Another installment from Jane's Tuscan Corner series! Remember, Jane lives in Ohio so she doesn't have access to Cascio's but the items she mentions are available at Cascio's. Do try Jane's recipes, you won't be disappointed. Thanks Jane!
I was scanning the aisles of a favorite little Italian market near Akron last week when I spied a (new to me) pasta called Candele. They resembled giant mustaciole noodles which I grew up eating. Of course I began thinking about how I could incorporate this pasta into a blog recipe. Much to my chagrin, the little Italian lady behind the counter was as clueless as I was about these super sized noodles. She had never prepared them either.
I showed them to my shopping buddies and like a bunch of twitter crazed teens, out came our smart phones. Pronounced con-DAY-lay, the word literally means candle. The pasta is a very long, hollow tube, the length of a typical taper candle. Believe it or not, there were not many ideas in cyber land for how to best prepare this pasta. However one blogger suggested stuffing it with asparagus and topping with a shredded goat gouda cheese. The noodles were the perfect vessel in which to stuff an asparagus chute.
There is no recipe per se for this as I was stumbling in the dark with only a few suggestions on how to prepare this meal. The rest was up to me. But you will need the following:
1 pound of candele pasta
large bunch of asparagus (thin stalks)
olive oil for sautéing asparagus
a cup of grated goat cheese gouda (different from goat cheese, much milder and firmer)
Italian herbs
salt and pepper to taste
SAUCE:
4-6 plum tomatoes
two cans of tomato paste
1.5 cups of red wine
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
Italian herbs
salt and pepper to taste
dash of sugar to sweeten to cut the acidity
water if and as needed to dilute sauce
olive oil to saute garlic and tomatoes
This sauce is a heavier red sauce than I usually prefer. But I thought the asparagus could handle it. If you enjoy a lighter, milder sauce, cut back or eliminate the tomato paste and substitute a white wine for the red. I start by sautéing the garlic in olive oil over low heat, then I add chopped tomatoes. Add a little wine and a little water. Allow to “cook down” until the tomatoes can be easily smashed. Season with herbs, salt and pepper. Add the tomato paste a little at a time. Add the rest of wine and more water if necessary. Simmer on low heat for about an hour. I always add a little sugar at the end (one to two tablespoons or to taste) to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
Sauté the asparagus on low heat in the olive oil until just tender. Add a splash of water if necessary. Season with salt, pepper and Italian herbs to taste. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Simultaneously prepare the noodles in boiling water but remove them while still slightly firm (a little less cooked than al dente). Drain the pasta and stuff them with cooked asparagus.
Cover the bottom of a baking dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce. Layer the stuffed candele over the bottom of the dish. Cover with another thin layer of sauce and add some grated goat gouda cheese (think of lasagna). Continue to layer and finish off with a final layer of sauce and cheese.
Bake in an oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Serve with a salad and Italian bread!
If anyone has ever prepared this pasta and has a better recipe, I’d really enjoy the feedback. I hope you enjoy it!
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