Category Archives: Pasta/Rice/Soups (Primi Piatti)

Listen up! We’re making Orecchiette!

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It’s been quite some time since we made pasta from scratch, so, I thought today would be a good day to make another. Today’s pasta comes to us from Puglia (Apulia), a District along Italy’s Southeast coast, including the “heel of the boot.” Meaning little ears, orecchiette is another pasta named for that which it resembles. And if you’re willing to accept that tortellini were modeled after the navel of Venus, you should have no problem accepting that orecchiette look like little ears.

Coming from Puglia, it’s a safe bet to say that the dough should be made with durum flour and water. And if you want to make authentic orecchiette, that’s what you should do. The fact is that Mom’s family, the Bartolini, came from Marche where eggs are used to make pasta. That’s how I learned to make pasta dough and that’s the recipe I shared here. Now, I’ve tried to make pasta using semolina but certainly not enough times to get a “feel” for the dough like I have with Mom’s pasta dough. So, I now have a container of semolina flour in my kitchen, along with containers for whole wheat,  spelt, bread, cake, and all-purpose flours. Given my poor track record with semolina, I just didn’t feel like buying a bag of durum to add to my flour collection. (FYI, semolina and durum are not the same flour, although both are made from durum wheat.) So, though this pasta shape is pugliese, from Puglia, the pasta dough is marchigiani, from Le Marche.

Now that’s settled, let’s get on with the show. You’ll find that orecchiette are really quite simple to make, albeit repetitive. There are no shortcuts and it is just complicated enough to require your attention throughout. In short, you can watch television or make orecchiette — but you cannot do both at the same time. The process involves taking a golf ball-sized piece of dough and rolling it into a long thin rope. The pasta is then cut, molded using your thumb, and set aside. Easy peasy! Now form another 350 or so “ears” and you’ll have a pound of pasta.

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Take a piece of dough and roll it into a ball about the size of a golf ball. Be sure to cover the remaining dough to prevent its drying out.

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Remember Play-Doh? Roll out a snake.

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My snakes were about 1/3 to 1/2 inch wide. (See Notes below.)

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Cut the dough into equally sized segments of about 1/2 inch in length.

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Using the tip of a blunt knife, smash the dough segment and draw it towards you. This will flatten the segment and cause it to curl over the knife. Keep a supply of flour nearby to occasionally coat the tip of the knife, as well as for your thumb in the next step.

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Invert the curled segment, pulling it over your thumb in the process.

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Remove it from you thumb to reveal a perfectly formed orecchietta.

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A look at the flip side. I found it best to store them cup-side down until dried otherwise the pasta’s “walls” tended to collapse, leaving a flat disk instead of a concave ear.

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Notes

You must take into account the size of your thumb when rolling the dough and cutting it into segments. Although I prefer my orecchiette small, my thumbs are too large to accomplish that and attempts to use another finger tip didn’t work out. As a result, I needed to make my dough roll a little on the thick side. I’m sure that if I made orecchiette more often, I’d eventually learn to make smaller ones. Even so, freshly made “large” orecchiette are still better than those in a box.

Being homemade, part of this pasta’s charm is its lack of uniformity. Don’t obsess and try to get all of the “little ears” to be the same shape and size. You’ll find that those created near the end of your dough supply are far more alike than the ones you made at the start — and that’s just fine. I prefer to think of my orecchiette as being rustic. You should, too.

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Coming next week …

Next week I’ll post the pugliese recipe for orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe, pictured above.

By the time many of you read this post, I’ll be well on my way to Michigan. Please understand that while there, I can read your posts and comments but making my own comment or reply is unbelievably slow.  Most may have to wait until I return home.

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By any other name …

“Honor”

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Calamarata with Shrimp and Mussels

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It’s getting to be routine. I go to “my” Italian market with a list of items to buy. Once I’ve finished the vegetable portion of my romp, I take a casual stroll toward the fish monger. I just cannot pass that display case without stopping to check out the day’s catch. And that’s when it happens.

No matter who is behind that counter, I’m greeted with a friendly, “Hello. Are you looking for anything in particular?” or something to that effect. I explain that I’m just looking and, to be polite, I ask about an item on display. “You’ve got branzini (Mediterranean sea bass)?” “Where do you get your vongole (clams)?” “Are these cozze (mussels) Mediterranean?” “Do you have anguille (eels) at Christmas?” You know. Just being polite. Maybe it’s the way I pronounce “vongole” or something but once my question’s been answered, the conversation turns to shell-fish. A few weeks ago, it was the vongole, the “freshest in town.” And I bought some. The following week it was vongole again and I would have left with another bag of the little darlings had it not been well over 90˚. With a few more stops to make, I wasn’t sure if I’d make it home without melting; those clams didn’t stand a chance. The Friday before last, as I approached the counter, I noticed I was alone. The fish mongers were nowhere to be seen. Great! I could ogle the octopi, peruse the perch, savor the salmon, and scan the squid, all at my leisure and with no fear of leaving with a bag of seafood. Soon I spied a sign announcing a sale on mussels and I turned a bit to get a better view of the black beauties. That’s when he appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. “Those mussels are good, real good … but … these here are much better. They’re larger and-”  Resigned, I stopped him in mid-sentence and told him to just get me a pound. Why fight the inevitable?

While he bagged my mollusks, my mind raced. How would I prepare them and with what, if anything? Since mussels have such a strong flavor, I reasoned, they could easily stand up to a red sauce. Shrimp are, also, strong-tasting, I thought, and I bought a pound of them, too. Vongole, though, would never be able to compete in this mix, so, I bid “Ciao!” to the fish monger. I quickly decided to make a “fresh” sauce and by that I mean one that simmers only a brief amount of time. I want to taste fresh tomato and I headed back into the produce area to buy 9 large plum tomatoes. Now to find the dish’s most important component: the pasta. I headed over to the pasta aisle (actually, it’s a pasta aisle and a half!) and the choice was easy. Since the mussels and shrimp were large, I wanted my pasta to be, too. I selected calamarata, so named because they resembles large calamari (squid) rings.  It certainly didn’t hurt that they’d be used in a seafood dish. Leaving the pasta aisle, I mentally inventoried my fridge and knew I was set to go. I finished my shopping and headed home, munching on my reward, a cannoli.

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Calamarata

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When preparing today’s dish, remember to “Think Big!” Calamarata are a large pasta and everything included with it needs to be large, as well. So, the onions aren’t diced but chopped and rather large, at that. Once peeled, divide the tomatoes into 2 groups. The larger group, about ⅔ of the total, are seeded and chopped into chunks. These will add texture. The remaining ⅓, once seeded, is puréed in a food processor. These will be the basis for the sauce. The only things diced are the parsley, basil, and garlic. Even so, when garnishing the dish before serving, sprinkle a few hand-torn basil and parsley leaves. Most importantly, if you, too, want that fresh tomato taste, do not let the sauce simmer for longer than 30 minutes. The “simmer clock” starts the minute the tomatoes hit the pan. Cheese, by the way, would not be used with this dish.

And if you do like that fresh tomato taste, check out this recipe for Pesto Trapanese. It will take you longer to cook the pasta than it will to make this pesto and the taste is incredible.

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Calamarata with Shrimp and Mussels Recipe

(Calamarata con Gamberetto e Cozze)

Ingredients

  • 1 lb calamarata pasta
  • 1 lb fresh mussels, beards removed and scrubbed
  • 1 lb large  (21-25 count) shrimp, peeled and de-veined
  • 9 or 10 large plum tomatoes – divided
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes, more of less to taste
  • 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • splash of white wine
  • 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped, more for garnish
  • 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped, more for garnish
  • ½ tbsp marjoram
  • 2 tbsp capers
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Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. While waiting, use a paring knife to cut a small “X” into the bottom of each tomato. Once the water boils, place the scored tomatoes into the water and blanch for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the tomatoes and place in a bowl of ice water. Once cooled to touch, peel each, beginning at its “X”, before quartering and seeding it. Place aside.
  2. Take about ⅔ of the tomatoes and coarsely chop into chunks. Puree the rest of the tomatoes using a food processor, blender, or stick blender.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan over med-high heat. Add the pepper flakes and, after a minute, add the onions. Sauté until translucent.
  4. Add the garlic and continue sautéing for about a minute more. Add a splash of white wine and reduce for a minute or two.
  5. Add all the tomatoes, season with salt & pepper, and maintain a medium simmer.
  6. Begin heating the water for your pasta. The calamarata pasta that I prepared needed 16 minutes to cook. Check your package’s instructions.
  7. When there are 5 minutes to go, add the parsley, basil, & marjoram to the frying pan, stir, and then add the mussels to the sauce and place a cover on the pan.
  8. 3 minutes later, add the shrimp and replace the cover.
  9. If you prefer to serve the mussels shelled, see Notes below.
  10. At the 5 minute mark, reserve some pasta water, drain the pasta and add it to the sauce pan. Add the capers and mix to evenly coat the pasta.
  11. Pour the calamarata into a serving bowl, garnish with torn basil & parsley leaves, and serve.

Variations

This is really a basic tomato sauce with seafood added. As I mentioned early on, I wanted a fresh sauce so I didn’t let the tomatoes simmer for long. You certainly may allow your tomatoes to simmer longer, if that’s your preference. Just remember that there’s no turning back once you put the pasta into the boiling water, and that’s regardless of the pasta you’ve chosen to cook. And once the mussels are put into the sauce, you have about 5 minutes to go. The cooking instructions on the pasta’s package are your friends.

Notes

As always, be sure to reserve some pasta water in case your sauce needs it. Be aware, though, that the mussels will give off some flavorful liquid during the cooking process. You may not need as much pasta water as you think.

Once the shrimp have been in the sauce for about a minute, I remove the pan’s cover and begin removing the mussels from their shells. I usually leave a few in the shell just for presentation in the final dish. Once all are removed, it is far easier to stir the sauce to insure the shrimp are evenly cooked on both sides.

I usually drain and add the pasta to the sauce when the shrimp are just shy of being fully cooked. They will finish cooking when mixed with the hot pasta and this will insure that neither shrimp nor mussels are over-cooked and chewy when served.

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By any other name …

There are two more of “my girls” but neither is doing well enough to make a public appearance. If they return from Betty Ford respond to treatment in time for Fall, I’ll be sure to share a photo or two. Before moving on to the rest of the roses, there are these, located at the foot of the bed, right next to Judy. Where else?

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Lady’s Slipper Orchids

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Baked Rigatoni

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Rigatoni al Forno

Yes, I realize for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Summer is in full swing, with temps soaring well into the 90’s and, incredibly for some, beyond. I, also, know that for many, firing up the oven isn’t necessarily something we’re prone to do when our homes are already sizzling. So, why am I featuring a baked pasta dish today? The answer is simple. Mozzarella. I had plenty of mozzarella in my fridge, left over from the first round of mozzarella making and I needed to do something with it. And lest there be any doubt, when I have a surplus of something, anything, my go-to dish is pasta of some sort. So, considering that mozzarella “performs” so well when baked, I decided to make an “al Forno” recipe.

Growing up, rigatoni was a frequent “guest” at our dinner table, although we kids called them “flat tires.”  I don’t recall Mom ever baking rigatoni, though. It wasn’t until I was on my own that I started experimenting with baking penne and rigatoni. Generally, these dishes are easy to assemble, with left-overs that keep well and are easily re-heated. Perfect for my one person household. So, when presented with a bounty of mozzarella, I chose flat tires to help me out.

Normally, when I prepare a baked pasta, I coat the cooked pasta with sauce and cheese of some sort before topping it off with shredded mozzarella. With this dish, however, I reverse things a bit. Butter and Pecorino Romano cheese are used to coat the partially cooked rigatoni but, as you’ll soon see, the mozzarella is chopped into cubes and stirred into the pasta. Once mixed, Asiago cheese is used to top off the dish before baking. Doing so gives one both contrasting flavors and textures. The strong-tasting Asiago, melted until golden, hides not just the sharp Pecorino Romano but the gooey milder tasting mozzarella cubes spread throughout the pasta, as well. It’s a three cheese combination that I enjoy well enough that I don’t really mind turning on the oven in a heat wave.

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Rigatoni al Forno Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 lb rigatoni
  • 1 quart tomato sauce (vegetarians use marinara)
  • 8 oz Mozzarella
  • 8 oz Asiago cheese
  • 4 tbsp butter, cut into chunks + a little more to grease the baking dish (optional)
  • ¾ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
  • fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350˚F.
  2. Lightly grease a 9 X 13″ baking dish with cooking spray or butter.
  3. Add rigatoni to a large pot of heavily salted, boiling water. Cook the pasta for half of the time suggested on the package for al dente pasta. Drain and hold until needed.
  4. Warm sauce and maintain a low simmer.
  5. Slice and cut the mozzarella cheese into ½ inch cubes. Set aside.
  6. Use a box grater to shred the Asiago cheese. Set aside.
  7. Once the pasta has been semi-cooked and drained, return the rigatoni to the now empty pot.
  8. Add the butter and then the Pecorino Romano to the hot rigatoni, stirring after each until the pasta is well-coated.
  9. Add the tomato sauce to the pot and stir.
  10. Add the mozzarella to the pot and gently stir until evenly distributed.
  11. Place the pasta in a greased 9 x 13″ baking dish. Evenly sprinkle the shredded Asiago cheese on top.
  12. Bake in pre-heated 350˚F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the Asiago cheese is melted to your liking.
  13. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving, garnished with parsley, if desired.

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Someone forgot the parsley.

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Variations

For whatever reason, some may find Asiago cheese unappealing. If that’s true for you, there are other cheeses that can be used to top off your dish. Fontina is a good alternative, as is ricotta salata. The choice is really yours, just try to find a cheese that offers a contrasting flavor to the mozzarella. You won’t be disappointed.

Although I used rigatoni for this dish, you can certainly use any of the tube-shaped pastas. Just avoid the ribbon-like pastas. They are not well suited to baked dishes of this type.

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By any other name … 

“Queen Elizabeth”

(Because there is no King George III rose.)

Happy 4th of July!

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Straw and Hay Pasta

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Paglia e FienoToday’s recipe is another in a series celebrating the Spring harvest. Thus far, we’ve prepared dishes that included artichokes, asparagus, and ramps. Today, I’m going to share a recipe that comes from Lazio, Rome’s district, and that features freshly shelled peas and prosciutto in a cheese-flavored cream sauce. And if that hasn’t grabbed your attention, the pasta’s two colors surely will. This dish, you see, is named after the pasta used to make it, but calling it “Giallo e Verde”, “Yellow & Green”, would be so not Italian. As I’ve mentioned in the past, when it comes to naming pasta, the Italians have always let their imaginations run wild — and this pasta is no different. Here, it’s not yellow pasta but straw, paglia, while the green pasta is hay, fieno. Ready in minutes, Paglia e Fieno is another great tasting pasta to add to your arsenal, whether served as a primo piatto or main course.

This was a favorite of both families in the old two-flat every Spring. Unlike today, frozen foods were just beginning to appear in stores, so, making this dish meant shelling peas. I can remember helping Mom shell them —  until I grew up a little and the novelty wore off. After that, I made myself scarce when the metal colander and bag of peas appeared. Still, even once Bird’s Eye became a household name, fresh peas continued to be used to make this dish each Spring. As good as frozen peas may be, you just cannot beat the taste of fresh and if there’s one thing to be said about the best of Italian cooking, it’s that it relies upon the freshest of ingredients. To that end, my Zia and I continue to enjoy this dish every Spring and it wouldn’t be Easter at her youngest Son’s home if Paglia e Fieno isn’t served.

As mentioned earlier, this dish’s name comes from the coloring of the pasta. Green-colored noodles can be found in many groceries, some even packaged with yellow and bearing the name of  Straw & Hay. You certainly needn’t buy it if you don’t want to. Just using Mom’s pasta dough recipe as-is, or a fraction thereof, will give you the straw. To make hay — whether or not the Sun shines — add a couple of tablespoons of cooked, chopped spinach to the eggs before adding them to the flour when you make the dough. (Mom & Zia used spinach baby food to make pasta verde but spinach baby food is now only sold when combined with peas or beans. The color, as a result, isn’t as deep.) Moving away from the pasta, the thickness of the prosciutto to be used is totally up to you. For the dish pictured, I was lucky enough to be at my Greek market just as the deli was putting out a package of prosciutto end slices. At about ⅛ inch thick, these were easily chopped and, for my taste, stood up to the cream sauce very well. You can ask your deli to cut the prosciutto thicker or, if you prefer to use it thinly sliced, shred it before adding it to the pan.  Lastly, be sure to set aside some pasta water. The cream sauce can “seize up”, meaning get too dry, particularly if you’re timing is off and it is left waiting for the pasta to finish cooking. Adding a splash of pasta water can revive it, as well as later, should it seize up again once the cheese is added.

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Paglia e Fieno

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Paglia e Fieno Recipe

Ingredients

  • ½ lb (225g) yellow fettuccine (linguine, tagliatelle, or pappardelle may be substituted)
  • ½ lb (225g) green-colored pasta of the same type as the yellow pasta
  • 3 tbsp (45ml) butter
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped fine
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup (236ml) heavy cream
  • 1 cup (140g) fresh peas
  • 4 to 6 oz (110 to 170g) prosciutto
  • ½ cup (60g) Pecorino Romano cheese, grated — more for serving
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • fresh parsley, chopped — for garnish

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil for cooking the fettuccine. Time it so that the pasta is just shy of al dente about the time that the peas are cooked to your liking. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
  2. Heat oil and butter in a large, deep frying pan over med-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook for another minute.
  3. Add heavy cream and simmer a few minutes until slightly reduced.
  4. Add the prosciutto and peas, stirring till well-combined.  If sauce becomes too thick, add a little pasta water to thin it.
  5. When pasta is just shy of al dente and peas are sufficiently cooked, taste to check seasoning and add the cooked pasta to the frying pan. Stir well. If necessary, add some pasta water to thin the sauce.
  6. Remove from heat, add grated cheese, mix thoroughly, and move to serving platter.
  7. Serve immediately, garnished with grated cheese, parsley, and cracked pepper.
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Variations

This dish is just as good when prepared with pancetta, bacon, or ham in place of the prosciutto. Because they’re raw, though, be sure to saute the pancetta or bacon with the onions before adding the cream and peas. And if someone at your table doesn’t like peas, other vegetables can be substituted. Asparagus is commonly used, as are sliced crimini mushrooms. No matter what you choose to add, be sure it’s fresh and you cannot go wrong.

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Fold, Cut, Unfurl Fettuccine Verde

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Notes

You probably noticed that salt wasn’t added to the recipe until the end. That’s because some of the ingredients can be pretty salty in their own right. The salt content of the prosciutto — or it’s substitutes of pancetta, bacon, and ham — can vary greatly. The cheese and amount of pasta water you use can, also, add a fair amount of salt to the final dish. So, although I’ll season the dish liberally with pepper throughout its cooking, I’ll only use salt minimally, if at all, until I’ve tasted the dish at the very end. Even then, I may not add any. Again, let your own palate be your guide.

Spinach is not the only ingredient used to color pasta. I’ve used tomato paste to make pasta rosso (red), and I’m aware that beet juice can be used to make it purple, pasta viola, while squash is used to give pasta an orange hue, pasta arancione. And no discussion of pasta coloring would be complete without mentioning pasta nera which gets its black color from the ink of squid (calamari) or cuttlefish (seppia). If you find that a different color palette tickles your palate, you may wish to check out my recipe for Tricolor Risotto, which uses pesto and tomato paste to create a risotto platter that bears the colors of the Italian flag.

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By any other name …

“Opening Night”

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Fettuccine with Asparagus, Artichokes, and Ramps

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It’s déjà vu all over again. Those who get email notifications of my posts may recognize today’s blog entry from an errant notification sent out 2 weeks go, an embarrassing case of premature publication. Let that be a lesson for us all. Be sure to change the “Publish immediately” option to a date in the future, lest you post prematurely. And to think, one of the reasons that this entry was still in editing was because I didn’t have an introduction. Ha!

Moving right along, last week’s post shared two of Mom’s recipes for preparing baby artichokes. I had originally intended to include today’s pasta recipe with those but the post’s length became an issue. The week prior’s post, Makin’ Feta, was really quite long and I didn’t wish to inflict 2 long posts in a row upon you. Besides, in a few weeks we’ll be making mozzarella. Those posts are going to rival feta for being the most lengthy on this site, so,  I’ll try to keep the posts short for you until then.

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Although it took place in a downpour, my first trip to the area’s best farmers market was a good one. In a mad dash to one stall, I bought this year’s rosemary bush, some freshly picked asparagus, and wild ramps. The sprint & transaction took under 5 minutes. Max barely had a chance to get comfortable in my seat in the car before I was telling him to move over. Once home, with everything unpacked and put away, the question became what to do with the morning’s bounty. Well, give me some veggies and I’ll make a pasta. This time I went back to an old favorite for inspiration and the result was my Pasta Primavera.

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Fettuccine With Asparagus, Artichokes, and Ramps

La Primavera is Italian for the Spring and today’s pasta features 3 vegetables that are synonymous with Spring: asparagus, artichokes, and ramps. Although ramps are no longer in season here, my Friends to the North may still be able to find them. If not, feel free to substitute a few Spring onions, thinly sliced, reserving the green ends for garnish. There’s still plenty of asparagus available at the market and, as you may recall from last week, I’ve a nice stash of artichokes in the deep freeze.  So, with these ingredients, this pasta will just about prepare itself.  Now, as much as I enjoy a cream sauce, it would only mask rather than accent the delicate ramps. As a result, I prepared this pasta similar to Aglio e Olio, but with ramps used instead of garlic and with artichokes and asparagus added to the mix. As such, the dish is certainly simple enough to prepare but its success lies in the timing. Remember it is better to have the sauce ready and waiting for the pasta than the reverse. No one likes mushy pasta.

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To begin, prep the vegetables. The baby artichokes should be cleaned, trimmed, and blanched. Thaw if frozen.  The asparagus, if large, should be peeled and all should be chopped into pieces about 1 inch long. Reserve the tips. The ramp leaves should be removed from the bulbs, washed, dried, and hand-torn.The ramp bulbs should have the root-end trimmed, washed, and thinly sliced. Use as much of each vegetable as you prefer, given the amount of pasta to be served.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, add about 4 tbsp of olive oil. When hot, add as many red pepper flakes (or dried red pepper) as you like and sauté for about a minute before adding the trimmed, sliced ramps. Continue sautéing for about a minute before adding the cleaned & blanched artichokes. Season with salt & pepper and continue to sauté until the artichokes are cooked to your liking.

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Meanwhile, remember the timing concern as you bring a pot of water to boil. If you’re using fresh, home-made pasta, the fettuccine will cook in but a couple of minutes. Add the chopped asparagus spears to the boiling water when you add the salt & fettuccine. If using store-bought dried pasta, package directions will usually advise a cooking time of from 5 to 11 minutes. Depending upon how crisp you like your asparagus, add it to the pot with the fettuccine 2 to 5 minutes before the pasta is to be cooked al dente.

When the pasta is just shy of al dente, add a little pasta water, the asparagus tips, and the ramp leaves to the frying pan & stir. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water as you drain and add the pasta to the frying pan. Mix well and by now the pasta should be al dente. Take the pan off of the heat and add as much grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese as you like but not so much that the ramps’ flavor is overwhelmed. Mix well, adding enough of the reserved pasta water as needed to fully moisten the fettuccine. Serve garnished with additional grated cheese, chopped parsley, and, of course, freshly cracked pepper.

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Fold, Cut, & Unfurl Fettuccine

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One More Thing

Aglio e Olio is quick to prepare and a very versatile recipe. In fact, the very day I made this dish for supper, Claire, of Promenade Plantings, shared her delicious recipe for Aglio e Olio using her home-grown, purple sprouting broccoli instead of the vegetables that I used. Not but a few days later, Celi over at The Kitchen’s Garden made her tasty version of Aglio e Olio using Chinese cabbage and thinly sliced sausage. See? If you learn how to make this basic pasta, you can use it to take full advantage of a variety of in-season vegetables throughout the year. What? No vegetables? Grab some shrimp. I told you it’s versatile!

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Pappardelle with Spinach, Mascarpone and Pecorino Romano Cheeses

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Last month, I posted instructions for making mascarpone cheese at home. Within that post, I included pictures of suggested uses for the cheese. One of those dishes pictured is today’s recipe, pappardelle with spinach, mascarpone, and Pecorino Romano cheese.

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Hand-Cut Pappardelle with Spinach, Mascarpone and Pecorino Romano Cheeses

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I started making mascarpone cheese a couple of years ago, shortly after I made my first batch of cream cheese. When I went to buy the dairy products needed to make the cheese that first time, I mistakenly bought quarts instead of pints. Once home, I read through the recipe just prior to beginning. That’s when I noticed my error but, at that point, what was I to do? One way or another that whipping cream was going to be used so I might as well make a double-batch of mascarpone. So, I did — and ended up with 2 lbs. of the creamy cheese! With a shelf-life of about 1 week, I needed more ways to cook with mascarpone, and fast. One can only eat so many jalapeño poppers or berries with mascarpone in 7 days.

Searching the web, I soon learned that there were a number of pasta recipes that use mascarpone as the base for a cream sauce. It makes perfect sense, for it’s nothing but cream. Well, after a couple of minutes, I came across a recipe by Jamie Oliver. Now, I’ve followed a few of his recipes and always had good results — and this recipe was no different. And although I’ve made a few changes to the original recipe, the basics remain the same: pasta and spinach are bathed in a rich, nutmeg-flavored mascarpone-cream sauce. It’s as good as advertised and now, whenever I make mascarpone, I make sure to reserve some for this dish.

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Pappardelle with Spinach, Mascarpone and Pecorino Romano Cheeses

Ingredients

  • 1 lb pappardelle
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ to 1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
  • 9 oz pkg (255 g) baby spinach, chopped
  • 5 oz mascarpone
  • 4 oz whipping cream
  • 10 – 12 basil leaves, chopped
  • ½ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
  • pasta water
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • grated Pecorino Romano cheese
  • cracked black pepper (optional)

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Directions

  1. Cook the pappardelle according to package directions. If using home-made, be aware that it will cook in a few minutes. Time the pasta so that it is finished when the spinach-cream sauce is ready.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, melt the butter in the olive oil over med-high heat. Add the garlic and nutmeg and sauté for about a minute.
  3. Add the spinach and continue cooking until the it’s fully wilted and much of the liquid has boiled away. Season with salt & pepper.
  4. Add whipping cream and mascarpone, stirring until well combined. Add a little pasta water to slightly thin the spinach-cream sauce. Bring to a simmer. Season with salt & pepper, to taste.
  5. Drain the cooked pasta and add to the frying pan. Stir well to combine.
  6. Add the basil and Pecorino Romano and stir well. If pasta seizes (too dry), add enough pasta water to moisten the pasta to your liking.
  7. Serve garnished with a good sprinkling of grated Pecorino Romano cheese and optional cracked black pepper.
Inspired by Jamie Oliver
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Fold, Cut, Unfurl

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Coming Attractions

In the weeks ahead, I’ll revisit the mascarpone post to share recipes for the berry parfaits and the jalapeño poppers that were pictured in that post. In the meantime, there will be a post on dog treats and, as promised, I’ll show you all how to make feta cheese. Though a little more challenging than any that we’ve made thus far, making feta cheese is certainly within the capabilities of virtually all who read this post. Believe me, if I can make it, so can you.

One More Thing

As sometimes happens in the blogosphere, a fellow blogger posted another pasta with mascarpone recipe today. Posted in A Dash of Sugar and Spice, Stefanie’s recipe features shrimp as well as the flavors of lemon and garlic. So, if my recipe today isn’t for you, perhaps hers will be.

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You, too, can make Pizzoccheri Pasta at home!

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Today, I will once again stray from the Bartolini recipe file and show you how to make another pasta. This one, made with buckwheat, is called pizzoccheri, and originated in the most northern part of the Italian peninsula.  I first heard of this pasta, and its namesake dish, from a fellow blogger “MusingMar” when she shared the recipe for this unusual dish last February in her blog, Life Through the Kitchen Window. If you’ve not met Mar, I hope you take a few minutes to visit her WordPress “home”. Similar to my documenting my family’s recipes for future Bartolini, Mar is gathering her recipes as a gift for her children. And what a gift it will be! Her blog features  delicious recipes that are well-written, easy to follow, and beautifully photographed. One day, her kids will thank her but, in the meantime, we’re welcome to have a peak and even “borrow” a few.

When Mar posted her recipe for pizzoccheri, she called it “Italian Comfort” — and is it ever! This pasta dish features potatoes and cabbage, with some butter, garlic, and sage thrown in for good measure. Oh! Did I mention the Fontina and Parmesan cheeses? Yes, this is one hearty dish, made even more so by its buckwheat noodles. And this is where I got involved. When Mar posted her recipe, she mentioned that she makes it with regular fettuccine since she’s been unable to find buckwheat noodles. She asked if I could be of help. Well, I love a challenge, so, of course I agreed.

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"Italian Comfort"

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First, I searched the web and learned that the dish originated along Italy’s border with Switzerland. As Mario Batali is quick to point out, the northern districts of Italy use eggs and “double zero” flour  in their pasta dough and, as you travel south, the flour is mixed with semolina and water is used with the eggs. When you get to the very south, the dough can be all semolina with little or no egg used at all. Well, since this pasta came from the extreme north, chances are its dough was all double zero flour and eggs, without any semolina or water used. Knowing that, I began searching the web and weeded out recipes that didn’t seem to have originated in the north. One memorable recipe used Grappa and Vermouth!?!? Seeing that, I decided to go ahead and trust my own instincts.

Based roughly on Mom’s dough recipe, I used a 4 to 1 ratio, meaning 2 cups of buckwheat flour and ½ cup of  all-purpose (AP) flour. I also used 3 eggs but the dough was too dry and I had to add some liquid. An egg would have been too much so I added about 2 tbsp of water to the food processor. After it rested for 30 minutes, I treated it like I would any pasta dough and cut the pasta by hand. In all, I ended up with a little over a pound of pizzoccheri pasta. While they cooked up just fine, the pasta broke into small pieces when everything was assembled for the oven and, although the finished dish tasted great, it certainly wasn’t the most appealing thing I’ve ever served myself. Not only that, since I used the entire batch of pizzoccheri pasta in the dish, I had plenty — and I do mean plenty — of pizzoccheri to eat during the following week. As luck would have it, pizzoccheri week was followed by the boiled dinner days of March. One could say that I enjoyed more than my fair share of cabbage during that time period and pizzoccheri was off of the menu for a spell.

Finally, this past Friday I decided to try again. Having spoken with Zia, we agreed that my first attempt failed because it needed more gluten to hold the noodles together and that I rolled the dough too thin.  This time around, I used 2 parts buckwheat flour to 1 part AP flour. Again, I only used eggs and the dough handled much better, although still not as easy as regular pasta dough. Once the dough was made, I followed Mar’s recipe and this time the noodles “survived”. This pizzoccheri was not only delicious but it looked great, too. Success!

Today’s recipe is from that final, successful attempt. Although I only made 12 oz. of pasta, you can easily adjust the recipe to make more or less, depending upon your needs. As mentioned above, use a ratio of 2 parts buckwheat flour to one part AP flour and I estimate 1 egg is needed for every 75g of flour. Be aware that buckwheat flour is heavier than AP flour and that’s why I used weight, rather than volume, measurements the second time around. (Where volume measurements are given in the recipe that follows, they are my best guess approximation.) Your dough will be a little more moist than normal pasta dough but should not be sticky. This dough dries faster than most and the extra moisture will be needed as your roll it out and cut the pasta. Work quickly and do not roll it as thin as you normally would for fettuccine or pappardelle. Additionally, do not allow the sheets to dry as much as you would normal pasta before it’s cut into noodles. If it is too dry, the pizzoccheri dough sheets will become brittle and break as you prepare to cut them by hand or when passing them through your pasta cutters. As complicated as this all may seem, once you start working with the dough, especially if you’ve pasta-making experience, you’ll see what I mean. Really, it’s a little tricky but not nearly as impossible as this may sound.

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How To Make Home-Made Pizzoccheri Pasta

Ingredients

yield: approx 12 oz pasta dough

  • 150 g buckwheat flour (about 1¼ cups)
  • 75 g AP flour (about  ⅔ cup)
  • 3 large eggs
  • pinch of salt

Directions

  1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until a dough ball forms, usually within about 30 seconds.
  2. Remove dough and knead on a floured surface for a few minutes. Cover with an overturned bowl or plastic wrap and allow to rest at least 30 minutes and no more than 60. If you must rest dough longer than an hour, refrigerate it until you’re ready to roll it out.
  3. To roll the dough:
    1. If using a rolling pin, roll the dough until about twice as thick as you would when making fettuccine.
    2. If using a stand mixer rolling attachment or hand cranked pasta machine with “1” as the widest setting, pass the dough repeatedly through the rollers, increasing the number setting each time, up to and including the “4” setting.
    3. If your roller gizmo’s widest setting is “10”, pass the dough repeatedly through the rollers, decreasing the number setting each time, up to and including the “6” setting.
  4. Allow dough sheets to dry a bit but not as much as you would for normal pasta dough.
  5. Cut each sheet into 12 inch sections.
  6. If using stand mixer or hand cranked pasta cutters:
    1. Pass the sheets individually through the largest pasta cutters, usually fettuccine-sized.
    2. Place newly cut fettuccine aside on a floured surface and repeat the process for all the dough sheets.
  7. To cut by hand (see poorly focused pictures below):
    1. One by one, lightly flour each sheet, fold it in half, then in half again.
    2. Using a sharp knife or pastry cutter, trim off the  2 ends of the folded dough sheet (sfoglia).
    3. Cut your noodles. Tagliatelle are no less than ¼ inch (6.4 mm) wide. Fettuccine are no less than ⅓ inch wide (8.4 mm). Pappardelle are no less than ½ inch (12.7 mm) wide.
    4. Unroll the cut sections to produce the noodles, place the newly cut pasta aside, and repeat the process until all the dough sheets have been cut.
  8. When finished, cover the noodles with a clean kitchen towel and use ASAP in Mar’s pizzoccheri recipe.

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The dough sheets must be well-floured to prevent them from sticking when folded and cut.

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Now, I realize that  this may seem like a difficult process just to make some pasta, especially for the inexperienced pasta maker. As I’ve mentioned, if you’ve made pasta at home, my precautions will make sense and this will probably not seem so difficult. If you haven’t,  I’d suggest you start with a regular pasta dough recipe (see Mom’s Pasta Dough) before attempting this one. This dough is not nearly as “forgiving” as normal pasta dough and, as such, is not a good dough to use when learning the ropes of pasta making. Besides, you can always use regular fettuccine or tagliatelle noodles in your pizzoccheri or, if you must have buckwheat, try soba noodles. Don’t let your noodle prevent you from enjoying a great dish!

And thank you, Mar. When all is said and done, I learned both a new recipe and how to make buckwheat pasta. Not a bad outcome.

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Eggplant Parmesan

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Order the cannoli! Put the biscotti in the oven! Chill the prosecco! St. Joseph’s Feast Day is just around the corner! Across Italy and certainly throughout Sicily, as well as in many Italian-American households and communities around our own country, next Monday, St. Joseph’s Feast Day, will be marked by special religious services, street fairs, parades, and celebratory dinners. There’s even a special pastry (zeppola) and dish (fava beans) to be served in this Saint’s honor. So, why all the hoopla?

To start, and to eliminate any possible confusion with the many other St. Josephs, I’m speaking about Joseph, the carpenter who, along with Mary, raised the Christ Child, according to Christian beliefs. Perhaps because of its close proximity and relationship with the Vatican for so many centuries, the Church has exercised considerable control over Italy. Each town, village, city, district, in fact every community of any size, has at least one patron saint. And Saint Joseph is one very popular patron saint. Today, he is the Patron Saint of Sicily and that is the reason for the celebrations on Monday — but it wasn’t always that way.

The Holy Family - Michelangelo

According to legend, sometime during the Middles Ages, Sicily was struck by drought. As the earth dried and crops withered, famine became a very real possibility. Fava beans alone are all that kept the people from starvation. They prayed to St. Joseph, beseeching him to intercede on their behalf and to ask his “Son” to end the drought. In return, the people promised to hold a feast every year in his honor. The rains came, the drought ended, and mass starvation was averted. The grateful Sicilians proclaimed Saint Joseph their Patron Saint and his Feast Day is marked by celebrations to this very day.

Now, lacking both fava beans and the skills of a pasty chef, I decided to take a different path to honor this Saint. Since eggplant is used so often in Sicilian cuisine, I thought an eggplant dish would be appropriate. So, today’s recipe is eggplant parmesan, parmigiana di melanzane.

In recent years, the 3 most common parmigiana dishes — veal, chicken, and eggplant — have come under fire somewhat. Let’s face it, they aren’t exactly low-cal, by any measure. And, to be honest, it is only in the past few years that I’ve attempted to make them a bit lighter. In this case, where I used to fry the breaded slices of eggplant, I now bake them. In place of a meat sauce, I now use a marinara. Granted, you still won’t see this dish listed on any menu as the “Dieter’s Special”, but you will enjoy a lighter dish that is every bit as enjoyable as the more traditional preparations.

One further note deserves mention. During a recent post in which I shared instructions for making goat cheese, I asked if anyone knew of a nearby buffalo herd, implying that I’d use their milk to make mozzarella. Bufala mozzarella, by the way, is the most prized of all mozzarella cheeses. Judy@Savoring Today left a comment stating that bufala mozzarella, made in Italy, was available at, get this, Costco, of all places! Within days, I was at Costco and the parmigiana di melanzane pictured in today’s post is the result. Thank you, Judy!

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Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Ingredients

  • 6 – 8 cups marinara sauce (recipe below)
  • 2 eggplant, about 2 1/2 lbs. total
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 – 5 cups bread crumbs, more may be required
  • 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1 lb. fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced or shredded
  • 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, pecorino romano may be substituted
  • salt & pepper

Directions

To prepare the eggplant

  1. Create a breading station.  In a large dish or flat-bottomed container, add the flour. Add the eggs and mild to a second such container and mix until well-combined.  Add to the 3rd container the bread crumbs, parsley, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Mix to thoroughly combine.
  2. Pre-heat oven to 400˚.
  3. Slice the eggplant, lengthwise, into 1/2 inch slices.
  4. Coat each eggplant slice with flour, shake off excess, and dip into egg wash. Allow excess to drip off before dipping into the bread crumb mixture to completely coat each slice. Place on a cooking rack that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Continue until all slices are breaded. You will need to use 2 racks or to bake 2 batches.
  5. Place eggplant-filled cooling rack on top of a large baking sheet and bake in pre-heated, 400˚ oven for 15 minutes or until very lightly browned.

Assembly & cooking instructions – family style

  1. Use a few ladles of sauce to coat the bottom of a large baking dish.
  2. Add eggplant slices to form a layer in the baking dish. Place a few ladles of sauce evenly across the breaded slices. Apply 1/3 of the mozzarella in an even layer across the eggplant. Finish the layer by sprinkling 1/3 of the parmesan cheese on top.
  3. Repeat step 2 twice, creating 3 layers in all and alternating the direction of each layer’s slices.
  4. Bake in 400˚ oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the dish is bubbly and the cheese has cooked/browned to your liking.

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Variations

If prepared as indicated — and pictured — above, the result is more suitable for a “family style” dinner and resembles a tray of lasagna. If you like, you can easily “build” individual servings using 3 slices of eggplant and covering each layer with the sauce and cheese as above but keeping each serving separate from the others. Similarly, you can slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch disks, rather than lengthwise, and create smaller sized portions, perfect for use as primi piatti.

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Marinara Sauce

This marinara isn’t meant to be simmered for hours. The resulting, fresh-tasting sauce adds another flavor element to this vegetarian dish.

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 – 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 2 – 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine (optional)
  • 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped fine
  • 1 tbsp dried marjoram
  • salt & pepper

Directions

  1. Place onion, carrots, celery, and garlic into a food processor and process until finely chopped. Alternately, finely chop the vegetables and garlic by hand.
  2. Heat oil in a sauce pan over med-high heat. Add the optional red pepper flakes and sauté for about a minute.
  3. Add the finely chopped ingredients, season with salt & pepper, and cook until liquid has evaporated and they start to caramelize.
  4. Add the tomato paste and continue to cook for about 2 more minutes.
  5. Add the tomatoes, wine, parsley, marjoram, and stir to combine. Season with salt & pepper, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer.
  6. Continue to simmer until sauce has thickened and deepened in color,  about 60 minutes, on average. Check for seasoning and reserve for use in your recipe.

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My Uncle’s Pasta (aka Cacio e Pepe … whatever!)

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Being today is George Washington’s birthday, I’ve decided to come clean. Understand that there is no easy way for me to say this, so, I’m just going to blurt it out. I lied to you. Well-intentioned though I was, I nevertheless gave you false information. And, what’s worse, I did it not once but twice. Now, before you grab torches, gather en masse, and storm Chicago looking for me — by the way, if you do, be sure to take the Dan Ryan (hehehe) — let me explain …

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Back in October, 2010, my first real post was the recipe for Pasta in Bianco and, at the time, I said it was about the easiest pasta dish to make. And it is … sorta. Then, a year later, I shared the recipe for Spaghetti Aglio e Olio which I described as being “by far, the easiest (pasta dish) to prepare.” Well, it is … kinda. The truth is that there is a 3rd dish, an even easier dish to prepare, a dish that for decades I’ve prepared for myself and enjoyed as my own personal creation and that reminded me of Uncle. That is, until a few weeks ago when I found an authentic recipe that is identical to “my” recipe for Uncle’s Pasta. I could ignore it or, worse yet, try to convince everyone that my recipe is the original but, c’mon.  I’ve just confessed to 2 lies, committing a 3rd lie — especially one so obvious — would serve no purpose other than to further grease my path into Hades. So, I’ll take the high road and explain how I came upon this dish and, in an effort to make amends, I’ll throw in a little info on yet another obscure pasta, to boot.

Living in the old two-flat, there were many dinners where the families ate together and very often some form of pasta was served. My Uncle, like most, enjoyed grated cheese atop his pasta but, what set his plate apart from everyone else’s, was his love of black pepper. To my eye, he used more pepper than anyone seated at the table. Well, for this youngster, the aroma of grated Pecorino Romano mingling with the scent of freshly cracked pepper was intoxicating, made even more so because I was considered too young to have access to the pepper shaker. (As an unexpected benefit, however, when the nuns spoke of the Garden of Eden, I understood all too well Eve’s desire for the Forbidden Seasoning Fruit.) Well, I eventually grew up, as most young boys tend to do, and was finally able to add as much pepper to my pasta as I wanted — and I did. But wait, there’s more to this story because, up until now, I could have been talking about any pasta dish. I need to narrow the field a bit.

Once I moved away, I lived with a number of roommates until I could finally afford a place of my own. Back then, having a well-stocked pantry was not exactly high on my priority list. Let’s be honest, if not for “tissue”, coffee, and cat litter, I probably wouldn’t have seen the inside of a grocery for months at a time. Now, I’ve already blogged about my love for, and reliance upon, Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, pasta made with garlic and olive oil, but there were times when I didn’t have any olive oil. What to do? Well, I made my pasta without it, adding a bit more cheese, a couple more sprinkles of pepper, and some pasta water in its place. Moments later, I’d be seated at the dinner table where, with a single whiff, I was 6 years old again watching Uncle shower his pasta with pepper. So, for some 30 years, I’ve made this pasta, not just when out of olive oil but whenever I needed a pasta fix and the nostalgia bug hit me.  Over time, this pasta came to be called Uncle’s Pasta in my mind because its aroma reminded me of his plate during those family dinners of long ago.

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I’ll re-visit this picture when WordPress becomes scratch & sniff-enabled.

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With that in mind, you can well imagine my surprise when, a few short weeks ago whilst I was looking at pasta cutters, I learned that the people of Rome, and its district of Lazio, make a pasta called Cacio e Pepe, Cheese and Pepper, that is exactly like my Uncle’s Pasta! Now, rather than become bitter, I’ve decided to rise to the occasion and to turn this into a teaching opportunity. You see, the night that I became aware that the Romans had plundered my childhood memories and stolen my pasta recipe,  I was looking at a pasta maker called the chitarra. Italian for “guitar”, a chitarra is shirt box-sized with many wires or cords stretched, lengthwise, from one end to the other. A freshly made pasta sheet is laid on top of the “strings” and a rolling-pin is used to forcefully push the dough sheet through them to create pasta noodles. Although the width between the strings may vary from chitarra to chitarra, when they are set close enough together so that the distance is the same as the width of the pasta sheet, the result is a square-shaped pasta called tonnarelli. Often as thick as spaghetti, tonnarelli, not so coincidentally, are often used to make Cacio e Pepe. Never seen ’em? Guess again.  One very common “fresh” pasta’s cappellini is, in fact, tonnarelli. If you own a pasta machine, chances are it makes 2 types of pasta. The packaging will name the smaller of the 2 as being either cappellini or spaghetti. Um … no. One very popular stand mixer’s pasta cutter is advertised as making angel hair pasta. Again … no! These cutters are incapable of making a round pasta noodle and both cappellini and spaghetti are, in fact, round. If it’s a thin, square-shaped pasta, it’s tonnarelli. Now, if the pasta from your smallest cutter isn’t quite square, that’s probably because the pasta sheet wasn’t the same thickness as the cutter’s width. If you’re so inclined, vary the pasta sheet’s width and you’ll get your square tonnarelli.

My point isn’t to make sure everyone that sits at my dinner table, or that reads this, can identify the pasta set before them. No, not at all. It is to illustrate just how seriously the Italians take their pasta. For many, Emilia–Romagna is the home of Italy’s best pasta makers, with Bologna as its capital. True pasta aficionados from that region will claim that they can tell whether the pasta dough is rolled by hand or machine, with a wooden versus a steel rolling-pin, on a wooden board versus a stainless steel or marble counter top, etc., etc., etc. My father, when he saw Mom preparing to make pasta that day, would remind her to roll it out by hand as he left for work. Mom always assured him she would — and then got out the pasta machine before his car had made it to the end of the block. When dinner was served, could Dad tell the difference? Who knows but, like any loving husband, he knew when to keep quiet.

Wow! Such a long post for so simple a dish to prepare. I won’t be giving this recipe the full treatment because, frankly, it would be a waste of time. All you need is some pasta, freshly made is preferred but boxed spaghetti will do nicely; hot pasta water; some grated cheese, Pecorino Romano if possible; and freshly cracked/ground pepper.  I won’t be giving ingredient amounts because they will all depend upon the number of servings to be prepared and your own taste. You may not be as enamored with pepper as am I, after all.

While your pasta is cooking, warm the serving bowl. This can be done by pouring hot water from a tea kettle or via the tap. Once the pasta is cooked to your liking, reserve a  cup of the boiling pasta water before draining the pasta. No need to drain it fully. In fact, it’s better if you don’t. Work quickly now. Place the cooked pasta into the now-warmed serving bowl and season it very generously with the grated Pecorino Romano cheese. (Parmesan may be substituted.) Mix the pasta, adding more pasta water, a little at a time, so that it combines with the cheese to create a sauce-like dressing for the pasta. If it’s too dry, add more water; too wet, add more cheese. Once the pasta is evenly coated, add some pepper and stir. Remember, the dish is called Cacio e Pepe for a reason.

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With your pasta now appropriately dressed, serve it on warmed dinnerware.  Garnish each serving with a generous sprinkling of grated Pecorino Romano and another dusting of pepper. Now, before you sample this testament to simplicity, take a moment to savor the fragrances of freshly grated cheese and newly cracked pepper wafting up from your plate. Nothing more need be said.

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Pasta Cacio e Pepe

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Sis’s Soup with Little Meatballs (Minestra con Polpettine)

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You might recall that last December, I demonstrated how to make quadretti, a small, square-shaped pasta. At some point, I mentioned Mom using this pasta in soup to nurse me back to health but that my Sister remembered differently. She recalled Mom serving broth filled with Acini di Pepe, “sick soup”, whenever she was ill. Well, since Monday was Sis’s birthday, why not share the recipe for her sick soup?

Soup made with Acini di Pepe is not a Bartolini tradition. Oh, sure, it was served plenty of times at the old two-flat but it wasn’t made from a recipe that had been handed down from one generation to the next. It came to us, oddly enough, from the Mother of my 5th grade teacher. Mr. D was from Upstate New York and my class was his first in Detroit. In fact, he arrived in my hometown barely 1 week before school started that September. Mr. D wanted to introduce himself to the parish and to our parents so, once classes started, he visited the home of each of his students. He chose the families alphabetically, making mine the second home he entered. And as was so often the case with newcomers who entered the two-flat, he hung around for a number of years — make that decades — afterwards. (There was a similar phenomenon in our backyard that involved Grandpa, our neighbors, and the Parish priests but I’ll save that for another post.) Eventually, Mr. D migrated upstairs, becoming good friends of Zia and Uncle.  At some point, and I do not recall how much time had transpired, his Mother and Aunt came to Detroit for a visit. It wasn’t long before they, too, became ensnared in the two-flat’s web of conviviality. Well, as luck would have it, both women were good cooks and during subsequent visits, recipes were traded. One of the very few recipes to survive is today’s minestra, Acini di Pepe with meatballs. (It took a while but I got us here.)

Acini di Pepe is a small, bead-like pasta that expands during the cooking process, much like couscous. Mom served it to Sis when her tummy was upset, just as she served me quadretti. As was her way, Doctor Mom started with broth only and gradually added increasing amounts of Acini di Pepe to the broth as Sis’s condition improved. The meatballs, polpettine, were never used for medicinal purposes. No, they were served when everyone was well and seated at the dinner table. And did we ever enjoy them. The lemon zest in the polpettine, when mixed with a hint of nutmeg, take this simple soup to an entirely different level. Now, if Acini di Pepe isn’t “your thing,” I strongly suggest you make the polpettine and use them with whatever pastina you prefer. Trust me. You won’t be disappointed.

Oh, yeah. Happy Birthday, Sis!

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Acini di Pepe with Meatballs Recipe

Ingredients

For the polpettine

  • 1/2 lb ground veal
  • 1/4 cup grated cheese, pecorino romano preferred
  • 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
  • 1 large egg, slightly beaten
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • zest from 1/2 lemon
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
  • salt & pepper, to taste

For the minestra

  • 2 quarts homemade chicken stock (low-sodium store-bought may be substituted)
  • 1 cup Acini di Pepe, uncooked
  • additional grated pecorino romano

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Directions

To make polpettine

yield : approx. 100 polpettine, divided, half to be frozen for later use

  1. Place all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until combined. Do not over-work.
  2. Use a melon baller or small scoop to fashion small meatballs. (See Notes below.)
  3. Divide all the polpettine into 2 halves and place each on separate baking sheets.
  4. Place one baking sheet into the freezer and, once frozen, place the polpettine in a container, return to the freezer for use on a later date.
  5. Use the other half as indicated below.

To make the minestra

  1. Bring the stock to a rapid boil.
  2. Add the Acini di Pepe, stir, and then add the remaining half of the polpettine.
  3. When stock returns to the boil, reduce to a medium simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Stir often but gently so that the polpettine remain intact.
  4. At the end of 10 minutes, taste the minestra to see if the pasta is cooked to your liking and to adjust seasoning, if necessary.
  5. Serve immediately. Have plenty of grated pecorino romano cheese available at the table.

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Notes

Polpettine are meant to be relatively small. One polpettino should easily fit upon a soup spoon with plenty of room left for pasta and broth. Although this recipe yields about 100 meatballs, I prefer to use only about half that amount in a 2 quart pot of soup. Of course, you may use more or less depending upon your own preference.

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And Now for the Awards Portion of  Today’s Presentation

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to have received a few awards from members within our blogging community. And lest anyone think that I do not appreciate these wonderful gifts, I wanted to make sure that each was acknowledged.

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So, to Marie, of My Little Corner of Rhode Island, I say thank you for generously nominating me for the Kreative Blogger Award.

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To Kathryn, of kiwsparks, and Eva, of Kitchen Inspirations, I say thanks for your thoughtfulness in granting me The (Red) Educational Shoe Award. (And to Greg: You’ll just have to wait before you get to see me in stilettos, be they red or some other color.)

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Finally, to Roger, of Food, Photography, & France, mere words cannot express the depth of emotion that I experienced upon learning you had nominated me for the Sunshine Award.

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OK, I know that I’m supposed to answer a variety of questions or volunteer some facts about myself and I must admit to enjoying reading others’ replies. The truth of the matter is, however, that I’m not all that interesting. I am no onion with many layers to be pulled back revealing inner truths. There is no art in this choke. What you see is what you get — and what you get is pretty boring, at that. Besides, what little there is to tell is fodder for my future posts. If I tell you everything about myself now, whatever will I write about next time or the time after that?  And so, to those who truly wish to learn more about me, I say “Stay tuned … “

The next part of any award acceptance is to pass the award along to deserving individuals. Well, there are 3 awards to pass along and I don’t even know how many bloggers, in total, I am to name. I do know, however, that no matter how many good people I nominate, I will surely forget one person and, in all probability, quite a few more. I have been treated kindly by everyone I’ve met here and encouraged in more ways than I could ever enumerate.  I’d sooner quit blogging than hurt or offend any of those who have treated me so graciously. So, rather than nominate many, I shall only nominate one.

A relative newcomer, this blogging friend has taught me a great deal. By her example, I’ve learned that less is more. That silence is truly golden. That to just be yourself and the World will be yours to conquer. And so it is that I nominate, for the Kreative Blogger, The (Red) Educational Shoe, and Sunshine awards, none other than …

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FLAT RUTHIE !!!!!

As soon as word of the awards became known, her friends carried her off to an impromptu party at Chicago’s Fondue Stube. Pictured above, Flat Ruthie is seen with one of her dearest of friends, Thing, as they await the arrival of the fondue pots. Oh, what a night!

So, congratulations Flat Ruthie! I for one, cannot wait to read your acceptance speech. (No fair helping her, 3D Ruth.)

And to Marie, Kathryn, Eva, and Roger, all joking aside, I am both honored and grateful for the awards you’ve sent my way. Mille grazie!

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