Serves: 5
Making fresh pasta is an art and skill worth learning. I used to love to watch my grandmother making pasta. My sister and I knew it was time to make pasta when she began spreading clean white sheets over all the flat surfaces in her dining room. Then she would pour a mound of flour onto her old wooden kitchen table. With her fingers, she would make what she called la fontana, the fountain or well, a depression in the center of the flour that made it look like a volcano. Into the well would go fresh eggs and just a few drops of olive oil. Then she would begin, slowly at first, to mix the eggs with her hands, incorporating the flour a little at a time. Soon she would have a messy mass of dough that I always doubted could be saved. But grandma never disappointed us. Kneading slowly and deliberately, she would turn the mass into a moist, golden dough.
With her extra-long rolling pin that my grandfather had made from a sturdy broom handle, she would swiftly roll out the dough into sheer eggy sheets. Sometimes she cut them into ribbons for fettuccine, but more often she made ravioli. She would dab the dough with bits of cheese or meat filling, then cover the filling with a second layer of dough. An inverted juice glass was all she needed to punch the round ravioli out of the dough.
Finally the ravioli, or other pasta, would be laid out on the clean sheets in the dining room. No one, or I should say no child, was allowed to enter the room where the pasta was resting. Instead, she gave us scraps of dough to play with, and we fashioned our own creative pasta shapes.
Though we are inclined to assume that fresh anything is better than a dried product, that is not the case with pasta. Dried pasta is as good as fresh, but different. At one time dried pasta was eaten mostly in southern Italy, where it was preserved by drying in the hot sun. Today it is eaten all over the country.
Italians have some informal rules about combining pastas and sauces. Some dishes are traditionally made with fresh pasta, while others are typically made with dried, and I have suggested the variety accordingly. While some pasta and sauce pairings are better than others, few dishes will suffer from substitutions. Use your own good judgment about substituting dried pasta for fresh, or vice versa, just as Italian cooks do today. Lasagne, for example, is often made with dried pasta in southern Italy, and if you prefer, don't hestitate to make it that way.
In Italy, pasta is typically served in small portions as a first course, followed by an equally small meat, fish, or vegetable main course. Depending on several variables-the ingredients used for the pasta, the rest of your menu, whether you are serving the pasta as a first or main course, and, of course, the appetites of those who will be eating-one pound of pasta makes between 4 large and 8 small servings. I usually calculate between 4 and 6 servings per pound, because everyone loves pasta, and I would rather have a little left over (which rarely happens) than run short.
DRIED PASTA WITH VEGETABLES
Linguine with Garlic, Oil, and Hot Pepper
Spaghetti with Garlic and Olives
Linguine with Pesto
Thin Spaghetti with Walnuts
Linguine with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Spaghetti with Peppers, Pecorino, and Basil
Penne with Zucchini, Basil, and Eggs
Pasta with Peas and Eggs
Linguine with Green Beans, Tomatoes, and Basil
Little Ears with Potato Cream and Arugula
Pasta and Potatoes
Shells with Cauliflower and Cheese
Pasta with Cauliflower, Saffron, and Currants
Bow Ties with Artichokes and Peas
Fettuccine with Artichokes and Porcini
Rigatoni with Eggplant Ragù
Sicilian Spaghetti with Eggplant
Bow Ties with Broccoli, Tomatoes, Pine Nuts, and Raisins
Cavatelli with Garlicky Greens and Potatoes
Linguine with Zucchini
Penne with Grilled Vegetables
Penne with Mushrooms, Garlic, and Rosemary
Linguine with Beets and Garlic
Bow Ties with Beets and Greens
Pasta with Salad
Fusilli with Roasted Tomatoes
Elbows with Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Arugula
Roman Country-Style Linguine
Penne with Spring Vegetables and Garlic
Dragged Pasta with Cream and Mushrooms
DRIED PASTA WITH TOMATOES
Roman Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta
Fusilli with Tuna and Tomatoes
Linguine with Sicilian Pesto
Spaghetti with "Crazy" Pesto
Bow Ties with Uncooked Puttanesca Sauce
Pasta with Raw Vegetables
Hurry Up Spaghetti
Angry Penne
Pigatoni with Ricotta and Tomato Sauce
Bow Ties with Cherry Tomatoes and Bread Crumbs
Stuffed Shells
DRIED PASTA WITH CHEESE AND EGGS
Spaghetti with Pecorino and Pepper
Linguine with Lemon and Herbs
Ziti with Spinach and Ricotta
Rigatoni with Four Cheeses
Linguine with Creamy Nut Sauce
Bow Ties with Amaretti
Spaghetti with Fried Eggs, Salerno Style
Tagliarini Soufflé
DRIED PASTA WITH MEAT
Spaghetti Charcoal Burner's Style
Bucatini with Tomatoes, Pancetta, and Hot Pepper
Penne with Pancetta, Pecorino, and Black Pepper
Penne with Pork and Cauliflower
Spaghetti with Vodka Sauce
Bow Ties with Asparagus, Cream, and Prosciutto
Dragged Penne with Meat Sauce
Spaghetti Caruso Style
Penne with Beans and Pancetta
Pasta with Chickpeas
Pigatoni Rigoletto
Anna's Fried Spaghetti
Eggplant Pasta Timbale
Baked Ziti
Sophia Loren's Baked Pasta
DRIED PASTA WITH SEAFOOD
Linguine with Clam Sauce
Tuscan Spaghetti with Clams
Linguine with Anchovies and Spicy Tomato Sauce
Linguine with Crab and Little Tomato Sauce
Linguine with Mixed Seafood Sauce
Thin Spaghetti with Bottarga
Venetian Whole-Wheat Spaghetti in Anchovy Sauce
Capri-Style Spaghetti
Linguine with Shrimp, Venetian Style
Pasta with Sardines and Fennel
Penne with Zucchini, Swordfish, and Herbs
Christmas Eve Spaghetti with Baccala
Linguine with Tuna Pesto
Cold Pasta with Vegetable Confetti and Seafood
FRESH PASTA
In the United States, we make pasta dishes with whatever pasta-fresh or dried-is available or preferred. In Italy, distinctions are made as to which dishes can be made with dried and which with fresh pasta.
Homemade fresh pasta can be a supreme pleasure. The directions for Fresh Egg Pasta will help you master it for yourself.
You can also prepare most of the recipes in this section with store-bought fresh pasta. Look for a store that sells good-quality fresh pasta sheets that you can cut to the size you prefer and stuff and shape yourself.
FRESH PASTA
Fresh Egg Pasta
Fettuccine with Butter and Parmigiano
Fettuccine with Butter and Cheese
Triple-Butter Fettuccine
Fettuccine with Spring Vegetables
Fettuccine with Gorgonzola Cream
Tagliarini with Pesto, Genoa Style
Fettuccine with Artichokes
Fettuccine with Tomato Fillets
Fettuccine with Thousand Herbs
Fettuccine with Sausage and Cream
Green and White Pasta with Sausage and Cream
Fettuccine with Leeks and Fontina
Fettuccine with Mushrooms and Prosciutto
Summer Tagliatelle
Fettuccine with Mushroom and Anchovy Sauce
Fettuccine with Scallops
Tarliarini with Shrimp and Caviar
Crisp Pasta with Chickpeas, Puglia Style
Tarliarini with Abruzzese Chocolate Ragù
LASAGNE
Bologna-Style Lasagne
Neapolitan Lasagne
Spinach and Mushroom Lasagne
Green Lasagne
Green Lasagne with Ricotta, Basil, and Tomato Sauce
Eggplant Lasagne
STUFFED FRESH PASTA
Ricotta and Ham Cannelloni
Veal and Spinach Cannelloni
Green and White Cannelloni
Cannelloni with Tarragon and Pecorino
Cheese Ravioli with Fresh Tomato Sauce
Parma-Style Spinach and Cheese Ravioli
White Squash Ravioli with Butter and Almonds
Meat Ravioli in Tomato Sauce
Tuscan Sausage Ravioli
Spiced Ravioli, Marches Style
Mushroom Ravioli in Butter and Sage Sauce
Giant Ravioli with Truffle Butter
Beet Ravioli with Poppy Seeds
Meat-Filled Pasta Rings in Cream Sauce
Potato Tortelli with Sausage Ragù
FRESH GNOCCHI
Potato Gnocchi
Potato Gnocchi with Lamb Ragù
Gratinéed Potato Gnocchi
Sorrento-Style Potato Gnocchi
Winter Squash Gnocchi
Spinach and Potato Gnocchi
Seafood Gnocchi with Tomato and Olive Sauce
Semolina Gnocchi
Abruzzese Bread Dumplings
OTHER FRESH PASTA DISHES
Ricotta-Filled Crepes
Abruzzese Crepe and Mushroom Timbale
Tuscan Handmade Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
Pici with Garlic and Bread Crumbs
Semolina Pasta Dough
Cavatelli with Ragù
Cavatelli with Calamari and Saffron
Cavatelli with Arugula and Tomato
Orecchiette with Pork Ragù
Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe
Orecchiette with Cauliflower and Tomatoes
Orecchiette with Sausage and Cabbage
Orecchiette with Swordfish
From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This * Pasta recipe is from the Cook'n in Italy Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
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