Pasta
What is Acqua di cottura?
Pronounced /AH-kwah dee koh-TOO-rah/
Definition
Acqua di cottura is the starchy pasta cooking water reserved before draining and used to loosen and emulsify a sauce.
Dissolved semolina starch acts as an emulsifier, binding fat and water into a sauce that clings to the noodle instead of pooling on the plate.
Save a full cup. Salt the water so it tastes like a mild broth — that seasoning goes into the sauce with it.
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Flour, water, salt, yeast. 24 hours in the fridge does the rest.
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Denser and warmer-served than ice cream, and better for it.
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The Five Families
A sit-down at the barbershop, a christening across town, and one question that decides everything — Larry settles all family business the only way he knows how: with a tray of sausage and peppers.
Quick answer
Can you make sausage and peppers with chicken sausage?
Yes. Chicken and turkey Italian sausage are much leaner, so add two tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, cook over medium-low, pull them at 165°F, and finish everything together with a splash of stock so the peppers carry the moisture the meat does not.