FROM CAROLELINDA DICKEY, CO-DIRECTOR OF AMERICAN DANCE ABROAD
“In 1985, I was Executive Director of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane & Co. We had a new project planned and Bill and Arnie desperately wanted to collaborate with composer Conlon Nancarrow. The beloved Betty Freeman, who supported many of the legendary contemporary composers of her time as well as commissioning music for contemporary dance companies, suggested that Arnie and I attend New Music America in LA. Betty arranged for us to meet Conlon at one of her legendary Sunday Salons. With 50 people sitting around, John Adams played piano in her living room and her husband, Franco Assetto, cooked in the kitchen. We sealed the deal with Conlon sitting around Betty’s pool and I learned this recipe from Franco while hanging out in his kitchen. Three years later I found myself as Director of the Pittsburgh Dance Council and reinvented Betty’s Salon and Franco’s macaroni into a regular post-performance party for visiting companies. Always serving the same menu, I figure I made this dish 150+ times.
Franco had no measurements so the amounts here are fluid. One pound of pasta plus a green salad and bread feeds about 10 dancers. For more people, multiply accordingly.”
SERVES:
10
PREP TIME:
10 MIN
TOTAL TIME:
30 MIN
INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp. butter
2 cups broccoli florets cooked until still a slight crunch
1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese or other piquant blue cheese
1 cup sun dried tomatoes softened in hot water or white wine and chopped
2 tbsp. finely chopped garlic
½ - 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. butter
1 - 2 tbsp. light or heavy cream
Good virgin olive oil
Course ground black pepper
Salt, if needed
Couple of pinches of crushed red pepper (optional)
Note: Except for the pasta, everything can be prepped ahead of time, but keep in separate prep bowls.
Cook pasta in salted water until al dente. Retain 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
Remove and drain pasta, then return to empty cooking pot. Add a swirl* of olive oil, butter and big pinch of black pepper and stir until butter has melted. Mix in the broccoli, crumbled cheese, tomatoes, and garlic. Add a generous swirl of olive oil; add grated cheese (start with ½ cup) and a pinch of red pepper. Mix. Add 1 or 2T of cream. Mix. At this point, taste and adjust seasonings (grated cheese, salt and pepper) and liquids (oil, cream and pasta water). Serve immediately.
Pasta should be lightly coated, but not dry or soupy. If needed, add extra oil and/or cream, but the reserved pasta water can help if you get it too sticky. Additional grated cheese can correct if too soupy. Assembling should be brisk. From the moment you drain the pasta to serving it should take 3-5 minutes.
*A swirl of olive oil is defined as tipping the bottle followed by a fluid lift of the arm or a stirring action. Probably around 2T.
