The Sporkful host hopes his new cookbook will have people rethinking what they put on top of their pasta.
Dan Liberti/Tribune News Service/Getty Images
Dan Pashman has opinions when it comes to food.
And he eats his cheeseburger upside down.
Photo:Dan Liberti/Tribune News Service/Getty Images
Spaghetti sucks, he said while hosting a live event called The Bucatini Dialogues.
We can do better.
He went on to announce that he was setting out to create a new pasta shape.
cascatelli pasta.Getty Images
He documented the entire process in a five-episode series called Mission ImPASTAble and in 2021, his pastacascatelliwas born.
It sold out within two hours and was named one ofTimemagazines best inventions of 2021.
Sure, its great with marinara sauce, but why stop there?
Dan Liberti
And thats how his cookbookAnythings Pastablewas born.
We sat down with Pashman to chat about his podcast and everything pasta.
EatingWell:The tagline of your podcast is Its not for foodies, its for eaters.
What does that mean to you?
Dan Pashman:I’m not a chef.
I’m just someone who loves to eat.
I didn’t feel like there was a place for me.
So to me that’s really the distinction.
I just don’t care about any of those things.
I’m just really passionate about food and eating.
How did you choose the recipes and who to collaborate with?
And I wanted to collaborate with people who had different specialties.
So each one of them is kind of a specialist in something.
Katie Laird lived and cooked professionally in Italy.
And Darnell Reeds restaurant in Chicago was the first to ever serve cascatelli.
And Darnell’s specialties are Cajun, Southern and soul food.
The book wouldn’t be nearly as good without all of their contributions.
Can you share how that recipe came about?
Pashman:I developed that one with James Park.
He and I share a love of runny egg yolks and scallions.
You’re infusing the oil with scallions.
You’re having crispy fried scallions, you’re having raw chopped scallions.
But it seems like the last was maybe most important.
What were you going for there?
Pashman:I wanted it to be thick and chewy.
To me, biting into a great piece of pasta should kind of feel like biting into a steak.
It should be incredibly satisfying.
EatingWell:What pantry ingredients do you always keep on hand for making pasta, other than the pasta?
Pashman:Good jarred sauce.
There are so many great jarred sauces out there today.
There are always lemons and limes in my house.
I’m always zesting lemons or limes or squeezing the juice into things.
Your listeners cant taste or smell or even see what youre talking about.
Do you think that is an advantage or disadvantage?
Pashman:I think that audio is the best medium for food because audio is inherently interactive.
When you listen to a person speak without images, you get an image in your head.
It’s more like reading.
And the image that every listener gets in their head is unique to them.
It’s the original user-generated content.
So to me, it will resonate that much more deeply with them.
Up next:27 Colorful Pasta Dinner Recipes That Are Perfect for Spring
