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Anything's Pastable

81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

A BEST COOKBOOK OF THE YEAR: Wired, Food & Wine, Epicurious, & Esquire

Winner, 2025 Libby Award for Best Cookbook of the Year

The innovative James Beard Award–winning podcaster who changed the way you think about pasta shapes with his invention of the viral sensation cascatelli now does the same for pasta sauces in this fun and charmingly obsessive cookbook, which includes a foreword from bestselling author J. Kenji López-Alt.

When Sporkful podcast host Dan Pashman launched cascatelli, a new pasta shape he invented that he designed to hold tons of sauce, stay on the fork, and be incredibly satisfying to bite into, it went viral and was named one of TIME Magazine's Best Inventions of the Year. VICE called him "a modern pasta legend."

But as Dan was flooded with pictures of what people were making with his pasta, he was disappointed to see how limited the dishes were: tomato sauce, meat sauce, mac and cheese, over and over. A few party animals made pesto.

So Dan set out to revolutionize people's conceptions of pasta sauces, just as he did with pasta shapes. He traveled across Italy and worked with an all-star team of recipe developers in the US to create a new kind of pasta sauce cookbook for people bored with the old standbys. That's why there's no 3-hour marinara recipe or fresh pasta made from scratch in this book. No photos of nonnas caked in flour or the hills of Tuscany. Instead it's time to show the world—Anything's Pastable.

Here you'll enjoy dishes inspired by a range of ingredients and cuisines:

  • Kimchi Carbonara
  • Cacio e Pepe e Chili Crisp
  • Keema Bolognese
  • Mapo Tofu Cascatelli
  • Shakshuka and Shells
  • Smoked Cheddar and Chicken Manicotti "Enchiladas"
  • Linguine with Miso Clam Sauce
  • Shrimp and Andouille Mac and Cheese

  • Lesser-known Italian pasta dishes with a twist:

  • Spaghetti all'Assassina (spicy pasta pan fried until charred and crispy crunchy)
  • Ciceri e Tria (chewy fresh pasta with crispy fried pasta in a light chickpea broth)
  • Cavatelli with Roasted Artichokes and Preserved Lemon
  • Creste di Gallo with Fava Beans and Dandelion Greens
  • Pasta Frittata

  • Fun and delicious concoctions that may—or may not—be how they do it in Italy:

  • Spinach Artichoke Dip Lasagna Pinwheels
  • Pasta Pizza (the "crust" is fettucine fused together)
  • Roman Cafeteria Hot Dog Pasta Salad with Canned Veggies

  • With an incredible array of recipes, Dan showcases the limitless pastabilities when you really know how to use your noodle.

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    • Reviews

      • Library Journal

        Starred review from December 1, 2023

        James Beard Award--winning podcaster and author of Eat More Better, Pashman wants to shake up the way people think of pasta and how it's sauced. In retrospect, this really isn't surprising given Pashman invented cascatelli, a new pasta shape that Time named as one of the best inventions of 2021. Working with a team of recipe developers, Pashman has now assembled an ingenious collection of recipes that celebrate and elevate pasta dishes as well as a supporting cast of culinary characters like pestos and pangrattatos. As he puts clever spins on classic dishes (like his kimchi carbonara or keema Bolognese), Pashman writes with a zesty, addictive sense of wit, and his goal of educating readers in the ways of pasta extends to informative mini-essays on topics like how to buy dried pasta, as well as a rant on why spaghetti sucks. If Willy Wonka and Alton Brown collaborated on a pasta cookbook, the end result might be something like this--revolutionary in all the right ways. VERDICT An excellent guide to saucy noodles by the delightfully zany and brilliantly insightful Pashman.--John Charles

        Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

      • Publisher's Weekly

        January 15, 2024
        The Sporkful podcaster Pashman opens his chatty debut cookbook with the story of how he invented the pasta shape cascatelli in 2021. After putting it into production, he found it “tragic” that consumers served it largely with tomato sauce instead of exploring its “full potential.” The recipes that follow aim to encourage a spirit of adventure in pasta lovers. Classics like ciceri e tria (fried and boiled noodles with chickpeas) are outnumbered by “mash-ups” incorporating non-Italian ingredients from Ritz crackers to Thai curry paste. Recipes are organized into loose categories: “flavor bombs” include kimchi carbonara, while baked options include a noodle kugel with persimmon relish. Pashman doesn’t shy away from store-bought shortcuts, encouraging readers to use packaged gnocchi and tortellini and even offering a flow chart for how to improve on jarred tomato sauce depending on taste and how much time one has. The text is heavy on dad jokes and puns—and the occasional sales pitch (he notes, for example, that gluten-free cascatelli is also available). Pashman is opinionated and blustery, deeming fusilli a “garbage shape” and pronouncing that “spaghetti sucks.” Purists will balk, but more adventurous home cooks will be glad they tuned in.

      • Booklist

        February 15, 2024
        Author, chef, pasta creator for the company Sfoglini Pasta, and podcast founder (Sporkful) Pashman gets creative in the kitchen, and he may just be readers' long-lost foodie soulmate. He shares his thoughts on how Diamond Crystal salt can make or break a recipe, on the life-changing effects of black pepper, and on the musts for buying and cooking dried pasta, which includes information on gluten-free pasta brands. From grated cheese considerations to a tomato sauce ""decision tree,"" every part of the pasta-making process is here. Pashman's recipes are detailed but easy to read and follow, most clocking in at under 45 minutes. There are also vegetarian options, make-ahead-friendly recipes, and dishes needing five or fewer ingredients. Hunger-inducing photos highlight the likes of cacio e uova (pasta with pecorino and eggs), spaghettoni alla tadka (featuring spices bloomed using a technique from Indian cooking), and shakshuka and shells. With just a handful of ingredients and some creativity, Pashman proves that anything truly is pastable.

        COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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    Languages

    • English

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