Perfecting Pasta Recipes at Home with ‘The Sporkful’ Host Dan Pashman

Samsung has teamed up with “The Sporkful” podcast host Dan Pashman for a cooking demonstration with Samsung home appliances in New York City, showcasing how Bespoke AI appliances can help home cooks experiment with new recipes.

Pashman says he developed all the recipes in his acclaimed new cookbook, “Anything’s Pastable,” on his Samsung Freestanding Stainless Steel 5 Burner Gas Range — including his standout spaghetti all'assassina, a crispy, charred pasta dish he perfected after traveling to Puglia, Italy.

“It took me nearly three years from start to finish,” Pashman said of the cookbook, which was inspired by his invention of a viral new pasta shape,cascatelli, which was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of the Year. After seeing fans post photos of cascatelli mostly paired with a few classic sauces -- “A few party animals made pesto,” he says -- he decided to focus his book on lesser-known recipes and new flavor combinations.

“I realized that most Americans have a short list of a few classic pasta recipes in their repertoire.” None of the best-known Italian classics are featured in the cookbook.

“I love those dishes, but the world didn’t need more recipes for them,” he said. “Instead, the book has a few very obscure Italian pasta dishes that are unknown to most Americans, along with a whole bunch of recipes that use ingredients from a range of cuisines — adding new flavors and textures to your pasta experience!” 

One highlight is his version of spaghetti all’assassina, which means "assassin's spaghetti.” The dish involves pan-frying spaghetti in spicy tomato sauce until it develops crispy, charred spots, which Pashman calls “amazing.”

“I traveled to the restaurant in Bari where it was invented, then ate the dish all around the city to gain a deeper appreciation for the many variations,” he said. “Then I came home and tried to reproduce my favorite version of spaghetti all'assassina on my Samsung range to create a recipe for the dish that would work for home cooks.”

After “five or six” rounds of testing, he says his version evokes the same flavors and textures found in Italy.

“I’ve heard from people who’ve eaten the dish in Bari that my recipe made them feel like they were back there,” he said.

Pashman hopes the book will help home cooks broaden their pasta horizons.

“There are so many incredible pasta recipes that don't involve tomato sauce,” he said. “My book includes everything from kimchi carbonara and cacio e pepe with chili crisp to spinach artichoke dip lasagna and delicious pasta salads galore. It's geared towards home cooks so I think it has something for everyone.” 

Pashman credits his Samsung Freestanding Stainless Steel Gas Range — now more than twelve years old — as an essential part of developing the book.

“It’s high quality and incredibly reliable. It almost feels like part of the family — I use it just about every day,” he said, joking that he should “probably give it a name.”

But after previewing Samsung’s latest Bespoke AI appliances, he was “blown away.” 

“It really feels like the future is here,” he said. “The Bespoke AI fridge with AI Vision Inside can identify ingredients inside, suggest recipes using those ingredients, then send whatever ingredients are missing to a shopping list on your phone. And it can also send the recipe to your Samsung oven so it knows what to do!”

As for what’s next? “I’d really like to invent a new shape of tortilla chip,” Pashman said.