Pasta Modern (19 page)

2 to 3 shallots, roughly chopped

1 celery stalk, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves

Olive oil

5 fresh sage leaves

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 boneless duck breast, without skin, ground (about 1 pound)

1 cup duck stock

1 pound
bigoli
or other long, thick pasta

Vezzena, Parmesan, or other aged cheese, grated

In a small food processor or a mortar and pestle, grind the shallots, celery, and garlic. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallot mixture, sage, bay leaf, and thyme and cook until softened. Add the duck and sauté until browned, about 4 minutes. Add the stock, cover, and simmer on low for 1 hour, until the flavors have melded and the sauce is thick. Remove the bay leaf and thyme.

Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss into the sauce along with a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Stir for several minutes in the skillet to combine the flavors. Serve the pasta topped with grated cheese.

Arna lessa e bigolo tondo, a la sera i contenta el mondo
.

Boiled duck and round bigoli at dinner and all’s right with the world.

—
VENETIAN PROVERB

BEHIND THE SHAPE

Bigoli
are traditionally made by passing the dough through a special device called a
torchio
, but nowadays they’re often made with just a regular pasta extruder or the large holes in a home meat grinder attachment. In the Veneto region,
bigoli
are often made with duck eggs, which act as a wonderful binder for the flour.

ONIONY NEAPOLITAN MEAT SAUCE WITH CANDELE

{
Pasta alla Genovese
}

SERVES
8
to
10
|
REGION
:
Campania, especially Naples

This is a dish you’ll eat midday on Sunday at a friend’s home in Naples, with its succulent aromas greeting you down the block.

The sauce requires lots of onions, so employ whatever tricks you must to prevent tears—just don’t skimp on the onions! When in doubt, add more onions, never less. The onions slow cook with the meat until they take on a dark, caramel-like depth of flavor and silky creaminess.
Slow cooked
is the key phrase here, because when Italians say “slow,” they mean it—four to five hours slow. You’ll be rewarded with a good-down-to-your-toes sauce that lovingly clings to the pasta.

Olive oil

1 heaping tablespoon lard, optional

3 pounds (1.4 kg) beef chuck or shoulder, cut into 4 chunks

About 2 cups (480 ml) dry white wine

6 ½ pounds (3 kg) yellow onions, thinly sliced

2 celery stalks, very finely minced

1 large carrot, very finely minced

2 pounds (910 g)
candele
, broken into pieces, or any thick pasta, preferably Garofalo brand

Salt

Parmesan cheese

Freshly ground black pepper

In the bottom of a large saucepot, heat 3 to 4 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add the lard, if using, and the beef. Brown the beef on all sides. Do not salt the meat yet. Once the meat has browned on all sides, pour in 1 ½ cups (360 ml) of the wine, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Cook until the wine completely evaporates, then stir in the onions, celery, and carrots. Put a piece of aluminum foil directly on top of the onions, then cover the pot with a lid. Reduce the heat to very low and cook for 3 hours, until the meat is fork tender. Remove the meat to a serving platter and cover. Add the remaining ½ cup (120 ml) wine to the sauce and continue to cook the sauce for another hour, until the onions are very soft and the mixture is thick and dark golden.

When you are ready to serve, boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss in a large serving bowl with the onion sauce, mixing in lots of grated cheese. If you like, you can add in a little of the meat, shredded into small pieces, or serve the meat as a second course. Serve the pasta with grated cheese and a peppermill on the side, so guests can add to taste.

BY ANY OTHER NAME

This sauce is called
alla Genovese
, but despite its name it is not from Genoa. There’s lots of debate in Naples as to the name’s origin. According to the two most popular legends, either it was first cooked in Naples, but by a chef from Genoa, or the chef’s last name was actually “Genovese.”

MEAT & PEAR OPEN RAVIOLI

{
Casconcelli aperti alla Bergamasca
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Lombardy, especially Bergamo

The concept of using ravioli filling as a condiment for pasta is very liberating! Open ravioli was popularized by the famous Italian chef Gualtiero Marchesi, who first introduce
d ravioli aperti
back in the 1980s. Nowadays, many Italians, pressed for time, forgo ravioli making and turn the filling into a free-form sauce for pasta. The flavors are the same and it saves time.

Bergamo, in Lombardy, is renowned for its
casconcelli
—highly delicious, very unusual ravioli made with an odd but oh-so-tasty assortment of ingredients: salami, roast beef, pears, raisins, and crushed almond cookies.

3 tablespoons butter

2 ounces (60 g) pancetta or bacon, diced

1 sweet sausage

4 ounces (115 g) roast beef, thinly sliced, then cut into strips

1 large pear, thinly sliced, with peel left on

2 tablespoons golden raisins

1 garlic clove, minced

3 to 4 small fresh sage leaves

1 pound (455 g)
calamarata
or other tube pasta

Zest of ½ lemon

Grana padano
or other aged cheese

Ground cinnamon

Freshly grated nutmeg

Minced fresh parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 or 3 amaretti cookies, crushed

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until it is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the sausage from the casing and crumble it into the pan; cook until browned. Add the beef, pear, raisins, garlic, and sage. Cook the mixture until the pears are soft.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until it is almost al dente. Drain and toss into the sauce along with a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Stir well and cook, adding more cooking liquid if needed, until the pasta is al dente. Stir in the zest and season with grated cheese, cinnamon, nutmeg, and parsley to taste. Season with salt and pepper and serve the pasta topped with a sprinkling of amaretti crumbs.

CAVATELLI WITH GOAT RAGÙ

{
Cavatelli al sugo di capra
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Campania, especially the province of Salerno

Goat cheese, goat yogurt, and even goat’s milk are available in most supermarkets and are increasingly common in the States. It’s time for us Americans to appreciate the rest of the goat! Goat is the world’s most widely consumed red meat, and it’s especially popular in southern Italy.

Rolled slices of succulent goat meat, filled with cheese, garlic, and parsley, are braised here in tomatoes. Because it slow cooks for hours, the resulting sauce gets deeply infused with flavor. The pasta is tossed with the sauce and then served with thin slices of the tender rolled meat.

2 pounds (910 g) goat leg meat, cut into 5 slices

About 1 cup (115 g) grated aged pecorino cheese

⅓ cup (30 g) minced fresh parsley

5 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

1 onion, minced

1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine

1 (26-ounce/750-g) container strained tomatoes or
passata di pomodori
, preferably Pomi or Alice Nero brands

1 pound (455 g)
cavatelli
or other short pasta

Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a cast-iron skillet, pound the meat slices until as thin as possible. Sprinkle them with the cheese, parsley, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Tightly roll up each slice and tie it with kitchen twine.

In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until it is golden, about 12 minutes. Push the onion to the side of the pan and add the goat rolls. Brown each roll on all sides, adding a little more oil if needed. Pour in the wine, stir the onion and rolls together, and simmer until the wine completely evaporates. Add the tomatoes, cover, and simmer on low for 2 hours, turning the rolls occasionally, until very tender. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. While the pasta is cooking, remove the goat rolls from the pot. Thinly slice one or two of the rolls. (The rest of the rolls, topped with a little sauce and grated cheese, can be served on a platter on the side or as a second course.) Drain the pasta, toss it into the sauce, and mix well. Serve it topped with a couple slices of the meat and shaved or grated cheese, if you like.

BEHIND THE SHAPE

Cavatelli
, a specialty of southern Italy, are made by rolling walnut-sized sections of pasta dough across a wooden board with a finger or blunt knife, making a little indentation. In Italy, there’s a special tool for this called
sferre
. The name of the pasta comes from
cavato
, to carve out. They are available in the States fresh or dried.