Pasta Modern (20 page)

{
Basotti
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Romagna section of Emilia-Romagna

This is a contrast in textures—crunchy outside with a soft cheesy center.
Basotti
is a hallmark dish of
cucina familiare
, or home cooking, that is virtually unknown even in Italy, outside of Romagna.

To understand the importance of this traditional recipe, you need to go back sixty to seventy years, when the economic conditions of Emilia-Romagna were dire. This dish was once made with whatever was on hand, such as leftover pasta baked at the side of the hearth in a bit of broth, topped with a slice of lardo, if the farmer was lucky enough to have any. Nowadays they can splurge and put butter and grated cheese on top!

This recipe is simple to assemble, but must be made with egg pasta, either fresh or dried. You don’t need much pasta, as egg pasta expands as it bakes and absorbs the cheese and broth. Speaking of broth, since it provides most of the flavor, it’s best to use homemade.

10 tablespoons (140 g) butter, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs, toasted

8 ounces (225 g) egg
tagliolini
or another very thin egg noodle, preferably Spinosi brand

About 2 cups (230 g) grated Parmesan cheese

Freshly grated nutmeg

1 quart (960 ml) very hot pork, beef, or chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Generously butter an 8-by-15-inch (20-by-38-cm) metal baking pan and sprinkle it with the breadcrumbs.

Layer half of the pasta in the pan and top it with half of the sliced butter, a third of the cheese, and 1 tablespoon nutmeg. Add the remaining pasta in a thin scattered layer on top. Top it with the remaining butter and more nutmeg.

Ladle the broth over the pasta until the noodles are just covered. Sprinkle the top with half of the remaining cheese. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the pasta is firm to the touch.

Raise the oven temperature to 475°F (245°C).

Top the pasta with the remaining cheese and bake for a few minutes more, until it is crispy on top. Cut the basotti into squares and serve it hot.

Savory Chocolate & Coffee

CON LE TRE C.

WITH THREE Cs.

What Neapolitans say when ordering coffee. The “Cs” refer to
comm cazz coce,
which features men’s anatomy … politely translated as “very hot.”

This unusual savory chapter includes recipes that feature either coffee or chocolate.

As you might expect from the nation that invented the espresso machine and is renowned for its fabulous roasting techniques, Italians perform magic in the kitchen with coffee. Italians add coffee to pasta sauce, mix it right into pasta dough itself, or simply add a dusting to the finished plate. Coffee adds a complex richness to savory dishes, with hints of roasted nuts and pleasing bitterness.

Chocolate is an equally marvelous ingredient with pasta. Like wine, fine dark chocolate has an amazingly complex taste profile, with hundreds of distinct nuanced aromas and flavors.

When cacao beans arrived in Italy in the sixteenth century, the Italians quickly realized that, despite the name, cacao beans are seeds, not beans. And just like many seeds—fennel, cardamom, caraway—cacao beans are a spice. It’s only the addition of sugar that makes chocolate a sweet. So the Italians ground and toasted the cacao beans and used them in many savory dishes.

INSTANT CHOCOLATE PASTA WITH ORANGE-BASIL CREAM

{
Garganelli al cioccolato in salsa di mascarpone
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Throughout northern and central Italy

I’m crazy about this Italian trick of adding a little cocoa powder to the water when boiling pasta. It makes instant chocolate pasta, rich and earthy. Delicious, nuanced, and surprisingly savory—the chocolate pasta is combined with creamy mascarpone infused with hints of orange liqueur, fragrant basil, and crunchy hazelnuts. It’s simple to make, yet tastes special-occasion gourmet!

Salt

12 ounces (340 g)
garganelli
or any pasta, preferably Rustichella d’Abruzzo brand

⅓ cup (30 g) unsweetened cocoa powder

⅓ cup (40 g) finely chopped hazelnuts

2 tablespoons butter

⅓ cup (75 ml) Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur

¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream

4 ounces (120 g) mascarpone cheese

Grated Parmesan or
grana padano
cheese

A few small fresh basil leaves

Dark chocolate

Milk chocolate

Zest of 1 orange, cut into long strips

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cocoa and boil until the pasta is al dente.

Meanwhile, in a sauté pan large enough to later toss the pasta, toast the hazelnuts in the butter over medium heat until aromatic, about 5 minutes. Pour in the Grand Marnier and stir a few seconds to burn off the alcohol. Reduce the heat to low, add the cream and mascarpone and stir until creamy.

Drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce. Add cheese and salt to taste. Serve topped with the basil, grated dark and milk chocolates to taste, and the zest.

BEHIND THE SHAPE

The pasta shape pictured here is
garganelli
, chicken gullet, named for its distinctive ridges that look like the wrinkles on a chicken’s neck. They are made fresh using small squares of dough rolled onto a thin rod and then pressed against a special comblike device called a
pettine
. They are also available commercially made and dried. One of my favorite tall tales about this pasta’s creation is a sort of “dog ate my homework” story. According to legend, the cat ate the filling for the tortellini a poor farmer’s wife was making for guests about to arrive. Since she had already cut the dough squares for the tortellini she decided to pretty them up by rolling them and pressing them closed against the strings on her loom.

MAFALDE WITH MUSSELS IN VELVETY CHOCOLATE SAUCE

{
Vellutata di cozze e cioccolata
}

SERVES
2
*
|
REGION:
Campania, especially Ischia

Mussels in a satiny, rich sauce: If you don’t tell them, your friends will never guess that the secret to the special flavor is chocolate! Like wine, vinegar, and lemon juice, chocolate provides just the right touch of acidity; it also acts as an emulsifier, adding natural thickness to the sauce.

The province of Naples has been an important center for chocolate production in Italy for centuries, so it’s logical that they’d cook with chocolate. What is less obvious is that they’d cook
seafood
with chocolate! The touch of milk chocolate leaves a lingering hint of creaminess. I thought it would be too weird for words, but this pairs superbly with the mussels’ natural briny sweetness.

1 ½ pounds (680 g) mussels, scrubbed and beards removed

1 thin zucchini, very thinly sliced

Olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

Red pepper flakes

½ cup (120 ml) dry white wine

1 teaspoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon fresh mozzarella
di bufala
or heavy cream

1 ounce (30 g) milk chocolate, chopped, preferably Perugina brand

8 ounces (225 g)
mafalde, lasagnotte
, or other wide, flat pasta, cut into bite-sized pieces

Grated Parmesan cheese

A few fresh parsley leaves

*
If you’d like to serve four, double the ingredients and use two pans, because the sauce becomes velvety only when cooked in small batches
.

Put the mussels in a skillet large enough to later toss the pasta. Sprinkle them with a few tablespoons water, cover, and bring to a boil until the shells open, about 5 minutes. Remove the mussels from the shells, put the meat into a bowl along with any pan liquids, and set aside. Discard the shells.

In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over high heat. Add the zucchini and fry until it is golden. Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes to taste, and the reserved mussels and simmer for 1 minute, stirring to combine. Add the wine and raise the heat for a few minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Add the tomato paste and 2 tablespoons water, stir to combine, then lower the heat; simmer the mixture for an additional 5 minutes, then take it off the heat. Add the mozzarella and chocolate and stir until both dissolve.