Pasta is a mainstay of my kitchen, something I simply won’t do without. I’ve been known to say that if stranded on a desert island with only one food to eat for the rest of my life, I’d choose pasta, provided I also had butter or oil and salt.

Not the most nutrient-dense pick, of course. But what would I care? I’d prefer to spend the short time I likely had left, relishing those fast carbs and largely empty calories.

It’s the rare pasta variation that I haven’t prepared, or of which I’m unaware. In nearly 20 years of writing and blogging about food, I touted hundreds of recipes, along with free-form uses for noodles, in the Mail Tribune’s food section and my blog, The Whole Dish.

But when I almost convince myself that there’s no new pasta dish under the sun, I run across a recipe like this one from the Chicago Tribune. Crying Bucatini combines Thai and Mediterranean flavors in a way I never would have conceived. Its inclusion of ground lamb, another staple in my home, convinced me that I had to try it, rather than consigning that lamb to another meal of meatballs with spaghetti or Greek pizza.

I couldn’t make the dish without adapting it, of course, because I’m obstinately incapable of accepting most recipes as gospel. I’ve cooked enough ground lamb, for example, to know that I don’t need additional oil for sautéing. Lamb is fatty enough that in a nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron pan, there’s little chance of it sticking. Because I skipped the oil (also stricken here from the original recipe), I also skipped the step that called for draining the browned meat.

The use of hazelnuts also intrigued me and prompted me to buy some new-crop, in-shell hazelnuts when they were abundant in grocery stores around the holidays. But shelling them, of course, is something of a pain, skinning them even more so. I’ve since substituted pistachios, which are just good — maybe better — for much less hassle.

I took the liberty of intensifying the lamb’s savor with fish sauce, which I’ve come to view almost as a multipurpose seasoning. It’s an obvious addition to this recipe’s Thai red-pepper paste and lime juice.

Similarly, I played up the lime by incorporating its zest with the juice in the melted butter. Yet in the end, I still craved more acid. So when I reheated leftovers, I mixed up more pepper-tomato paste with a few dashes of fish sauce and a good dollop of tamarind concentrate. The sugar called for here is superfluous on my palate.

The dish’s Thai sensibility would be even more apparent by substituting coconut oil for the butter, only in about half the quantity because this dish doesn’t want for fat. And while you’re at it, use rice noodles instead of wheat. It won’t be low-carb but at least it would be gluten-free!

Such adoration of pasta makes me a fitting ambassador for Pastabilities Unlimited, the latest project of the Medford youth nonprofit Kids Unlimited. One of my duties as communication and marketing director is selling KU’s freshly made artisan pasta weekly at Medford’s farmers market. I’m quick with recipe suggestions, including Cacio e Pepe, a beloved Roman dish that KU has served at fundraising events. 

Come see me Thursdays in Hawthorne park for some fresh mealtime “pastabilities”!

Crying Bucatini

1 cup shelled and skinned hazelnuts

1 pound ground lamb

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

3 to 4 tablespoons Thai red pepper paste (fermented or roasted)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 tablespoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

Kosher salt, as needed

1 pound bucatini

6 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 cup each, coarsely chopped fresh: mint, cilantro, basil

Roll the nuts onto a rimmed baking sheet. Slide into a 400-degree oven and roast until golden and fragrant, shaking once or twice, for about 8 minutes. Coarsely chop. (A food processor cuts down on fugitives.)

In a wide skillet over medium-high heat, add the lamb; cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until just browned, for about 5 minutes. Scrape into a colander to drain off fat. Return meat to skillet. Lower heat to medium. Stir in the garlic, pepper paste, tomato paste, fish sauce, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Cook for 1 minute.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until tender but firm. Scoop out 1 cup cooking water. Drain pasta.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the lime juice and 3 tablespoons of pasta cooking water. Boil for 1 minute. Add the nuts and cook for 30 seconds.

Toss hazelnut sauce with cooked pasta. Add lamb and toss. Add the herbs and toss. Taste for salt. If pasta looks dry, add a little more reserved pasta cooking water. Enjoy.

Makes 6 servings.

Cacio e Pepe

1 pound pasta of choice

Salt, as needed

1 cup grated pecorino Romano, plus more as needed for serving

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons black pepper, plus more if needed

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and stir to submerge and separate pieces. Cook uncovered until pasta is just tender (al dente), according to package instructions. Reserve about 1/2 cup pasta cooking water for finishing sauce.

Drain pasta in a colander. Pour drained pasta into a heated serving bowl. Add the cheese, oil and pepper. Stir until ingredients are evenly distributed. Add about 1/4 cup reserved cooking water to moisten pasta slightly — it should appear creamy, not oily. If necessary, add a bit more pasta water.

Taste, and stir in more pepper if needed (pepper should be a main flavor). Serve immediately, with additional cheese on the side.

Makes 6 servings.