12 Recipes from Naples and Campania Jacqueline Debono 12 Authentic Neapolitan Pasta Recipes Many of the world’s most popular Italian dishes come from Naples, think pizza, caprese salad, eggplant parmigiana and spaghetti with tomato sauce. The latter is just one of many iconic pasta recipes you can find in Naples and the rest of Campania! These 12 Authentic Neapolitan pasta recipes are just a sample of those wonderful pasta dishes. Naples and the rest of Campania is a pasta lover’s dream! In this Southern Italian region, you can find the largest number of high quality artisan pasta producers in Italy. Dried pasta has been made here for more than 500 years and many popular pasta shapes were created here. Paccheri, ziti, linguine, calamarata, mafaldine, fusilli, elicoidale, vermicelli, vesuvio, scialatielle and candele are just a few of the pasta shapes from Campania. Campania is also home to some of the best fruit and vegetables in Italy. In fact, it is the agri-food centre of the country, producing more than 500 traditional foods. Tomatoes (San Marzano and Piennolo del Vesuvio), eggplants, sweet peppers, zucchini, spring onions, broccoli, olives, olive oil and citrus fruits are just a few of the local ingredients that go into Neapolitan cuisine. Apart from fruit and veg you can also find amazing seafood, cheeses (e.g. mozzarella di bufala), salumi and other types of sausage, and meat such as rabbit, quail, pork and lamb. All these above mentioned foods are used in Neapolitan pasta recipes, of which there are many! These 12 authentic Neapolitan pasta recipes are just some of the ones on The Pasta Project. And, of course, there are hundreds more to be discovered! Vesuvio Pasta with Mussels and Black Beans Prep Time Cook Time Tot Time 20 mins 40 mins 60 mins If using dried legumes Cook the pasta The night before soak the beans in a pan. Make sure they Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta, add salt once it are well covered with water! The next day rinse them and starts to boil and bring to the boil again. Cook the pasta a Pasta and beans is one of the most traditional dishes in the Italian kitchen. This simple cook for about one hour in plenty of fresh water. Once they couple of minutes less than the cooking time stated on the dish is eaten throughout Italy. Each region has its own recipe or recipes! One of the most well-known versions is this pasta with mussels and beans, also called Neapolitan pasta are ready, drain, and set aside. packet. Save some of the pasta cooking water. and beans. Prepare mussels Finish the dish In Naples, this dish is often like a thick soup. However, some prefer a drier version like in Brush and wash the mussels well, place them in a Drain the pasta add it to the beans and tomatoes with this recipe. In the soup version, the pasta is usually cooked together with the beans in saucepan over high heat and steam them covered until they some of its cooking water and continue to cook until the broth. This is definitely more filling and heavier. So, probably better suited to the cooler have all opened. pasta is ready. Add more pasta cooking water if necessary. seasons! In this drier version, I cooked the pasta very al dente separately and then finished it off with the tomatoes and black beans. Remove most of the mussels from the shells and put them When the pasta is cooked. Add in the mussels. Turn off the aside. I keep a few in the shells for decoration! Filter the heat and allow a couple of minutes for the mussels to heat remaining water to remove the sand and keep aside too. through. Serve sprinkled with more fresh parsley, some INGREDIENTS Discard the rest of the shells. ground black pepper and a dash of extra virgin olive oil. Servings: 4 Some people like to add some extra red chili flakes to Make the sauce make the dish spicier. 400 g vesuvio pasta (14 oz) or fusilli, rigatoni or orecchiette Wash and cut the tomatoes into small cubes. Chop the 400 g black beans (14 oz) soaked and cooked or canned (200-250g dried beans) parsley and garlic and red chili pepper into small pieces Recipe Notes 800 g fresh mussels (28 oz) washed and cleaned (remove the seeds from the pepper if you prefer less spice) 300 g ripe tomatoes (10 oz) cut into cubes Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan or skillet. Add the You can make this dish with borlotti or cannellini beans 2 garlic cloves peeled and chopped 1 red chili pepper peperoncino - finely chopped parsley, garlic and chili pepper. Cook until the garlic starts instead, or a mixture of beans. If using dried legumes 1 handful fresh parsley chopped to soften then add the chopped tomatoes. cooking times after they have been soaked may vary. 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Once the tomatoes have started to soften, add the drained Black beans cook faster because they are smaller. You salt for pasta beans. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the can use other kinds of short pasta such as fusilli, black pepper to taste filtered mussel water and simmer on a low heat while you orecchiette or rigatoni.Cooking times don't including cook the pasta. preparing the dry legumes. Linguine with Clams (alle vongole) Prep Time Cook Time Tot Time 15 mins 25 mins 40 mins Chop the peeled garlic and parsley finely. If using a whole fresh When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add to the pan with or dried red chili chop finely too. Remove the seeds to make it the cooked clams. Mix everything together well and serve milder. Be careful not to touch your eyes or mouth after doing immediately with another sprinkling of chopped parsley, if this and wash your hands well before continuing to cook. required. Linguine with clams is an iconic Neapolitan recipe that is loved around the world. It’s Wash the clams in cold water and remove any with broken also THE most popular seafood recipe here on The Pasta Project. This is my Sicilian hubby’s version. He’s pretty generous with the garlic and peperocino (red chili pepper) shells. Some kinds of clams need a lot of rinsing if they have Purging the clams but it’s just the way I like it! Of course, you can use less for a milder version. sand in them. But you can also filter the liquid after you have With vongole veraci it’s usually not necessary to do more precooked them, so don’t worry so much about the sand. than rinse the clams under running water. So we never Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. When it starts to boil purge them. INGREDIENTS add the pasta. You probably don’t need salt as the clams will However, some people prefer to purge the clams of sand already be a little salty. before cooking them. This involves filling a large bowl with While the water is boiling for the pasta, put the clams in a deep cold water and stirring in enough salt to make it salty like Servings: 4 frying pan and cook covered over a medium to high heat until the sea. Adding the clams and letting them stand for 30 they have opened. (about 5 minutes) minutes. The clams will open and release any sand they Allow the clams to cool a little and then remove the meat from have inside. You then need to lift the clams from the water 320-400 g linguine or vermicelli or spaghetti (11-14oz) most of the clam shells keeping some intact. Discard the empty and discard the water. If there is sand in the bottom of the 800 g fresh clams (about 200g per person) (1.8lbs) shells and, if necessary, filter the liquid that the clams have bowl, rinse it out and repeat this process until the clams no 3-5 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped produced. Don’t discard it. longer release sand into the water (usually 2 to 3 purging 1 peperoncino (red chili pepper) or dried flakes amount depends on Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the cycles). Discard any clams that are gaping open and refuse your preference packet. to close when prodded. 4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Heat half the olive oil in a frying pan or skillet. Add the garlic and 1-2 handfuls fresh parsley finely choppedsalt to taste (we don’t add it peperoncino. Cook until the garlic starts to soften. Add the Recipe Notes to the pasta cooking water) clams (with shells and without) with their liquid to the pan and 1/2 glass dry white wine cook for a few minutes. Then, add the white wine and cook This recipe is traditionally served with spaghetti, vermicelli or further until the alcohol evaporates. Finally, add the parsley and linguine.Remember to throw out any clams that don’t open the rest of the olive oil. Continue cooking for another 3-5 during the first phase of cooking them. minutes and then turn off the heat. Seafood Linguine al Cartoccio Prep Time Cook Time Tot Time 45 mins 45 mins 1 h 30 mins Prepare the seafood filter the liquid that the clams and mussels have produced through a Clean the mussels well, scrub and rinse them under running water and muslin cloth or very fine filter.