Dan Pashman doesn’t define himself as a chef or a cook. He’s not a “foodie.” He’s an eater, as are those who tune into his James Beard Award-winning podcast The Sporkful. (Or at least that’s what the slogan says: “It’s not for foodies, it’s for eaters.”)
But just because Pashman doesn’t spend every day in a restaurant, Test Kitchen, or teaching classes at a culinary school doesn’t mean that his days don’t focus a lot on food. When you listen to any episode from his 14-year-strong podcast archive, you’ll quickly realize he is infectiously passionate about the stories behind what we eat, connections forged through food, and the big and small ways we can optimize each eating occasion.
For this reason, the multi-hyphenate, multimedia journalist went on a three-year quest to invent a brand-new pasta shape and bring it to market. In spring 2021, Pashman chronicled the long and winding journey he took to make it possible to produce and sell cascatelli (Italian for “waterfall”) on the Sporkful podcast series “Mission: ImPASTAble.” By the time boxes of the short, ruffle-lined, and curved noodle became available, they quickly sold out—and was selected as one of TIME Magazine’s top 100 inventions of 2021.
SFOGLINI
Once fans had cascatelli in their kitchens, they quickly put it to good use and started tagging Pashman in photos of their noodle and sauce combinations. That's when he realized that there was a lot of potential in expanding our collective horizons about what we think should be in a pasta sauce… and what old-school noodle “rules” are meant to be broken.
So Pashman called in reinforcements: a team of recipe developers, recipe testers, food stylists, culinary historians, and someone he calls his “pasta fairy godmother and spiritual advisor.” (That’s Evan Kleiman, host of the radio show and podcast Good Food, by the way.)
Together, they created the new cookbook Anything’s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People, which showcases a wide world of “pastabilities.” With recipes like Shells with Miso Butter and Scallions, Chili Crisp Tahini Pasta with Fried Shallots, and Smoked Cheddar and Chicken Manicotti “Enchiladas,” Pashman hopes to inspire home cooks to think outside of the pesto, vodka sauce, and ragù box.
There are many creations throughout the pages of the book that “I found myself continuing to crave for months after,” Pashman tells Better Homes and Gardens. “I was testing these recipes a year and a year and a half ago, and to this day, I find myself still craving so many. My favorite depends on the mood and the weather.”
SPORKFUL
Something that he’s always craving, especially in the thick of a book tour while also gearing up to host his first public “pasta pilgrimage” to Italy? A semi-homemade shortcut, featuring a pantry staple you likely have laying around right now: jarred marinara sauce.
Yep, go ahead and break the rule that says that from-scratch is always better and worth the effort. Because as Pashman asks in the book, “Why make your own tomato sauce when there are so many high-quality jarred varieties available today?”
So we obviously had to find out which brands he stocks up on. Carbone, Rao’s, Victoria, and Rustichella d’Abruzzo all earn his pasta-pro stamp of approval, although he says whatever tastes good to you is a great choice. (Look for one that has some form of tomatoes listed as the first ingredient, and peek at the full ingredient list to confirm there’s no added sugar. This is a sign the producer started with high-quality tomatoes and didn’t need to doctor them up too much.)
Then all you need is a single ingredient to make it taste totally new—and totally yours.
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The 5 One-Ingredient Upgrades Transform Jarred Marinara
Pashman generously gave us a brief tour through some of his favorite sauce spiff-ups featured in his “Jarred Marinara Sauce Decision Tree” featured in his book.
- To make it hearty and if you’ve got some time: Add eggplant. “Pasta Alla Norman” is Pashman’s riff on pasta alla norma. Recreating it is easy: In a 400° F oven, roast a whole eggplant on a sheet pan for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the skin is wrinkled and the flesh is soft. Using a chef’s knife, slice it in half lengthwise, then use a large spoon to scoop out the creamy flesh. Add that to a skillet of simmering jarred marinara.
- To make it hearty in a flash: Bust open a can of beans. In a skillet, simmer the tomato sauce and a can of drained and rinsed beans (such as great Northern or cannellini) for 5 minutes. Use a potato masher or fork to partially mash the beans. “This will thicken the sauce while adding protein and flavor,” Pashman tells us.
- To add texture and spice in an instant: Chili crisp is always a good idea. Start slowly, adding 1 tablespoon at a time, until you’re happy with the level of kick. Pashman says ¼ cup of chili crisp is his sweet (or, more accurately, spicy) spot.
- To add flavor without the fire: Add white miso. Again, stir in 1 tablespoon at a time until you like the balance of flavors. (Then keep the rest of the container handy to use in Buttermilk-Miso Ranch to top a side salad.)
- To add subtle savory flavor fast: Reach for MSG. A mere ¼ teaspoon of this commonly-misunderstood flavor enhancer makes a major difference.
If you can’t decide on just one path via the Jarred Tomato Sauce Decision Tree, Pashman says, why choose? Host a “Tomato Sauce Dipping Party,” by making a few of the sauces, then place them in separate bowls alongside a big bowl of plain cooked pasta.
“Fork individual pieces of pasta and dip them in different sauces to try them all,” Pashman suggests in the book. “That’s how my kids and I tested the options!”