What's great about Vermicelli Capperi e Olive is that it's extremely simple to prepare. And quick. But like with most simple things, the quality of the ingredients is what makes the difference from celestial to average to plain awful.
This is what I use (for 4 people)
- 500 Gr of Barilla Vermicelli #8 (it's extremely important that they are manufactured in Italy, check the label).
- One clove of garlic
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- A bunch of parsley
- One can of Pomodorini cherry tomatoes (I use Mutti's, there are other excellent Italian brands - and again where they come from is what makes the difference, more on that later)
- 2-300 gr of Olive di Gaeta (Kalamata are an OK substitute)
- 50 Gr of Capperi di Pantelleria sotto sale (small ones, in salt)
- Coarse sea salt
I start by putting 3 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a medium sized saucepan, and let it heat up at about 1/3rd of burner strength for about 2 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and the peeled clove of garlic. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until the garlic is light brown (very light).
Add about one third of the Pomodorini can, another tablespoon of oil and keep stirring for about 5 minutes until the tomato sauce starts thickening.
Beforehand I prepared the Olive di Gaeta by pitting them and cutting them in half. I do not use any tools to pit the olives, just a small knife cutting the olive all around and removing the pit with a circular movement. The 'rough' irregular halves are somehow one of the characteristics of the dish, so I do not worry too much about accuracy, just making sure the olive slices are not too small.
I leave the capers whole - that's why I prefer the smaller ones. I rinse them quickly to remove the excess salt, dry them with paper towel and put them in a small dish with a few drops of oil.
Parsley is finely chopped (with a cooking knife - do not use any mechanical tools such as blenders etc because the high speed of the blade causes the juices to separate from the leaf and drying them up)
Time now to add capers and olives to the mix. Capers are naturally salty so there's no need to add any additional salt.
Keep stirring for a couple of minutes to mix them with the sauce, and add two or three pinches of parsley.
Time now to add the rest of the Pomodorini can, lower the gas temperature to just a bit above simmer, stir well for a minute or so and then close the saucepan with a lid. I let it cook for about ten minutes, just enough time to put the large Pasta pot on the stove and let the water boil.
I add a fistful of coarse salt to the boiling water and drop the vermicelli, making sure not to break them. Since they are likely taller than the pot, you can gently curve them down as they get softer, making sure they are all covered with water as quickly as possible.
I take the lid off the saucepan and stir the sauce, increasing the gas level if I see that the sauce is too watery. Keep stirring gently (do not break the capers and olives) with the wooden spoon.
Like in most sauce pasta dishes, I like to separate about 1/3rd of the sauce and put it in a heated saucepan on the side.
After about 10-11 minutes, the vermicelli should be at a very al dente consistency, but without a crunchy center. Barilla suggests 13 minutes, but as always with pasta it really depends on many factors so it's best to keep tasting and be ready to act quickly:)
Drain the pasta and add it in the saucepan, stirring with two wooden spoons and adding 2-3 tablespoons of oil to mix the sauce evenly with the pasta. I keep doing it for at least two minutes, then serve the four portions on (preferably) pre-heated flat dishes.
The finishing touch is adding 2-3 spoons of the sauce from the separate saucepan on top of the pasta, and a pinch of chopped parsley.
Accompany with a medium body red, like Merlot Lamaione di Frescobaldi
Buon appetito!
