California member Lisa Anne Auerbach says she was attracted to this pasta because of the name. “Strozzapreti” means “priest choker” or perhaps even “priest strangler.” The word “strozza” can be used when describing the wringing of a chicken’s neck and “preti” is priest. It’s a bit sinister, but also completely inspired. With the recent comparison of the victimization of Catholic pedophile priests to the horrors of the Holocaust, it’s bound to become the favorite pasta of everyone who values common sense and delicious cuisine.
Spigariello is also known as broccoli leaf, and if you can’t find it, you might substitute chopped rapini. It’s a relatively tough green, holds its own in the sauce with a slight bite to it.
Ingredients:
1 package strozzapreti
2 bunches spigariello
3/4 c. dried Cargamanto cranberry beans (or any borlotti bean)
1 sweet onion
a few tomatoes
olive oil
salt
crushed red pepper
Cook the beans in water. If you have a crockpot, just put them in dry in the morning and turn it to “low.” By the time you cook dinner, they’ll be done. Otherwise, soak them starting first thing in the morning and when you start getting hungry for dinner, start them boiling on the stove. Turn to a simmer and let them cook until they’re done. Should be about an hour or so.
Clean and coarsely chop the spigariello.
Chop the onion and slowly cook in olive oil in a skillet.
While the onion is cooking, put the water on for the pasta. Add some salt.
Add some beans (all if you wish, some if you’d rather) to the onions, along with some salt, crushed red pepper, and tomato. We use tomatoes from last summer’s garden that have been in the freezer; you can use fresh, canned, frozen, as you please.
Add about half of the spigariello to the beans/onion mix and cover the skillet so the greens will steam.
Put the pasta in the water for the amount of time specified on the package.
When there are a few minutes left, add the other half of the greens to the pasta water.
When the pasta is done, reserve a few cups of the greenish pasta water before draining the pasta.
Add drained pasta and greens to stovetop mix of onions/beans. Stir it up. Add more of the greenish pasta water if necessary. Salt to taste. Pour a nice stream of olive oil on top before serving.
Feel free to adjust the amounts of various components to suit your tastes.
