This vegetarian—or vegan—pasta with mushrooms, capers and walnuts...and various other tasty ingredients is something I came upon in La Spezia. I often cook it during hot weather because it's not too heavy or rich. But, it's actually a brilliant meal all year round, especially when you want something you can prepare in under thirty minutes.
Diamond in the rough
La Spezia, on the coast of Liguria, is rather overlooked by tourists. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that its Italian nickname is "the urinal". Primarily known as a strategic port for the Italian Navy, it's developed a reputation for being a bit grim and industrial and full of grubby sailors. Even the hordes of tourists shepherded off massive cruise ships tend to jump on the first train or ferry, intent on doing their part for overtourism of the famously picturesque towns of the Cinque Terre located close by.
But, if you like great food and architecture—or sailors—you really should give it a go. I've visited a number of times and really recommend it. The first time I visited with my partner we discovered an unexpectedly vibrant "eco design" scene, something made easy for us by the charming couple who own the beautiful "eco hotel" where we stayed. The only thing that wasn't beautiful about it was the absence of air conditioning. While I totally support their decision to not install aircon to keep their carbon footprint as minimal as possible, temperatures in Liguria when I have visited—always in June or September—have been sweltering. So heaven knows what it would be like in August...
What we learned from these energetic young entrepreneurs was that La Spezia had become a bit of an "eco hub" with a vibrant community of organic beer and wine producers, good restaurants with a farm-to-table ethos of local sourcing and a growing number of small, beautifully designed independent hotels and guest houses deploying the talents and crafts of local designers and artisans, many of whom had moved to La Spezia precisely because its reputation as a rough navy town made prices far cheaper compared with Genoa or Naples and certainly a lot cheaper than the chichi resort towns along the beautiful Ligurian coast that have attracted the rich since the 19th century.
As we learned from Giuseppina, one of the co-owners, the factor shaping this little ecosystem of "eco-people' building viable businesses based on sustainability was, ironically, the environmentally damaging aspects of overtourism centred on the Cinque Terre and the comparatively low docking fees charged to huge, polluting cruise ships that had previously pulled up at berths in Genoa and Naples. The extortionate hotel and restaurant prices in the five towns of Cinque Terre wasn't the only reason. There simply weren't enough places to stay or to eat compared with the number of visitors. So, while that was bad news for the environment, it was good news for local hospitality business as tourists were forced by circumstances to head into 'the urinal' instead. Lucky them I say.
So, very nice people and also a lot more to see than the urinary sobriquet would suggest. La Spezia has a number of interesting museums and there is definitely beautiful older architecture to see, from a substantial medieval castle to beautiful Art Nouveau villas built by successful merchants and shipping magnates from the late 19th-century onwards. But anyone who is into modern architecture is in for a particular treat with the cathedral Cristo Re dei Secoli, designed by Adalberto Libera and consecrated in 1975. Its vast white circular structure has earned it a nickname by cheeky locals that refers to the white naval caps worn by those stationed here who can be spotted all over town. Those sailors are everywhere.
Show me the menu
For those for whom the food and wine is the thing, La Spezia is a hidden gem. I was pleased to see that at least the Michelin Guide, unlike the tourists, hadn't turned its nose up at the place. The first couple of nights we were there, we treated ourselves to wonderful meals in places highly rated by the august gastronomic barometer, eager to try dishes such as spaghetti alle cozze, a delicious dish showcasing the local mussels. Similarly, the wines offered in these restaurants and bars focussed heavily on organic local wines such as stunning dry white wines from the Cinque Terre where the sea-facing, steep vineyards bring a spectacular mineral quality to gorgeously fresh whites produced in such small quantities that I've seldom found them outside of Liguria, let alone Italy.
We also discovered one of the best Japanese restaurants we've come across anywhere in Europe. Better still, all of these eateries offered fantastic value for money. And, I can report that on all the subsequent occasions I've returned, both high standards and great value remained unaltered.
Languidly Ligurian
I discovered this dish on a gruelling photo shoot that took us all over Italy. We pulled in at La Spezia to take a much needed break for a late lunch after a long morning on the road. Since we still had a long way to go, we couldn't be too "Italian" in the pace at which we enjoyed our lunch. I suggested we headed straight for a square I knew, wary that we might already be too late for lunch, but more likely to find somewhere still serving on this piazza. It was very hot, the kind of weather that means you're not very hungry, but your body insists that you need to eat something, especially since we wouldn't make it to Turin until well after supper. Spotting a place where the menu would certainly do, we grabbed a table on its comfortable terrace with a mercifully massive awning. It was one of those lucky decisions.
I was drawn to this dish on the menu because it seemed a fairly unusual combination of ingredients. It was love at first bite. I had to pull off my usual trick of enticing the chef to share the recipe in record time given that the others wanted to be back on the road sooner rather than later. Somehow I pulled it off, practically shouting my last few questions for clarification back to chef Giorgio as I was dragged back to the car.
Like a lot of cooking from Southern Italy and Liguria, this dish has an amazing simplicity to it, unlike the rich tomato-based sauces that cook slowly for hours, or rich sauces of cream or cheeses—not absent from their regional cuisines by any means. But, I had observed since childhood that something that was a notable feature of Sicilian, Southern Italian and certain Ligurian cuisine, was dishes where ingredients were cooked quickly and retained an al dente directness, using larger quantities of good quality olive oil as a "sauce"in its own right.
It isn't so much that a specific combination of ingredients is traditional so much as the style of cooking. For example, a Sicilian discovery that I love, combines pieces of tuna, raisins, garlic and turmeric. It's cooked in exactly the same way as is another from Calabria that uses only cubes of ham, dried peperoncino chillies, garlic and parsley.
The key thing with this style of cooking is to be aware of retaining a "freshness". For example, here the shallots need to be cooked, but not browned to the point of fully softening; ditto for the capers and olives. Thus, it is cooked quickly and you should do all of your preparation in advance, not dissimilar to planning for wok cooking lest some ingredients become overcooked as you race to prepare the next ingredient ready to be added. Similarly, unless you're certain of your timing, cook the "sauce" first and remove from the heat until your pasta is cooked perfectly since you neither want your "sauce" overcooking as you wait for the pasta to be ready, nor do you want you pasta to be drying out and cooling too long once drained.
The shallots are not a "background" flavour here as they are in many Italian sauces, but a featured ingredient in themselves, hence the quantity and how they are cooked. Conversely, the mushrooms are less prominent than the name would suggest—I've kept Giorgio's description—and the spinach is used more like a herb than a vegetable, which is why chopped parsley makes an excellent alternative, especially in hot weather, given its crisp qualities. But, you can naturally play with the quantities of the ingredients according to your preferences.
There are a few other tips from Giorgio that have proven invaluable, detailed in the box below. The other one mentioning it the cheese, should you wish to use it—I usually don't during the summer, making it a default vegetarian dish, vegan if using non-egg pasta. But, I do as the weather grows colder. The main thing is to follow the instructions on how to cook it in below, not to merely add it at table.
And, of course, I'm calling it "pasta" but in its original form it was most certainly spaghetti, still my preferred option. However, it also works well with other slimmer ribbon pastas such as tagliatelle or linguine if you prefer.
The quantities in this recipe will serve 2 to 3 diners. Scale up proportionally as needed.
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Shopping list
for the Ligurian pasta with mushrooms, capers and walnuts
Approx. 80 to 90g (dried) spaghetti per diner; or equivalent in other "ribbon" pastas
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tbspns virgin olive oil
4 to 5 tbspns extra virgin olive oil
6 or 7 echalion shallots (or other shallots), sliced
150g brown chestnut mushrooms, sliced
3 tbspns small capers (or chopped large capers)
½ cup pitted black olives, sliced
2 or 3 fresh peperoncini chillies, deseeded and chopped
Approx. 90g young spinach; fresh or frozen
¾ cup walnut halves, chopped
1 tspn dried mixed "Italian" herbs (marjoram, basil, oregano, thyme)
salt and pepper to taste
½ glass dry white wine (optional)
Approx. 3 tbspns Parmesan cheese (or grana padano), finely grated (optional)
for the salad
In this case I've opted for a very simple salad of rocket, cucumber and tomato dressed with crushed chilli flakes and dried garlic, balsamico, and walnut oil. The walnut oil in lieu of a more expected extra virgin olive oil is both a complement and inversion of flavours in the main dish; a little tastebud "discussion".
Cooking Method
the Ligurian pasta with mushrooms, capers and walnuts
In a large frying pan (or wok), heat the virgin olive oil on a medium heat and add the sliced shallots. Add the white wine (if using) after about a minute or so, increasing the heat so that it cooks off rapidly.
As soon as the wine cooks off—ideally no more than 2mins—add a little more oil, reduce to a medium heat, add the mushrooms and stir in, seasoning with some freshly ground pepper. Do NOT wait for the shallots to soften
As soon as the mushrooms are fully coated in the oil, add the garlic and chopped peperoncino chillies. Stir in and sauté for 1 to 2mins
Add the herbs and fold in, sautéing until the mushrooms are nearly cooked. Liquid released by the mushrooms should be enough to prevent sticking. If not, add additional virgin olive oil, a small amount at a time
Add the capers and sliced olives and stir in. Sauté for another 2 to 3mins. Then add the spinach (or parsley), stir in and sauté for another 2 to 3mins, stirring intermittently, seasoning with salt as needed. If you have timed it well, the mushrooms should be optimally cooked while the shallots should be fully cooked, but with a hint of a "crunch"
Add the chopped walnuts and cook for no more than 1min or until the walnuts are heated through, but not "cooking". Remove from the heat
In a large pot of salted water, cook your pasta of preference. As soon as it is cooked al dente, scoop about half a cup of the "pasta water" out of the pot and place to one side.
While your pasta is draining, return your "sauce" to the heat on a medium-high heat. Immediately add all of the pasta into the pan, adding a little "pasta water"—2 or 3 tbspns at a time—almost constantly folding the pasta into the "sauce" (tip: tongs are a good tool for this dish).
If using the cheese, do so now. Very quickly mix into the pasta so it is evenly distributed. Add the extra virgin olive oil almost immediately, at least 3 tbspns at first. Rapidly stir through the pasta, adding more as needed. You will know when you have enough: all your pasta will have a lovely "sheen".
Plate and serve immediately with a simple salad and additional grated cheese to be sprinkled at table for those who insist
Alternatives
This dish is by default lacto-vegetarian until you add the Parmesan (or use a veggie alternative). However, it's easily turned vegan but not adding the cheese and using non-egg pastas.
This dish has a brilliant pescatarian variation if you leave out the mushrooms and instead use cubes of fresh tuna or sliced squid. Mushroom and fish is often a less than successful combination while the combination of barely heated walnuts and tuna or squid works surprisingly well. Add the tuna or squid roughly 1min after adding the capers and olives. Parsley definitely works better than spinach in aquatic protein versions. Also, do not use cheese in a seafood/fish version. Grim.
For carnivores, I begrudgingly acknowledge that this dish is great with various forms of ham and other smoked meats added just after the mushrooms in the steps above—requiring less extra virgin olive oil in the final stages depending on how fatty the type of cured meat you use. It's also great with 'nduja added to the piping hot portions at the plating stage, in which case, don't use the peperoncini in the earlier step unless you want fiery hot.
Pairings
This is one of those dishes that naturally screams out for a white wine, even if you're doing the meaty versions, though I wouldn't rule out the right rosé or light red wine.
The best wines with which I have ever had it are those unique small-batch whites from the Cinque Terre, none of which I can ever find on the "usual suspects" wine sites. Failing these, I tend to default for a husky Sicilian white such as Antichi Vinai Petra Lava Etna Bianco or this very nice Cinque Terre Costa de Campu, if you want to keep it in the backyard, though not that easy to find outside of the EU. However my best bang-for-buck recommendation is Italo Cescon Pinot Grigio Friuli Il Tralcetto, again, not exactly widely available.
Or, you could simply opt for another great pairing I've enjoyed here: chilled homemade lemonade.
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