoroughly to remove the salty brine. After another minute add the lemon juice and keep stirring

Now is the time to add the other liquid. You can use canned broth, white wine, homemade stock, or pasta water. If you need to use the pasta water, be sure to adjust your timing so that the pasta is finishing cooking as you get to this point. Mix in the liquid and let the sauce cook uncovered for 10 minutes or so to let it reduce a bit. If it still looks watery, turn it to high for another minute or two. When it is ready, add the cheese and parsley and give it a quick stir. Finally, add the pasta and stir it all together. Taste the sauce and add salt or pepper to taste. For a little extra heat, add some red pepper flakes. Cover the pan and let everything cook for 2 minutes.

When the timer goes off, put it into a bowl and serve immediately. Grate some fresh parmesan cheese over the top if you'd like. This will taste like a $15 restaurant dish but in reality costs a fraction of that to make. So enjoy!