Q&A with Michael Natkin, vegetarian cookbook author and blogger
We think pasta and vegetables go together like wine and cheese! That’s why we are so excited to feature vegetarian cookbook author and blogger Micheal Natkin in this month’s Pasta Spotlight! Michael is doing some really cool things: he recently published a cookbook entitled Herbivoracious, which highlights mouth watering vegetarian dishes; he blogs at one of our favorite blogs with the same name as his book; and he has become the CTO of ChefSteps, a website which offers online food and cooking classes to get you excited about cooking at home!
We wanted to hear what he thinks about pasta, and here’s what he had to say:
-
You share some great family meals on your blog and in your cookbook. What’s your advice for cooking up fast, family meals that will please everyone?
Let’s be honest, with busy schedules for parents and kids alike, weeknight family meals are a challenge for everyone. We’ve found that one key is to wash, peel and chop lots of vegetables on the weekend so that you’ve got a head start on any meal. Also, it helps a lot to have at least a general plan of meals for the week so you don’t get home at 5:30 and have to stare into the fridge trying to come up with an idea. Pasta can be a great option because you can make a quick sauce while the pasta boils, and if you have young kids they can have it simply with olive oil, or butter and Parmesan.
-
On your blog, you’ve said you’re all about meatless meals that “put pleasure first and skip the preaching.” What advice do you have for cooks who want to incorporate more plant-based foods into their diet?
First of all, start slowly. If you’ve been eating meat-and-two-veg all your life, switching to a vegetarian diet overnight is going to be a recipe for disaster. Maybe begin by making just your Sunday dinners vegetarian, and expand from there. Second of all, don’t look to the standard American diet for inspiration – beyond mac & cheese or veggie burgers, you won’t find too much. Think of other cuisines that you enjoy, such as Mexican, Italian, Thai or Middle Eastern and learn to cook basic dishes, because many of them are already meatless, and others can easily be made meatless. I’ve got lots of main course ideas for you here.
-
Why do you think pasta works so well in meatless meals? Do you have a favorite pasta recipe to share?
Just as omnivores often plan their meal around a central piece of meat, I find that vegetarian meals can easily be planned around a grain or pasta. Pasta is incredibly versatile because it cooks so quickly and has a mild flavor and toothsome texture that can be matched to almost any sauce or vegetable you care to pair with it. One of my all time favorites is Sicilian Spaghetti with Pan Roasted Cauliflower. The cauliflower get a deeply roasted flavor from being caramelized in the pan, and it is paired with a classic Sicilian flavor combination of capers, raisins, pine nuts, and chili flakes.
I also love my Pappardelle with Eggplant Ragu and Fresh Ricotta recipe. You can see it right here on the Pasta Fits website.
-
Tell us more about your tips for “fast and flavorful pasta.” What are the essentials people should know?
Understanding a few basic pasta fundamentals makes it much easier to improvise and get great results every time. First of all, pasta should be boiled in plenty of aggressively salted water (it should taste like the ocean). Always drain it when it is al dente, meaning that it has a definite bite left to it but it is by no means hard. In many cases, it works great to finish the pasta right in the sauce for a minute, so that the flavor clings to it. For main course pasta, Try to get a range of sweet [pasta, sherry], salty [cheese], bitter [chard], sour, herbacious [sage, thyme], umami [cheese] and spicy [chili flakes] flavors, so that each bite is a varied experience. You might not hit all of those notes, but try to have some contrasts.
- We love doing unexpected things with pasta occasionally. What are some of the most creative pasta dishes you’ve cooked up?
Well, here’s a bit of a wacky one: Bucatini with Smoked Asparagus. The asparagus is smoked with cherry wood chips and the sauce is finished with smoked paprika and blue cheese. It is a big, flavorful dish that isn’t necessarily for your kids or your grandma, but if you are in the mood for something a bit unusual and exciting, I think you’ll love it.
Check out Michel’s delicious Pappardelle with Eggplant Ragu and Fresh Ricotta here.
About Michael:
Michael is the CTO of ChefSteps.com, where we teach you to Cook Smarter. Prior to ChefSteps, he helped bring dinosaurs and Terminators to the big screen at Industrial Light and Magic, and he spent 13 years as a senior software engineer on Adobe After Effects. His cookbook, Herbivoracious, was a finalist for a 2013 James Beard Foundation award.
You can find him on Twitter and Facebook.