Pasta Modern (25 page)

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Emilia-Romagna, especially the province of Piacenza

The filling for these charming bundles—ricotta, peas, asparagus, sundried tomatoes, and pine nuts—is so good you’ll be tempted to eat it right out of the bowl! But be sure to save some to make these unique tortelli, which are fun to fold into their unique cocoonlike shape. They don’t have to be perfect to be delicious. They are served here topped with a simple combo of melted butter, sage, and grated cheese.

This specialty of Emilia-Romagna was invented in the mid-1300s in honor of famed poet Francesco Petrarch, who was visiting a nobleman in Piacenza.

FOR THE FILLING:

1 shallot, finely minced

Olive oil

8 ounces (225 g) peas

3 to 4 thin stalks asparagus, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons finely sliced oil-packed sun dried tomatoes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup (250 g) ricotta

Grated Parmesan cheese

1 large egg

2 tablespoons pine nuts, chopped

4 to 5 fresh basil leaves, minced

Make the filling:
In a medium pan, cook the shallot in 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat until it is softened, about 1 minute. Stir in the peas, asparagus, and tomatoes, cover, and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Lightly mash the vegetables with a potato masher; season to taste with salt and pepper. In a bowl combine the ricotta, ⅓ cup (40 g) of Parmesan, egg, pine nuts, and basil with the cooled vegetable mixture. Refrigerate until ready to use.

FOR THE DOUGH:

2 cups (255 g) all-purpose or “0” flour

3 large eggs

Olive oil

Make the dough:
Put the flour onto a work surface. Make a well in the center and beat the eggs and ½ teaspoon oil into the well with a fork. Slowly incorporate the flour into the eggs until a dough forms, adding a few tablespoons of water if it is dry. Knead the dough until it is very smooth, about 5 minutes. Form it into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. Using a cookie or ravioli cutter, cut 4-inch (10-cm) circles. Put a heaping tablespoon of the filling in the center of a circle and fold down about ¼ inch (6 mm) of the top edge of the dough. Then fold a little of the top left corner down over the center, then a little of the right corner over that. Continue folding in alternate sides, moving down the center until you reach the end of the dough circle. Pinch closed the “tail.” Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

FOR SERVING:

3 tablespoons butter

4 to 5 fresh sage leaves

Grated Parmesan cheese

To serve:
Boil the tortelli in one layer in two wide pans of salted water until they are tender, about 4 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter with the sage in a small saucepan until the butter browns a bit, about 2 minutes. Remove the tortelli using a slotted spoon and serve them drizzled with the sage butter and topped with cheese.

“KNITTING NEEDLE” PASTA WITH FRIED PEPPERS

{
Pasta al ceppo
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Abruzzo, Puglia, and southern Italy

This specialty of Abruzzo is called
pasta al ceppo
, after the wooden knitting needles that the dough was originally wrapped around to create its distinctive shape. In other parts of southern Italy, this same type of pasta was wrapped around a metal rod and called by various names, including
pasta col ferretto
, pasta with iron. Although there are specialty devices for making this pasta, many home cooks still use knitting needles, or even the spokes from umbrellas!

I was taught this fun-to-make shape at the home of Tiziana Ragusi, who arranged for her seventeen-year-old son Roberto Paolini, his grandmother Margherita Palumbi, and three friends to teach me. The first few I made got squashed as I pulled them off the rod, so don’t get discouraged. They’re tasty even when squashed!

FOR THE SAUCE:

Olive oil

16 baby bell peppers or 4 large bell peppers, a mix of red, yellow, and green

2 garlic cloves, sliced

¼ cup (60 ml)
vino cotto
or sweet Marsala wine

Fresh minced parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make the sauce:
In a large sauté pan, heat 3 to 4 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the whole baby peppers (or seeded and quartered large peppers) and cook until they are dark golden on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn the peppers over, lower the heat to medium, and add the garlic and wine. Cook until the wine evaporates and the peppers are very soft, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat and top the peppers with a sprinkling of parsley. Let them rest at room temperature while you make the pasta.

FOR THE PASTA:

2 cups (255 g) all-purpose or “0” flour

Make the pasta:
Put the flour onto a work surface. Make a well in the center and add ¼ cup (60 ml) warm water. Using a fork, slowly incorporate the flour into the water, starting from the center, until a dough forms. Add a few tablespoons of water at a time if the dough is dry. Knead it until very smooth, about 8 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough into a ½-inch- (12-mm-) thick strand. Cut off a 2-inch (5-cm) section. Put a metal rod or knitting needle in the center of the dough section and use your palm to gently roll it in one motion until the dough is wrapped about the rod. Gently pull the pasta off the rod. Set the pasta out in a single layer onto a cotton cloth or floured surface. Repeat using the rest of the dough.

FOR SERVING

Grated pecorino cheese

To serve:
Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente, about 4 minutes. Drain and toss with the peppers. Serve topped with grated cheese. (In Italy, they serve the baby peppers stems and all, which are then cut off on the plate with the edge of a fork, or even picked up by the stem and bitten off. The discarded stems are left at the edge of the plate.)

FRUIT & HERB “PANTS”

{
Cjalsons
}

SERVES
6
|
REGION:
Friuli-Venezia Giulia, especially Carnia

Of all the weird but wonderful recipes in this book, this is one of the weirdest and most wonderful!

These savory half-moon bundles are filled with an astonishing array of ingredients: mashed potatoes, smoked cheese, lots of herbs, spices, and fruit—including apples, pears, apricot jam, raisins, lemon zest, and, yes, even chocolate! They date to the Middle Ages and were renowned, even then, for the many aromatic herbs and numerous spices included in the filling.

Cjalsons
—pants, in the local dialect—get that name from their chubby horseshoe shape, which resembles a pair of cowboy chaps or baggy pants.

FOR THE FILLING:

3 tablespoons raisins or currants

2 tablespoons grappa or rum

1 pound (455 g) Idaho or russet potatoes

5 tablespoons (70 g) butter

1 cup (100 g) minced assorted fresh herbs like parsley, mint, marjoram, and basil

1 small pear, peeled and grated

1 small apple, peeled and grated

½ cup (60 g) grated smoked ricotta or Gouda

2 tablespoons apricot or cherry jam

2 tablespoons homemade breadcrumbs, toasted, or crushed amaretti cookies

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon cocoa powder or grated dark chocolate

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus extra for garnish

Salt

Make the filling:
Soak the raisins in the grappa until they are soft, about 30 minutes.

In a pot of boiling water, cook the potatoes until tender. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and mash them until smooth. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the butter until it is melted, then add the raisins and any remaining liquor, the herbs, pear, apple, 6 tablespoons (45 g) of the cheese, the jam, breadcrumbs, zest, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt to taste and mix until well combined. Set the mixture aside to allow the flavors to meld while you make the dough.

FOR THE DOUGH:

3 ½ cups (445 g) all-purpose or “0” flour

3 large eggs

1 large egg white, lightly beaten, optional

Make the dough:
Put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Beat the eggs in the well with a fork. Gradually incorporate the flour into the eggs, adding about ½ cup (120 ml) warm water, until a dough forms. Knead until it is elastic. Let the dough rest in the bowl, covered with a damp cotton cloth, for 30 minutes.

Using a quarter of the dough at a time so it doesn’t dry out, and keeping the rest covered, roll the dough into ⅛-inch- (3-mm-) thick sheets. Using a cookie or ravioli cutter, cut 3 ½-to 4-inch (9-to 10-cm) circles. You should get about 36 circles.

Place a heaping tablespoonful of filling in the center of each circle of dough, moisten the edges with water or egg white, then fold and press the edges closed to make half moons; pinch each one in the center to resemble chubby cowboy chaps.

In one or two wide pans, in a single layer, boil the
cjalsons
in salted water until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt the remaining butter. Remove the
cjalsons
with a slotted spoon to serving plates. Drizzle each serving with the melted butter and top with the remaining cheese and a pinch of cinnamon.

ONCE UPON A TIME

The legend about
cjalsons
claims that once upon a time, the valleys and mountains of Friuli were filled with goblins called
sbilfs
. Guriut, one of the most greedy and mischievous of them, was caught one night stealing cream as it floated to the surface of a bucket of fresh milk. The milkmaid tried to trap him in a large basket, but Guriut was too quick for her and, grabbing her skirt, made her drop the basket. He then began covering her in tender kisses and caresses, which so pleased the milkmaid that they became lovers. As a reward for releasing him, Guriut taught her his secret recipe for
cjalsons
.