Yesterday, I was greeted with the return of seasonal, warm weather. The weather was very important and some friends and I played “hookie” and ditched work for a day at the amusement park, Canada’s Wonderland.
This amusement park is situated just north of Toronto and my return was long overdue…25 years! We hit the roller coasters and dizzying rides, challenged our stomachs and pushed the limits of what G-forces our bodies could take.
After a long day filled with laughs, screams and thrills, I got home late for dinner and I was famished. A pasta dish always does the trick when you’re tired and hungry yet, you want to treat yourself to something special.
I finally tried a Spaghetti “al Cartoccio” which simply is a pasta baked in paper. First of all, it’s easy. Secondly, it’s rustic and finally…it’s also an impressive presentation.
People love surprises. Next time you have friends over, treat them to a dinner surprise. Bring the baked bag of pasta in the plate and cut open the cartoccio and listen to the Ooooohs and AHHHH’s.
Bon Appetito!
Spaghetti “al Cartoccio”
(for 5)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2/3 cup pitted black olives, chopped
4 sun-dried tomatoes, rough chop
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. dried Greek oregano
1/4 cup dry white wine
1lb. of frozen(thawed) or fresh seafood medley
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 package of spaghetti (500gr)
4 paper lunch bags
Pre-heated 350F oven
- Spray your paper lunch bags with cooking spray or brush them with vegetable oil. Place on a baking sheet and reserve.
- Get a large pot of water boiling. When it starts boiling, add a generous amount of salt and cook your pasta for about 5-6 minutes (under al dente). The pasta will cook through when baked.
- In a large skillet, add your minced garlic and infuse your oil for about a minute. Add your halved cherry tomatoes and sundried tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes to soften and cook through. Add your chopped olives, oregano and chilli flakes and adjust seasoning with sea salt. Reserve.
- When your pasta has cooked for 5-6 minutes, drain and add it to your sauce along with the reserved mixed seafood, white wine and chopped fresh parsley. If the pasta looks dry, drizzle some more olive oil.
- Carefully place a portion of pasta into each paper bag. For a nice presentation, tie some butcher’s twine at each end of the cartoccio to give them a tapered look.
- Place the baking sheet in the pre-heated oven for another 10 minutes. Carefully place each cartoccio onto a plate and serve to your guests. Carefully cut open each cartoccio with kitchen scissors and enjoy!
Peter, this post just makes me grin so much!
Firstly, food in a parcel, genius – it’s like a present.. of food!!! Baked spaghetti parcel?? Who-da thunk it!?
Your pictures are gorgeous and I love the ingredients.
And finally I once had an amazing day at Canada’s Wonderland – your pics brought it all back!
Thanks for the smile!
I love the way baking in packets infuses flavor into food. Glad to read you can still have fun at amusement parks!!
What a completely joyful way to spend a day off from work! We just did the Disney thing where my7 year old screamed that he was going to be sick on every roller coaster we went on. (fortunately he didn’t!!)
Everything about this dinner says FUN. I love the idea. I can just imagine how dinner guests would react to tearing open their dinners. Brilliant one Peter!
Oh I love Canada’s Wonderland. Do you remember when we were kids and they used to have the summer concert series there. We went to see Billy Idol, Psychedelic Furs, Annie Lennox, Men Without Hats…boy I am really showing my age here!!! What a fun day. Was the waterpark open or is it too early for that yet?
Anyway your pasta looks so great!! The girl’s would love that and it could be specifically tailored just for them!!!
Now thats original. Isnt it nice to just be a kid again?
How clever!…this is great and I will def be trying this (and will look good in pics too!..;)
Playing “hookie”…lets hope your boss doesn’t read your blog…lol
Wow. Just…Wow!
Roller coasters!
Pasta in paper! I have never heard of this brilliant idea!!!! You are an endless source of lessons to be learned, Peter!
I can’t wait to make this!
Love the shirt, btw!
Iam surely surely surely gonna try this one…. (ofcourse a vegetarian version…) ) U have an amazing blog here peter…. Loved it… Already drooling over ur recipes…:P
My my you have really surprised everybody here this time with your parcel.
Looks so yumm.
I can imagine the wows one will get if we make this for our guests.
Not to mention the aromas when we open the package.
Glad you wore a hat to avoid sunburn…oh, wait, Greek people don’t sunburn. Looks like a fun day, without too much of a crowd!
I’ll have to try this technique, soon!
So weird, I have never heard about this before. You are such a groundbreaker.
I think that it would be around 25 yrs that I have been to Canada’s Wonderland also. I’ll have to go back someday when I move back east. Nice presentation for the pasta.
Wow, I’ve never seen anything like it, at least not with pasta!
This is the first time I have heard of this method of cooking pasta Peter. I absolutely agree it makes a stunning presentation. I remember going there with my parents when it first opened. My mom came on the Dragon Fiere with me which of course didn’t agree with her at all..she was out for the day!! Me I go only for the roller coasters..and maybe a ride on the lazy river on a hot, hot day:D
Oh, cool Peter! I don’t have much experience with cooking things in bags or even in parchment but this looks like a great thing to try.
Kittie, it’s hard to make a kittie grin! ;)
Laurie, this dish so fun and easy!
Lori, Canada’s Wonderland was fun, so was making this dish!
Judy, I do! I was a big concert-goer and the last time I was at Wonderland was to see Aerosmith. Try this dish out…a fun presentation.
Glam, I’ll never grow up!
Pete, I didn’t invent the dish! lol
As for hookie…I’m cool/good with the boss.
Catherine, this thread was all about fin, fun, fun…right down to the shirt!
Shubha,welcome and I look forward to reading how your version turned out.
Happy, it makes for a fun, pleasant surprise to dinner guests.
Marjie, I must wear a hat…sunstroke is no fun!
Katerina…give it a whirl…easy-peasy!
Helene, I had lots of fun…I’ll make it an annual trip.
Sylvie…now you’ve seen it (almost) all!
Val, went on the Dragon Fire but the new rollercoaster, the Behemoth was awesome!
Elly, it’s quite easy…try it out for hubby and yourself!
What fun!
I had no idea you could present pasta in such a way!
Looks like you had a great time Peter.
I know about baking pasta but never heard of baking pasta in paper. It looks fabulous! I can well imagine the oooh and ahhhhh’s!
Rustic and classey all at the same time. Love it!
Total surprise! Totally fun! A paper bag! Cool. I will have to try sometime. You never cease to amaze!
Absolutely beautiful presentation! This would be such fun to make for a dinner party.
I’m jealous of your awesome day . . . *and* your awesome dinner!
Very interesting! I’ve never heard of preparing a pasta dish this way, but I like it! I must try this. Did you add the seafood in still frozen?
That sounds like a tasty end to a fun filled day. Pasta baked in paper sounds pretty interesting.
Well, now you’ve done it. You’ve gone and made spaghetti en papillote. With shellfish! And I thought I’d seen everything. You kick my a$$, you know that?
Wow – I’ve never seen pasta in paper! Looks delish.
You look like you had a really great day! Love the photos.
totally unexpected! it’s like chinese sticky rice dumpling or rice steamed in lotus leaf…but it’s a pasta dish!!! wowwwwww….this is a must try ^_^
your day looked like a lot of fun, peter!
i miss visiting your blog! hehehe glad to be back!
oh peter, i can just see the looks on my friends’ faces now if i were to serve this to them–confusion, followed by doubt, followed by tentative interest, followed by pure bliss. good stuff! :)
I think you should host an event – Food Parcels.It will be a knock out. Maybe I’ve just misread, but is there any liquid in the parcel when you bake it?
I think you should host an event – Food Parcels.It will be a knock out. Maybe I’ve just misread, but is there any liquid in the parcel when you bake it?
I think you should host an event – Food Parcels.It will be a knock out. Maybe I’ve just misread, but is there any liquid in the parcel when you bake it?
I think you should host an event – Food Parcels.It will be a knock out. Maybe I’ve just misread, but is there any liquid in the parcel when you bake it?
I think you should host an event – Food Parcels.It will be a knock out. Maybe I’ve just misread, but is there any liquid in the parcel when you bake it?
I think you should host an event – Food Parcels.It will be a knock out. Maybe I’ve just misread, but is there any liquid in the parcel when you bake it?
I think you should host an event – Food Parcels.It will be a knock out. Maybe I’ve just misread, but is there any liquid in the parcel when you bake it?
I think you should host an event – Food Parcels.It will be a knock out. Maybe I’ve just misread, but is there any liquid in the parcel when you bake it?
I think you should host an event – Food Parcels.It will be a knock out. Maybe I’ve just misread, but is there any liquid in the parcel when you bake it?
Pam, you betcha!
Jeena, it’s a fun dinner surprise.
Marie, I wanna see those photos!
Nicole, surprise your guests now.
Lydia, this post was all about fun.
Vicarious, it was a long, tiring day but the fun made me forget, just for awhile.
Sticky, thawed of course.
Kevin, Wonderland ain’t just for the kinds ya know.
Oh Heather…you are a competitive little shit aren’t ya? lol
Jan, the day was…”wonderful”.
Mocha Rita baby….welcome back!!!
Grace, a good recap of what happened when I presented this dish.
Nina, there’s some wine added at the end and I added, add some more oilve oil if it looks a little dry.
Oh that is cool! Does the pasta get dry though when you put it in the oven for 10 mins? Or does the paper surrounding it prevent that from happening? This sounds really neat, and lucky you that the weather has been sunny! Here its absolutely awful! We are wearing coats and long sleeves in the month of June!!!
oh peter, you are indeed a gourmet genius..spaghetti baked in parcel. i love it!! i love this style of cooking for it traps all the flavor inside. i normally do it with banana leaves for chicken and fishes , but with pasta im sure its heavenly delicious :-)
ps, i could imagine you as very interesting person that would ditch job for fun..LOL im a bit like you..have a great day Peter
I could never get into this shaking machines that turn you upside down… is this really fun???? For me fun is sitting right there in your kitchen and sharing one of this surprise spaguetti bags with a good glass of wine and good conversation :D
I think i’d be scared my pasta would overcook in the oven. How do you ensure that it doesn’t? Or is it one of those meals that taste good when it’s a bit over done?
you are such a rebel!! Not only did you tell the world that you played hookie from work, you also posted pictures of yourself at the park! You… my friend… are a badass.
I have never seen pasta made this way, Peter! Wow!
And I’m terrified of roller coasters. :)
Love making these delicious packets — guests love them, too. Yours have great flavors — the seafood sounds wonderful!
I have to thank you for introducing me to things in the culinary world that I have never seen before.
This one is terrific!
Marianna, there’s still some olive oil and wine in the bag and steam is created.
Dhanngit, it’s a fun dish to serve and who doesn’t like opening surprises?
Nuria, lots of fun! Nuria, one day we will dine together!
Never full, no guarantees are there? Do I never try and make a souffle? Give it shot, it’s not like you’re going to waste a whole lobster here!
Patricia…surprise Joao with a meal like this.
Lori Lynn, I can see you serving these pasta packettes to your guests.
After a day at Canada’s Wonderland, I’m amazed you had any energy left to create a papiotte (sp?). You should have stopped by – I’m only 5 minutes from CW.
Good on you and your friends for taking advantage of the great weather instead of wasting away at work. Fantastic looking spaghetto – gotta love seafood pasta.
Oh wow. We love cooking things in parchment and foil, but pasta???? So cool. Can’t wait to try it.
ooooh, I’ve never seen this before and I don’t think I would ever have thought of it myself – what a fabulous way to cook pasta and wonderful presentation! I bet the smells when you open that paper are fantastic!
Oh no. I can hear the brown paper bag argument starting now!
Oh my GAWD! How cool is that???
This is SUCH a cool idea. I have it bookmarked. And not just bookmarked anywhere, but in a special place, where I won’t forget about it. Because I definitely have to do this someday.
Ohhhhh I like your style and spontaneity! What a great way to spend a great weather day.
I would love that!
I had to comment back… Just saw your exact recipe on a Spanish cooking magazine… no calamari though but a la marinera and with same carttocio!!!! Amazing! If I wasn’t too lazy I would scan the picture and send it to you.