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Ualthough today’s recipe is from Tuscany, it is also thanks to a girl who studies at my school. She lived outside the city, in a big house with a pool and chickens. I never actually saw the house or jumped in the pool, but I heard about the chickens that lived in a cage at the bottom of the garden and laid more eggs than the family could eat. There was also the story of how one day this girl stopped her uncle from killing one of the chickens, which meant they had roast potatoes, fried eggs and marmite sauce for Sunday lunch. I remember being moved by this story, the idea that she had put herself between Uncle (with gun, knife, rope, bare hands? I had no idea) and the hen, thereby saving her life; and that while the family eats Marmite sauce, the chicken runs free.
Scapato means escaped, fled, fled. The thought of this recipe is nice penne con pollo scappato, or pasta with a chicken that has escaped from the coop, is the result of a boisterous young girl and a happy hen somewhere in Tuscany. It is probably more likely, however, that this is the result of a lack of chicks. Along with Sicilian pasta con le sarde al mare (pasta with sardines still in the sea) and Neapolitan spaghetti alle vongole fujute (spaghetti with scallops that have escaped), penne con pollo scappato is part of a family of recipes born out of my resourceful need. I have a book on Tuscan food that calls out recipes like this cucina del’ inganno, which translates to “cheat cooking”, but I think the meaning is slightly different in Tuscan – cunning and also defensive, something you do to make the best of what you have at hand. This is certainly a clever recipe, a well-made sofrito of carrots, celery, onions and wine mixed with rosemary, tube tomato concentrate and a long cooking time results in such a depth of flavor that it’s as good as meat.
In the spirit of ingenuity and in keeping with the story, you can add to the sauce and the tip of a teaspoon of Marmite, which, like half an anchovy or a drop of fish sauce, is an underground-type seasoning. Another addition, for flavor and a lovely shine, is a knob of butter stirred in at the end of cooking.
Penne con pollo scappato
preparation 15 min
cook 50 min
Serves 4
100ml of olive oil
2 onionspeeled and diced
2 medium carrotspeeled and diced
2 sticks of celerytrimmed and diced
1 clove of garlicpeeled and crushed
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
250 ml Red wine
1 tsp tomato concentrate
A pinch of red chilies
500g penneor other pasta tube
Salt and pepper
¼ tsp Marmite/½ anchovies/1 tsp fish sauce – optionally
A knob of butterto finish
Grated Parmesan or Pecorinoto serve
Put the oil in a frying pan or frying pan set over a medium-low heat, then fry the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and rosemary for at least 10 minutes, until they soften and start to turn a light golden colour.
Stir in the wine, after a few minutes add the tomato concentrate and red chillies and stir again. Cook half-covered with a lid for 40-50 minutes, until the sauce thickens and tastes good – it should not be dry under any circumstances, so add more wine or water if necessary.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling salted water and once al dente, drain and save some of the cooking water or use a slotted spoon or spider to remove it directly from the water. Mix the pasta and the sauce, add the butter and some black pepper. Everything is mixed, then distributed in bowls, with grated parmesan, pecorino or other cheese for those who want it. You can also blend or puree some of the vegetables for a softer consistency.
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