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Рецепт Whole Wheat Pasta with Garlic Two Ways
by Eliot

This round of Cook the Books has us all traveling to Sicily with The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri. Rachel, The Crispy Cook, is hosting this round and picked this novel of intrigue and murder.

Rachel sets up the novel:

Our very first Cook the Books pick focused on Sicily (we read Lily Prior’s novel “La Cucina”) and I propose we return to the “scene of the crime” by reading the first book in Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano mystery series by author Andrea Camilleri. The Shape of Water is the book and in it, the scrupulously honest Inspector searches to uncover the facts behind the death of an engineer that local bigwigs, including Montalbano’s police chief, don’t want investigated. However as the rear cover blurb on my copy of the book notes, “Picking his way through a labyrinth of high-comedy corruption, delicious meals, vendetta firepower, and carefully planted false clues, Montalbano can be relied on, whatever the cost, to get to the heart of the matter.”

WARNING: Segue ahead!

We have been watching House of Cards (an original Netflix series). There are no delicious meals, as I recall, in House of Cards (except BBQ), but the intrigue and power struggles reminded me a lot of this novel. (Sorry about this odd side trip, but all of the political wrangling in The Shape of Water really did remind me of what was being plotted in House of Cards, albeit in a much less scary fashion!)

So, I smiled when Paquano chastises Montalbano for questioning his autopsy report: “You’re going to drive me crazy with questions like that. You must be watching too many American movies, you know, where as as soon as the cop asks what time the crime took place, the coroner tells him the murderer finished his work at six-thirty-two P.M., give or take a few seconds, thirty-six days ago” (p 38).

Toward the end of the book, I again smiled when Montalbano seems to chide himself as he enters Capo Massaria with pistol drawn: “He kicked open the bathroom door and then the others one by one, feeling ridiculously like the hero of an American TV program” (p 179).

I found Montalbano to be direct, sarcastic, and self-deprecating—the kind of humor I love.

The food in The Shape of Water includes a delicious meal of baby octopus cooked by the Commissioner’s wife, bread rolls filled with prosciutto, fresh fried mullet (from the San Calogero tratorria), calia e simenza (“a mixture of roasted chickpeas and salted pumpkin seeds”), a simple dish of garlic and pasta with shrimp, and roasted peppers prepared by his housekeeper, Adelina. There was much foodie inspiration in the novel; I even wondered who might whip up a sole dish in response to the description of Ingrid’s sports car.

I decided, like Montalbano, that a “dish of pasta with garlic and oil could be served up without any problem” (p 94) for my inspired recipe.

Whole Wheat Pasta with Garlic Two Ways

Let roasted garlic cool and then squeeze out cloves. Set aside to add to finished pasta dish.

I mentioned this tip during my SRC garlicky post: place garlic in muffin tins and cover with foil to roast. Much less mess!!!

Bring a large pot of cold water to a boil over high heat and cook pasta according to directions.

While the pasta cooks, combine the minced garlic, olive oil, sea salt, and red pepper flakes in a large skillet and warm over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the garlic softens and turns golden, about 8 minutes. Be careful to do this at low heat and do not burn the garlic.

Drain the pasta and reserve about a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Place pasta in serving bowl. Add the garlic oil and some of the reserved pasta water until a sauce is formed. Mix well. Add the parsley and roasted garlic. Adjust seasoning, to taste. Top with shavings of the Parmigiano-Reggiano.

I will leave you with one of the more memorable quotes (if you don’t take into consideration some of the Inspector’s more colorful language):

“As they ate, they spoke of eating, as always happens in Italy” (98).

Apparently, I have been dreaming about garlic (see my other more recent non-chocolate post here for SRC), but it is back to all things chocolate for my next post.

Seriously consider joining CTB for the next novel, The Color of Tea:

From Sicily and The Shape of Water, we journey over to China for The Color of Tea by Hannah Tunnicliffe, hosted by Deb at Kahakai Kitchen. This descriptive foodie novel is about Grace Miller, an English expat moving with her Australian husband to the tiny island of Macau in China. A stranger in a strange land, Grace, escaping the realities of the shattered dreams of her life, uses her passion for baking to open a café—serving coffee, tea and pretty-colored macarons to the women of Macau. There should be plenty of food and baking inspiration in this lovely book about boldly creating a new life and blossoming in a different place.

I just finished this novel and loved it! In fact, this may become my favorite CTB pick to date. (And, I can’t believe I am ahead of the game here. I usually finish the book the day before the post is due!)

I’m back with the chocolate on Tuesday with that Chocolate Pear Jam. (I promise.) Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?