Pasta Recipes to Try From Toronto's Top Restaurants & Chefs

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In light of the pandemic and all the time spent indoors, some of Toronto’s top-rated restaurants are graciously sharing a few of their famous recipes so we can recreate them at home! Thank you! Buca, Buono and The Good Son are some of our personal favourites and each one has shared the recipe for pasta and their secret sauce.

Here they are:

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Chef Justin Friedlich’s Gnocchi with Spicy Vodka Sauce

Chef Justin Friedlich is the sous chef at Buca Osteria and loves to make homemade gnocchi for his loved ones. Chef Friedlich’s gnocchi recipe is different from the average as he calls for the substitution of the starchy potato for a light ricotta cheese. This texture of gnocchi pairs especially well with the spiciness from the vodka sauce. This dish is the perfect comfort dish to indulge in at home right now. Paired well with red wine.

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 3 hours
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Gnocchi Dough Ingredients:

500g ricotta cheese
290g 00 flour
60g Pecorino Romano cheese
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
15g salt

Spicy Vodka Sauce Ingredients:
400g Whole San Marzano Tomatoes (1 can)
50-100g unsalted butter (adjusted based on consistency)
30g heavy cream
1 tsp-1 tbsp chilli paste (based on your spice level preference)
2oz vodka
Salt to taste

Gnocchi Dough Instructions:

  1. Add Pecorino Romano, ricotta cheese and eggs into a mixer with  a paddle attachment (if without, use a large bowl and whisk). Whip until ingredients are blended together and fluffy.

  2. Combine salt and flour. Add slowly to the cheese mixture.

  3. Once flour is added and dough starts to form, remove from the mixer (or bowl) and begin to form a round ball. Once ball is smooth, wrap it in plastic (saran wrap) and place it into the refrigerator for 1 hour

  4. Once the dough is chilled, remove and cut the dough into pieces. Roll individual pieces into long ropes about 1 inch thick. Repret with the rest of your dough.

  5. Once all ropes are rolled out, line them up beside one another and cut them into 1x1 pillows. Dough pillows can be rolled on a gnocchi roller for a rigid finish (can also use a fork).

Spicy Vodka Sauce Instructions:

  1. Blitz tomatoes using a blender, food processor or by hand.

  2. In a large pot, over medium-high heat, add butter and melt until foamy. Add chilli paste and cook for 1 minute.

  3. Add vodka and reduce the alcohol by half

  4. Add blitz tomatoes and bring to a boil. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let the tomato sauce cook until a sweet and spicy flavour is achieved.

  5. Lastly, add cream and simmer for a few minutes longer. 

Assembly:

  1. In a pot of boiling water, add salt and cook gnocchi until 2 minutes before it is finished cooking (it will begin floating once cooked, remove before this happens). Save pasta water.

  2. Once you add gnocchi to the sauce, season with salt. Add pasta water to adjust consistency of the sauce. 

BUONO TORONTO

BUONO TORONTO

Buono’s Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Buono, a top-tier Italian pasta bar on Queen West, has shared their recipe for their ever-so-dreamy spaghetti alla carbonara. This recipe is made with smoky guanciale, salty Pecorino and a mouth-watering coating of rich egg yolks. Light up those candles, put on your best dinner outfit and enjoy this decadent dish paired brilliantly with a glass of white wine.

Servings: 2
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

 Ingredients:

350g spaghetti
120g hog jowl
30g Pecorino Romano cheese
2 egg yolks
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: 

  1. Cut the hog jowl into small lardons and place into a medium-high heated pan. Cook until crunchy and almost all of the fat is rendered. When finished, remove from heat and set aside. Keep the pan for later use.

  2. Mix egg yolks in a bowl until blended together into a smooth cream, add your pecorino and black pepper and whisk together until all lumps are gone.

  3. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil and add spaghetti (follow package instructions). Once pasta is fully cooked, drain and add the spaghetti to your hog jowl pan.

  4. Mix the spaghetti and jowl together (off the heat) and slowly add your mixture of egg yolk, pecorino and black pepper to pan. Mix until the spaghetti is evenly coated. Serve and enjoy!

THE GOOD SON

THE GOOD SON

The Good Son’s Mushroom Pappardelle

The Good Son, a Toronto staple, shared one of their go-to menu dishes. The mushroom pappardelle calls for fresh egg pasta, mild earthy mushrooms and a hint of truffle oil. This dish is finished with a savoury chicken broth and a white wine deduction. This is the easiest fancy dish! 

Servings: 1
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes 

Ingredients:

120 grams of fresh locally sourced pappardelle pasta (Dry pasta as a substitute)
200 grams of mixed wild mushrooms (Cremini, Oyster and Shiitake)
1 shallot, finely diced
½ of a red chilli, sliced
½ cup white wine
100 grams butter, diced
¼ cup vegetable stock
1 garlic clove, sliced
Parmesan, grated
Parsley, finely chopped
Chives, finely diced
White truffle oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. In a large put, bring salted water to boil. 

  2. In a hot pan sauté shallots, garlic and chilli for 2 minutes then add your assortment of mushrooms. Sauté until caramelized adding salt and pepper as you go along.

  3. Deglaze the pan with white wine then reduce until almost evaporated.

  4. Drop pasta into boiling water (roughly 3-8 minutes) depending if you’re using fresh or dried. Cook until al dente.

  5. Add vegetable stock into the pan and add your butter. Bring to boil then lower the heat to a simmer.

  6. Add the drained pasta to the pan, then add grated parmesan, parsley, a few drops of truffle oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

  7. Place in a bowl and add more grated parmesan and chopped chives.

 

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