In the spirit of National Pasta Day, October 17, Vancouver’s popular Italian restaurant, Savio Volpe, is helping Vancouverites celebrate all the little moments. Phil Scarfone, culinary director for Savio, Pepino’s Spaghetti House and Caffe La Tana, has created two limited-edition pasta kits to help you bring the “Taste That’s Full of Life” into your home for the tasty occasion via UberEats. These kits include ingredients, a how-to video and one of two pasta recipes: Chanterelle Mushroom Rigatoni and Linguine with Mussels. Also, a six-pack of Peroni Nastro Azzurro. We quizzed Phil on his pasta prowess; check out our Q&A below! —Noa Nichol
Hi Phil! Please tell us a bit about yourself to start.
I have been cooking professionally for 17 years, and enjoy working in a busy kitchen environment. In my time off, I’m an avid mushroom forager and outdoor enthusiast.
In the spirit of celebrating National Pasta Day, we hear that Savio Volpe is offering two limited-edition pasta kits; what will each see us cooking up at home?
Yes! We have partnered with Peroni Nastro Azzurro to create two limited-edition pasta kits available to Vancouverites from Saturday, October 16 through to Sunday, October 17 via Uber Eats. The Chanterelle Mushroom Rigatoni pasta kit includes rich cream, cheese and freshly picked mushrooms (serves two; $28). Linguine with Mussels is the second pasta kit, which includes local, sustainable seafood from Quadra Island and a white wine saffron mussel sauce (serves two; $28). The kits will bring the taste of Italy home and will include a detailed recipe card, all the beautiful ingredients you need to make the recipe and a six-pack of refreshing Peroni Nastro Azzurro—a perfect pairing for pasta to cheers to the occasion.
Any chef-fy cooking tips when it comes to these kits, or to pasta making in general?
The kits are super easy to make—consumers can visit @peroni_ca to cook alongside me in a true masterclass style, as I guide them through creating each of these pasta dishes. Insider tips: with these kits you may not need all of the pasta included. Take care not to over-reduce the sauce as we don’t want the pasta to be dry. Feel free to use some of the pasta water and a knob of butter to add richness and body to any sauce.
Is it EVER OK to use store-bought/dry pasta? How can we make dishes taste better when dry is all we’ve got at home?
Yes! It is definitely OK to use dried pasta at home—I do it most of the time to be honest! The key to dried pasta is finishing it in the sauce with some additional pasta water. Take the noodles out of the water when they are 70 per cent cooked, and work them into the sauce by tossing them or using a wooden spoon to vigorously stir them. This brings out some of the starch and thickens the sauce, I almost always add a knob of butter to round out the flavours of the pasta.
What’s your all-time favourite pasta dish, either that you’ve made or been served?
My all time favourite pasta dish has to be the Linguine with Mussels pasta dish that Savio Volpe is offering this weekend for National Pasta Day. The local and sustainable seafood from Quadra Island is unmatched. I always recommend cracking open a bottle of cold Peroni Nastro Azzurro to enjoy alongside the dish to elevate the taste of Italy!
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