Let’s Do Lunch: Aria Chef Phillip Taylor's Tomato Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage
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Phillip Taylor isn’t just knowledgeable in the kitchen, he’s knows everything that’s happening in his frying pan, down to the molecular level.
“I studied Pharmacy in University, and was cooking at a restaurant to paying for my studies,” the Australian born Chef de Cuisine at Aria (in Beijing’s China World Hotel) says about how he decided to forgo his lab coat in favour of an apron, adding: “I like the hands on approach to food.”
But just because he prefers the practicality of his current profession, that doesn’t mean he abandoned all that he learned in the laboratory. “I still carry my Pharmacy degree. And I can apply what I learned from it to food,” he says, citing his knowledge of temperature and crystallization as key examples. “I know the exact right temperature to cook a fish, or I know why something in a dessert might be grainy and how to make it smooth. I can make a really smooth ice cream, because I know how crystals form. So on the scientific side, you can really understand what you’re doing, you’re not just doing it because someone told you to. You understand the process.”
Of course, working on today’s dish – a spicy Italian sausage and tomato pasta – doesn’t require one iota of scientific knowledge, or any of Chef Phillip's kitchen expertise. What it does require is the following recipe (we’ll let him worry about the molecular properties).
Ingredients (look for the freshest ingredients on shop.tootoo.cn):
- 4 Italian Sausages
- 2 Tinned Tomatoes
- 1 Small Chili (optional, add more if you’re a chili lover), sliced
- 1 Onion, diced
- 3 Cloves Garlic, finely sliced
- ½ Bunch Basil, sliced
- 150ml White Wine
- Parmesan to serve
- 200gm Dry Pasta (your choice of type)
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Begin by heating a pan and cooking the sausages. Chef Phillip prefers to cut the sausages lengthways, then pan searing them as two halves to get nice caramelization all over the sausage. Then after they are nicely colored he cuts them up and keep them aside for the sauce.
2. Add the onions, chili and garlic into the pan used to cook the sausages, and cook them over medium heat until softened.
3. Turn the heat up and once the pan is hot, add the white wine. Reduce the wine until its almost all evaporates, then add the tinned tomatoes and sausage.
4. Allow the sauce to simmer for 40minutes on a low heat. Finish the sauce with the sliced basil and salt and pepper to taste.
Pasta
1. Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water.
2. Dry pasta differs in cooking time depending on the type you’ve bought, however simply take out a small amount and test.
Added tip: The perfect pasta is cooked al dente, which literally translates from Italian to “bite on the tooth,” meaning you can just feel the pasta when you bite it. There should be a bite, but it shouldn’t be hard.
To Serve:
Toss the cooked pasta through the sauce, re-season to your taste and serve with grated parmesan and enjoy!
About the Author: A ravenous foodie and frequent tbj contributor, Kyle Mullin has been working as a freelance reporter in Beijing since 2011.
Photos: Ken Liu
This series is sponsored by TooToo Organic Farm. Ask your favorite restaurant where they source their food supplies – TooToo Organic Farm can be their reliable choice!
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For more recipes made with TooToo's fresh organic ingredients, check out Chef Robert Cunningham's mango and mint salad and Chef Jun Trinh's pork and shiitake meatloaf, flavorful beef larp and spiced fish cake pasta.