This dish isn’t what anyone imagines when discussing smoked food items, which is the biggest reason I attempted it. Surprisingly, each of these ingredients absorbed the smoke flavor very well, allowing me to attain a delicious smoked “pasta”. The smoked spaghetti squash surprised me the most; simply because I haven’t worked with it very much in the past. Personally, I prefer to make fresh pasta, but on this occasion, I was cooking for a few carb hating guests. After tasting the delicious smoked flesh of this squash, my mind was opened to whole new world of smoked “pasta-bilities.” Today I will talk about the dish that changed my view about carb free “pasta”. If you (like me) prefer traditional pasta feel free to replace the spaghetti squash with a pasta of your choosing, the other smoked items will still provide a distinct smoky flavor to this dish.
I decided to use homemade ricotta, because the flavor is vastly superior to the store-bought stuff. After making the cheese I completely separated the curds from the whey which is not how ricotta traditionally handled. This step allows for the cheese to better absorb the smoke flavor; however, it does result in a bit of a dry texture after smoking. I corrected this by drizzling some garlic oil onto my smoked cheese. Adding the garlic oil elevated the texture and flavor of the ricotta.
Even if you are not interested in preparing this dish; I would advise any smoking enthusiast to attempt smoked cherry tomatoes. I’ve used smoked cherry tomatoes in a variety of dishes because they taste divine. The smoked tomatoes maintain their acidic umami flavor but with a unique smoke-filled kick. I’d suggest using them in stews or salsas. Though the smoked items in this dish married well together, each of these ingredients can stand alone in creating a variety of smoked main courses.
Smoked Ricotta:
1. 1 ¼ cup water
2. 2 tsp citric acid
3. ½ teaspoon liquid rennet
4. 1-gallon milk
5. 2 tsp salt
Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Dissolve citric acid in 1 cup of water. Dissolve liquid rennet in ¼ cup of water. Pour milk into a large non-reactive pot. Stir in citric acid solution. On medium heat; heat milk to 90 degrees while gently stirring. Remove milk from heat, stir in rennet solution and continue to stir for 1 minute. Cover pot and let milk sit for 10 minutes. Using 3 layers of cheese cloth strain the curds, discard the whey. When the curds are completely strained submerge the cheese cloth containing the curds into the simmering water, while still holding onto the top of the cheese cloth. Insert a probe thermometer, remove curds once they have reached an internal temperature of 135 degrees.
Preheat smoker to 350 degrees. Remove the curds from the cheesecloth fold salt into curds and mold them into a ball. Drizzle garlic oil onto a small cast iron and put cheese ball into the cast then place it into the smoker. Let the ricotta cook for 30 minutes.
Smoked cherry tomatoes:
1. 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2. 1 tsp red chili flakes
3. 2 teaspoons garlic oil (see brisket recipe)
4. Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat smoker to 350 degrees. Drizzle tomatoes with garlic oil. Sprinkle tomatoes with chili flakes, salt and pepper and place the into a baking pan. Put to tomatoes into the smoker for 30 minutes.
Smoked Spaghetti Squash:
1. 1 large spaghetti squash
2. I tbsp garlic oil (see brisket recipe)
3. Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat smoker to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half drizzle with garlic oil salt and pepper. Place squash into the smoker for 45 minutes. Remove squash from smoker. Using a fork remove the flesh of the squash from the skin in strains.
Smokey Pasta:
1. 2 cups smoke spaghetti squash
2. 1 cup smoke cherry tomatoes
3. 5 tbsp smoked ricotta
4. ¼ cup smoky stock (see duck recipe)
5. 1/8 cup dry red wine
6. 2 tbsp heavy cream
7. Salt and pepper to taste
8. Parsley, finely chopped
9. Grated parmesan
Add smoked tomatoes, stock and wine to a large pan. Let liquid reduce by half. Add heavy cream and spaghetti squash. Continue to cook on high heat until liquid achieves a sauce like consistency. Add salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir until squash noodles are completely coated. Serve immediately and garnish with parmesan/parsley.
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