Maccheroni positanesi

Frank20 August 2022Naples and Campania, pasta, pastas, soups and risottos/primi piatti, summer29 Comments

This week we have another great recipe for you from Jeanne Carola Francesconi: maccheroni positanesi, or Pasta Positano Style. In the tradition of no cook tomato sauces like the much better known pasta al pomodoro crudo, in this recipe the pasta is dressed “a sette sapori“—with seven flavors: tomato, garlic, onion, celery, parsley, basil and oregano. Francesconi also offers up a ten flavor variation, where you add to these basic seven the holy trinity of Neapolitan flavorings we saw just last week: anchovies, capers and olives.

Maccheroni positanesi has a more delicate flavor profile than its more famous cousin, as the recipe includes no hot pepper and its use of garlic is extremely subtle. You simply rub the pasta bowl with a cut clove and discard it. The tomato and other flavorings are reduced to a fine mince and bathed in olive oil. And yet, as delicate as it is, maccheroni positanesi will fill your mouth with its complex combination of flavors. Highly unusual for Italian cookery, which typically focuses on making the most out of a few essential ingredients. But therein lies the charm of this unique dish. A delicious change of pace, maccheroni positanesi definitely deserve to be better known.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

500g (1 lb) linguine or other durum wheat pasta of your choice (see Notes)

For the seven flavor version:

1 clove of garlic, peeled and cut in half
600g (1-1/4 lb) ripe tomatoes (see Notes)
1/2 medium red onion
1/2 stalk celery
A sprig or two of fresh parsley
A small bunch of basil
A spring of fresh or a pinch of dried oregano
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Plus these for the ten flavor version:

2-3 anchovy fillets
A handful of capers, soaked and squeezed dry
A handful of black olives, preferably of the Gaeta variety

Directions

A couple of hours ahead of time, skin the tomatoes (see Notes), remove their seeds and cut the pulp into small dice. Set in a colander to drain.

When you’re ready to cook, mince together the onion, celery, parsley and basil, along with the fresh oregano if using, very finely. If making the ten flavor version, include the anchovy, capers and olives as well.

Rub a salad or serving bowl large enough to hold all the pasta comfortably with the cut side of the garlic clove. Discard the garlic.

Add the tomatoes to the bowl, along with the minced ingredients, a pinch of dried oregano if using, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and mix everything together.

Bring a large pot of well salted water to the boil and add the pasta. Cook al dente.

Drain the pasta very well, then transfer to the bowl. Mix vigorously with the tomato and flavorings and serve right away.

Notes

I have to think most of you have probably heard of Positano, but in case you haven’t, it’s a famed resort town on the Amalfi Coast. This former fishing village is beautifully set on the slopes leading down the sea. I have lots of fond memories of the place, as we used to go there for weekend breaks during our Roman years. Breathtaking views, crystalline waters and, of course, lovely food. If you have’t been, you owe yourself a visit!

Ingredients

Francesconi is a bit inconsistent about the pasta to use when making maccheroni positanesi. Although the word has a confusing variety of meanings today, her use of maccheroni here was simply an old timey Neapolitan way to refer to durum wheat pasta. She specifies linguini in the ingredients list, but the instructions call for vermicelli (aka spaghetti) or linguini. In the intro to the recipe she says a long pasta is best, but that in practice any extruded durum wheat pasta works. I’d go with that last statement. Personally, for no cook sauces like this one, I tend to prefer short pastas like conchiglie (small shells) that catch the bits of tomato and flavorings. Having said that, I thought the spaghetti I used for this post worked quite well.

As for the tomatoes, Francesconi calls for pomodori “a fiaschella“. While her meaning isn’t entirely clear to me, I’m guessing she may have been referring to one of the cultivars of small, oval tomatoes called Fiascella grown around the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, a forebear of both prized Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio DOP and the ultra-famous San Marzano tomato. Those of us who can’t get a hold of these can go for any smallish tomato, so long as it’s in season and full of flavor. A farmer’s market is your best bet. If you’re stuck with supermarket tomatoes, then go for a reliable hydroponic like my favorite, Camparis.

A number of modern renditions of maccheroni positanesi call for cherry or grape tomatoes. This results in a rather different dish. The tomatoes tend to sit top of the pasta—especially if it’s a long pasta—rather than clinging to it as tiny dice do. In any event, there’s no need to peel or drain them. Just halve them as is and proceed with the next step in the recipe.

Technique

Speaking of peeling tomatoes, if you’ve ever tried it, you know they’re virtually impossible to peel raw. As with peppers, you need to loosen the skin up a bit beforehand. There are two methods for doing so: you can plunge them into boiling water or roast them over an open flame. In either case, you want to be very quick. You want to loosen the skin without cooking the pulp. Usually 30 seconds will do if you’re parboiling. Roasting takes a bit longer, since you need to rotate the tomato over the flame so it blisters on all sides, perhaps a minute and half, or two minutes maximum.

Of the two, boiling is easier but each method has its proponents. Those who roast say boiling will “dilute” the flavor. Not true, in my opinion, as it’s over so quickly there is no impact on flavor or texture. On the other hand, roasting takes a bit longer and may intensify the flavor slightly. And do be careful: if you overdo it you risk lending an unwelcome smokiness to the dish.

To my mind, the best way to mince the various flavorings together is with a mezzaluna on a cutting board. A mezzaluna is a half-moon cutter that is one of the traditional tools of the Italian kitchen. You hold it with both hands and rock it from side to side over your ingredients, making (relatively) short work of jobs like this. (This video illustrates the technique.) Often considered a tool for mincing herbs, Italian cooks will use the mezzaluna for mincing aromatic vegetables like onions, carrots and celery, too. You just need to cut them up roughly with a knife before starting in with the mezzaluna. If you don’t have a mezzaluna then a sharp knife will do the job, just not quite as quickly and easily.

Admittedly, mincing by hand is a bit of work, but you have absolute control over how fine you’re mincing the ingredients. And they’ll always have the finest possible texture, since the mezzaluna will mince them without crushing them. If you’re in a hurry, you could resort a food processor. Just be careful to pulse the ingredients little by little until you’ve reached the right consistency, finely minced but not mush.

Other stuff

Francesconi recommends serving maccheroni positanesi right away as indicated in this post. But some recipes say it can be made ahead and eaten at room temperature. And indeed they’re right, although it’s still at its best, in my opinion, eaten in the moment.

As with so many southern Italian dishes, this recipe for maccheroni positanesi is incidentally vegan. Just so long as you leave out the anchovy, of course.

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