50 States of Pasta, Preview
This article is a preview for a series of upcoming articles where I attempt to make a pasta dish for each of the 50 US states.
With this preview, I will be giving you the dishes I made for the first 2 states, Alabama and Alaska, and if you want to see more then you can go ahead and sign up for my monthly subscription (for only $5/month) and see the rest of the recipes when I post them.
I hope you enjoy these first two dishes and keep an eye out for more to come!
What I love about living in the United States of America is its vast variety of culture, environment, and especially food. In a way, the US has almost become its own continent with each state being a different country with their own local ingredients and cuisines.
So I wanted a way to highlight the vast variety of food that the US has to offer, and I figured the best way to do so is with the king of versatile Italian food, pasta.
That’s right, I am tasking myself with coming up with 50 pasta dishes that each represent each of the 50 nifty United States based on their local culture and what sort of ingredients they are known for.
Some of these dishes might sound strange to new eyes, but I have personally tasted all of them and can tell you that they’re all delicious.
Now, before you go and think I’m actually doing an article with 50 recipes, don’t worry because I’m going to break it up into 5 parts, featuring 10 states in each part, and hopefully, I’ll be able to do each state justice.
These dishes are all of my own thoughts and ideas and I’m certain that they will all be as tasty as the next.
Alabama-White BBQ Pasta
We are kicking things off with the cotton state, Alabama.
Alabama is home to many significant landmarks in the Civil Rights movement such as MLK’s church and the Rosa Parks museum.
One food that Alabama is known for is a tangy mayonnaise-based white barbecue sauce that is usually spread on chicken. As interesting as dumping mayonnaise into pasta sounds, I wanted to go a different route by implementing one dish that has a very similar creamy-egg texture, chicken carbonara.
Began by frying up 4 strips of bacon in a bit of olive oil until it was brown and crisp, I’m using bacon as opposed to pancetta as I want a bit of smokiness in there. Once that’s done, remove it with a slotted spoon and reserve on paper towels.
Coat 2 butterflied chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika then cook in that same pan with the bacon grease until browned and cooked through, should take 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and let it rest for a few minutes then thinly slice.
While the chicken cooks, cook 1 pound of spaghetti in salted boiling water until al dente. Save 1 cup of the pasta’s cooking water, then drain.
In a small bowl, whisk together 4 egg yolks with 4 tablespoons of cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of mustard, 2 teaspoons each of brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce, and season with salt and pepper. (I know the sugar sounds odd, but just go with me.)
Dump the pasta into the pan used to cook the chicken. Whisk about 1/4 cup of the hot pasta water into the egg yolk mixture, then quickly dump it into the pasta and stir until a thick, creamy sauce forms, adding more pasta water if needed.
Twirl the pasta mixture onto a plate, then top with the reserved bacon, sliced chicken, and some sliced green onions.
This pasta dish perfectly shows the beauty of Alabama barbecue; it has that tangy-creaminess that their sauce normally has plus the crisp bacon, and juicy chicken for a wonderful spin on chicken carbonara.
Alaska-Crab Pasta with Salmon
Next, we are heading way up north to the largest state, Alaska, known for its short summers, amazing scenery, and the occasional humpback whale.
Fortunately for me, I was able to get ahold of some beautiful Alaskan king crab legs and Alaskan salmon, courtesy of Alaskan Seafood company who provides frozen Alaskan seafood for us Coloradans to enjoy.
I didn’t want to mask the natural flavors of the crab or salmon, so I will be keeping the flavors of this pasta dish light and simple. By the way, if you can’t get ahold of Alaskan seafood, then Dungeness crab meat and Atlantic salmon will be just as good.
Season 4 skin-on salmon filets with salt and pepper. Lay the salmon skin-side down into a hot pan with a bit of olive oil, then cook for 3-4 minutes or until the skin turns golden and crispy.
Flip the salmon, and cook for 1-2 minutes depending on how done you like your salmon. Remove the salmon from the pan and rest for a few minutes.
While the salmon cooks, cook 12 ounces of linguine in a pot of salted boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, drain, then set aside.
Heat another layer of oil in the pan used for the salmon, then add 1 1/2 cups of cherry tomatoes, cut in half, sliced whites from 4 green onions, and 2 minced cloves of garlic, and cook until the tomatoes start to soften.
Carefully add 1/2 cup of white wine, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine is reduced by half, then add the pasta, 1 1/2 cups of roughly chopped crab meat*, and 2 tablespoons of butter, then cook, stirring, until the butter is melted and a sauce forms.
Add a bit of pasta water if needed, then divide the pasta among bowls, top with a piece of salmon (skin-side up), green onion greens, and serve with lemon wedges.
There is nothing to not love about this crab pasta with salmon. Flavorful pasta loaded with crab and tomatoes and that beautiful, juicy, crispy-skinned salmon. It’s a weeknight pasta dish that your family will love!
*If you’re starting with whole crab legs like I did, then I suggest steaming them for about 5 minutes to release the meat from the shell, then carefully cracking/opening the shell and extracting all of the meat before roughly chopping.
Ok, that is all you’re going to get with this preview.
Again, if you loved these two dishes and want to see what I made for the other 48 states (when I get to posting them), then you can use the button on the top-right corner of this page to sign up for my Food Loving Members subscription service.
Thank you for your support, and I’ll see you next time!
