This Bodega Pasta Pasta Could Put Carbone To Shame & We’ll Prove It
We’ve made it! The season finale of Grocery Showdown! And to commemorate this momentous occasion we made a DOOZY of a New York-centric episode. We pitted the most expensive grocery store in New York (Eataly) against the city's most humble and reliable store, a bodega! As always, there are two ways to win:
Have the cheapest meal
Have the best-tasting meal
Since we were shopping in the mecca of Italian food, we had to choose an appropriately Italian dish: pasta. There are so many different ways to cook pasta and nearly infinite dishes that use pasta. The rules for this showdown are as follows:
We have 45 minutes to make a pasta dish that serves four.
All spices and oils/fats in the Delish Test Kitchen were free to use.
Whenever possible, we had to shop for and use the grocery store brand items.
I’ll say this right now, when I was assigned Eataly I knew I was going to spend more than $25. I don't think that would have even covered the cost of the pasta itself. So instead, I spent over $170 on luxury ingredients. Meanwhile Brooke spent around $22 at a bodega near our test kitchens.
Do you think the Eataly pasta that cost more than seven times more trounced the deli pasta? Check it out in the video above! And if you want to make either of these recipes, you can find them below.
Brooke’s Bodega Salad Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add 2 tbsp kosher salt. Add 9 oz dried spaghetti to boiling water and cook until al dente, about 7-8 minutes. Dip a measuring cup into the pot to reserve 1 ½ cups of pasta water. Drain pasta in a colander.
Heat 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in a large high-sided skillet. Add 1 tsp of anchovy oil from the tin of anchovies. Add 2 oz chopped anchovies and cook for 3-4 minutes or until anchovies start to melt into the oil. Add ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 2 tbsp of chopped red onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until onions start to soften and become translucent.
Add 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and ½ c chopped sun-dried tomatoes and cook 2-3 minutes. Season with 1 tsp of Italian seasoning. Move the tomato mixture to the sides of the pan and add 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and place ¾ c quartered marinated artichoke hearts in the pan, cut side down and cook 4-5 minutes or until artichokes are starting to turn golden brown. Add ¼ tsp of crushed red pepper flake, 1 tsp of capers, and ½ cup of reserved pasta water and cook until the water reduces by about ½.
Add an additional ½ cup of pasta water, cooked pasta noodles, and 2 cups of loosely packed baby spinach and heat until spinach has wilted and pasta is heated through, adding a final ½ c of pasta water to bring pasta together. Top with 3 oz of finely chopped mozzarella cheese 2 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese and season to taste with kosher salt.
Justin’s Eataly Seafood Feast Pasta
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and pour in 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, heat until shimmering. Add ¾ lb. cleaned and sliced squid and 6 ramps. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the squid has begun to brown slightly and the ramp greens have wilted and the white ends have softened, 7 to 8 minutes. Grate over 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook for an additional minute then remove to a plate. Wipe out the pan.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water add 1 lb. of mafaldine and cook 2 to 3 minutes shy of the package instructions. Test the pasta, it should be slightly under cooked to your liking because we will be cooking it off with the sauce. Strain while reserving ¼ cup of pasta water.
Place the skillet back over medium high heat and add an additional 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Once shimmering, toss in 5 thinly sliced garlic cloves and a good pinch of red chili flakes. Cook until the garlic cloves are fragrant and starting to take on a bit of color, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in ½ cup of dry white wine, add ¾ lb. Manila clams then immediately cover. Steam the clams for 5 minutes, shaking the skillet once or twice. Remove the lid and transfer any clams that have opened to a plate. If any are still closed, steam for an additional 2 minutes. Remove any open clams and discard any closed clams. Optionally you can remove the clams from all or some of the shells.
While the clams cook, season 5 jumbo, head-on prawns heavily with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. To another large skillet over medium high heat add 2 tablespoons of butter and heat until foamy. Add the prawns and sear both sides for 2 to 3 minutes or until they are pink and totally cooked through. In the final minute or so of cooking, toss in 1 oz of roughly torn sea beans and the juice of half a lemon. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Reduce the heat on the skillet with the clam sauce to medium low, then stir in 1 tablespoon of butter. Mix into the sauce until emulsified and the sheen has formed in the sauce, 2 minutes. Whisk in ¼ cup of pasta water and juice of the other half of a lemon, heat until just combined. Season the sauce to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Add the cooked mafaldine, the squid/ramp mixture and 2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley, then toss until fully coated. Add the cooked clams, seared shrimp and sea beans. Garnish with a light dusting of finely grated parmesan, a little more parsley, and 1⁄3 oz Sturgeon caviar then serve.
Previously on Grocery Showdown: Dollar General vs ACME: Ultimate Dessert Showdown
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