Do the Rigatoni Thing
A pasta challenge is answered at Santina.
When Mario Carbone asked Chef Ashley Eddie to create a pasta dish that “reminded him of mole” but “wasn’t too Mexican,” Eddie basically did a Linda Carter-inspired Wonder Woman spin and said, “You mean something like this?”
Rigatoni, Roasted Pumpkin Seed Pesto, Guajillo Chile, Garlic, and Anchovy
Chef Ashley Eddie of Santina
The Brooklyn-born chef makes the dish for her menu at Santina by frying guajillo chiles with shallots and garlic, then blends in tomato paste, pumpkin seed oil, and crushed, darkly toasted pumpkin seeds. On fire, Eddie melts anchovies into garlic oil, tosses in the reserved sauce, cooked rigatoni, parsley, and lemon juice, and then finishes the dish with shavings of ricotta salata.
Upon presenting the dish to Carbone for critique, he declared the umami-rich bowl the best pasta he’d ever tasted. It went to the menu straightaway, no alterations needed. Eddie dreams of bringing her love of Latin flavors back to Brooklyn someday—in a restaurant with Spike Lee vibes and Major Food Group backing (in case anyone is listening). If she keeps turning out such flavor-packed, smart cooking, she may get there sooner than she thinks.
