Chapter 4: Pasta!
A Dinner Party at Home
PASTA, PART 1
By Sara Hauman and Jordan Mackay
Be it butterflies, snails, or little ears, pasta in any form is the most indelible, versatile, and irresistible of all Italian fare. (Farfalle, lumache, and orecchiette, pastaphiles.)
Pasta — whether it’s tangled, tubular, or deep-pocketed — is the spiraling pipeline to culinary bliss. However majestic, pasta is also a hearty staple, eaten daily throughout Italy, the quotidian equivalent of the baguette in France and rice in Asia.
The word pasta simply translates to “paste” in Italian, which is basically what you get if you crush dried grains, nuts, seeds, or beans and mix them with water. The Romans didn’t eat pasta, they ate cakes or fritters of pressed paste. It took even greater ingenuity to create noodles, which the Chinese did some 2000 years before the first mention of pasta in a Western text. The old tale that in the 13th century Marco Polo, returning from a 24-year trip to Asia, introduced the Italians to pasta, has been debunked. History aside, no one disputes that pasta, as we know it, quintessentially expresses the spirit of Italian cuisine.
First among that spirit is thrift. While known for their generosity and hospitality, Italians, from a culinary perspective, are the world’s best at making frugality delicious. Precious, nutritious, and perishable ingredients like meat and vegetables extend their lifespan by becoming sauces that can be economically stretched across pasta’s massive surface area.
Next is simplicity. Pasta personifies complexity made of simplicity. The ingredients are fewer than bread’s — flour and water (and sometimes egg). Two or three simple ingredients create a sensual, textural experience of consuming pasta that is miraculously complex, from slurping spaghetti through your lips, to the melting of pillowy gnocchi on your tongue, to sinking your teeth (the denti in “al dente”) into a tube of rigatoni.
Even though all of Italy eats pasta, each of the myriad of shapes and sauces express the beauty of regionality. Because durum wheat grows well in Southern Italy, the region became the epicenter of dried pasta. When milled, durum wheat is known as semolina, which has a hard, coarse grain and a golden color. Semolina is difficult to knead into a dough, which is why dried pasta is easier to make industrially in factories.
For the dried pasta dishes in this first pasta chapter, try to find a good quality semolina pasta from Campania, making sure to cook it almost ludicrously al dente, as it’s enjoyed in the South. No need to throw a strand of pasta against a wall to see if it’s done — simply remove a piece from the boiling water, cool, and taste, letting your teeth be the judge.
Each of these recipes calls for a little bit of reserved pasta cooking water, a magical ingredient. For dishes like Cacio e Pepe and Spaghetti and Clams, the starch in pasta water is an essential emulsifier, binding fat to liquid to create a unified sauce. Higher-quality pasta produces the starchiest water, so, for these dishes, consider looking for artisanal pasta packaged with some loose flour around the noodles.
The sauces for these recipes are remarkably simple, highlighting just a few intensely flavored components. Pesto is a marriage of basil, olive oil, and garlic, bound by pine nuts and enriched by parmesan cheese. Pasta water pulls the briny clam juice, butter, and wine into a tongue-coating sauce that is accented with garlic and chilis. Our Penne alla Norma combines ubiquitous products of Sicily — eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes — pairing their tenderness with toothsome penne. And, finally, the simplest pasta of them all is one of the hardest to make perfectly. Cacio e Pepe is Italian Mac ‘n Cheese, a marriage of pecorino romano (the cacio) and ground black pepper (the pepe). Cheese and water don’t naturally mix unless you’ve got the starch-filled pasta cooking water to stir in.
Nothing pairs better with pasta than Italian wine, whether sipped from a lowly tumbler or lofty Zalto stemware. Most gourmands believe that classic pasta dishes are wine agnostic — simply stated, pasta will go equally well with red (rosso) or white (bianco) wine. Such is the case with this chapter’s recipes — Cacio e Pepe seems like a white wine dish, but it is also delicious with a spicy red. A white wine will coddle the herbaceous basil pesto and counter the tomato-forward Pasta alla Norma, while a hearty red wine will do so in reverse. One dish in this chapter, Spaghetti and Clams, is clearly meant for white wine – it will pair well with a Falanghina, Fiano, or Greco from the dish’s notable homeland, Campania, or with one of the several food-friendly, refreshing whites from Massican, which are designed to be ravishing marriages of flavor and texture — just like a great bowl of pasta.
OUR PASTA DISHES TO COMPLEMENT YOUR REGIONAL DINNER PARTY
You can download all the recipes as a PDF by clicking the button below.
Sicily: PENNE ALLA NORMA
Liguria: TROFIE (TWISTED) PASTA WITH PESTO GENOVESE
Campania: SPAGHETTI AND CLAMS
Rome: CACIO E PEPE
PENNE ALLA NORMA (Sicily)
Serves 6-8 people
Ingredients:
· 1 lb. dried penne pasta
· ¼ cup olive oil
· 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
· 4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
· 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
· 1 small eggplant, sliced into ¼” rings
· 1 zucchini, sliced into ¼” rings
· 2 Tbsp tomato paste
· 1 ½ lbs. Fresh plum tomatoes, diced
· 1 bunch basil, picked and leaves torn in half
· Salt
Preparation:
1. Cook the penne pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente.
2. Drain and reserve about 1 ½ cups of pasta water.
3. Sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil with a pinch of salt on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
4. Before the onions and garlic begin to change color, add in the chili flakes, eggplant, and zucchini. Stir, and then reduce the heat to medium and cover.
5. Cook for 5-7 minutes to allow the eggplant and zucchini to release their moisture.
6. Once the eggplant and zucchini are fully cooked and soft, remove the lid and add the tomato paste and fresh tomatoes.
7. Continue to cook for a few minutes, then add the cooked penne pasta and reserved pasta water.
8. Cook the pasta on medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated.
9. Season with salt as desired.
10. Remove from the heat and stir in torn basil.
Ingredients to assemble the dish:
· 8-10 oz. burrata or ricotta salata (the classic Sicilian addition to the dish)
· Extra virgin olive oil
· Flaky sea salt
Prepare the dish:
1. Transfer the pasta to a serving platter or bowl and place large dollops of cheese over the top.
2. Drizzle with olive oil and flaky sea salt.
TROFIE (TWISTED) PASTA WITH PESTO GENOVESE (Liguria)
Serves 6-8 people
Kitchenware needed for this recipe:
· A food processor or blender
Ingredients for the pasta dough:
· 13 oz. semolina flour
· 6 ½ oz. water
· ½ tsp. salt
Preparation:
1. On a broad, clean surface, form the semolina flour into a mound, then use your hand to create a well in the middle of the flour.
2. Pour the water into the well and add in the salt.
3. Using a fork, slowly incorporate the semolina flour into the water until a shaggy dough begins to form.
4. Use your hands to bring the dough together and start kneading the pasta dough. If the dough seems sticky, add a slight bit more flour. If it’s too stiff and dry, wet your hands to add a touch more water.
5. Knead the dough for 10-12 minutes or until it is elastic and smooth.
6. Cover with a clean towel and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
7. To roll the trofie, pinch off a small piece of dough, about the size of a hazelnut.
8. Using a forward motion with the palm of your hand, roll the dough into a small log about 1 ½” in length. Stop rolling.
9. Turn your hand at a 45-degree angle; starting with the palm of your hand pressing lightly on the dough, pull the pasta log back towards you, and finish the roll at your pinky. This will take some practice, but you should get a feel for the motion and pressure after a few tries. Don’t fret if you have to start over and roll the log back into a small ball and try again.
Ingredients for the pesto Genovese:
· 2 oz. basil leaves
· 1 ½ Tbsp. pine nuts, toasted
· 2 garlic cloves
· ½ cup parmigiano reggiano, grated
· ¼ cup pecorino romano, grated
· ½ cup olive oil
· ½ tsp. salt
Prepare the pesto:
1. Place the bowl and blade of a food processor (or the blender) in the freezer for 30 minutes. A very cold food processor will encourage a very green pesto.
2. Add all the ingredients to the cold mixer and pulse until the pesto becomes smooth and homogenous. Scrape down the sides as needed.
3. Pesto can be made up to 48 hours in advance. To maintain the green color, ensure the pesto stays cold and sealed in an airtight container.
Ingredients to assemble the dish:
· Salt
· Zest of 1 lemon
Prepare the dish:
1. Boil the fresh trofie pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. The pasta will begin to float when done.
2. Once the pasta is cooked, use a slotted spoon to remove the pasta from the pot of water, and place in a sauté pan or bowl.
3. Add in about 1 cup of pasta water and the pesto.
4. Toss the pasta with the pesto, and season with salt as desired.
5. Once the pasta is completely coated with pesto, transfer to a serving bowl and finish with the zest of the lemon.
SPAGHETTI AND CLAMS (Campania)
Serves 6-8 people
Ingredients:
· 1 lb. dried spaghetti
· ½ cup olive oil
· 2 large shallots, sliced thin
· 6 garlic cloves, sliced thin
· 2 Tbsp. Calabrian chilis, finely chopped
· 2 lbs. Manila clams, cleaned
· ½ cup parsley, chopped
· ½ cup white wine
· 2 Tbsp butter, cold
· Salt
· Zest of 1 lemon
Preparation:
1. Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente.
2. Reserve ½ cup pasta water.
3. Heat the olive oil, on medium heat, in a medium sized pot.
4. Add the shallots, garlic, and a pinch of salt to the pot and sauté until translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
5. Stir in the Calabrian chilis and Manilla clams.
6. Cover the pot and let the clams steam until they are fully open, about 5 minutes.
7. Once the clams have opened, remove the lid, and add in the butter, cooked spaghetti, and reserved pasta water.
8. Cook for a few more minutes to let some of the liquid evaporate.
9. Then remove the pot from the heat and add the chopped parsley.
10. Adjust the seasoning with salt as desired and finish with the lemon zest.
CACIO E PEPE (Rome)
Serves 6-8 people
Ingredients:
· 1 lb. dried bucatini pasta
· 6 Tbsp butter, divided
· 2 garlic cloves, grated
· 15-20 grinds of fresh black pepper
· ¾ cup parmigiano reggiano, grated
· ¾ cup pecorino romano, grated
Preparation:
1. Cook the bucatini in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente.
2. Drain and reserve about 1 ½ cups of pasta water.
3. In a large sauté pan, melt half the butter on medium heat.
4. Add in the grated garlic cloves and freshly cracked black pepper.
5. Cook this mixture for 2-3 minutes until the black pepper is toasted and fragrant.
6. Add the cooked bucatini and pasta water, and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes on medium heat.
7. Remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining butter.
8. Slowly sprinkle in the grated parmesan and pecorino, tossing or stirring the pasta between every addition.
9. The cheese will begin to melt with the heat of the pasta and become very creamy.
Ingredients to assemble the dish:
· Chopped parsley
· Freshly cracked black pepper
Prepare the dish:
1. Serve the pasta immediately and garnish with freshly chopped parsley and as much cracked black pepper as you like.