Pasta Modern (32 page)

PENZEYS SPICES
www.penzeys.com

Excellent source for all sorts of spices and specialty salts and peppers.

ZINGERMAN’S
www.zingermans.com

Excellent source for a wide variety of quality imports.

Online sources for pasta-making equipment:

IN THE USA:

AMERICAN-MADE ITALIAN ARTISANAL PASTA TOOLS
www.artisanalpastatools.com

Mr. Terry Mirri, in Sonoma, California, makes lovely hand-carved
corzetti
stamps,
cavarola
boards,
garanelli
and gnocchi boards, rolling pins, and lots of other wonderful pasta-making equipment. He is a true artist and delightful person!
Interestingly, Mr. Mirri was a hot internet topic in Italy last year. Turns out it is very hard to find
cavarola
boards, even in Puglia, where they originated. Word spread online in Italy that … gasp, an American was making them! Italians on various forums agreed that in some cases Americans, especially Italian-Americans, maintain the Italian “old ways” more strictly than they do in Italy!

FANTE’S
www.fantes.com

An all-around superb source for all sorts of kitchen utensils, especially pasta-making equipment. Based in Philadelphia, they’ve got it all:
chitarra
“guitar” pasta makers, ravioli and
cavatelli
makers,
corzetti
molds, Italian rolling pins.

PASTA BIZ
www.pastabiz.com

This California-based company sells home pasta makers, including ravioli molds and the hard-to-find
torchio
for making bigoli, perfect with
Duck Venetian Style with Bigoli
.

IN ITALY:

If you are visiting Liguria, it’s great fun to shop for gorgeous
corzetti
stamps and visit some artisanal makers such as:

Pietro Picetti
in Varese Ligure, Liguria (Via Pieve 15)

Franco Casoni
in Chiavari, Liguria (Via Bighetti 73)

www.francocasoni.it

In Piedmont, you can find another version of
corzetti
stamps.

Antica Coltelleria Boido
in Alessandria (Via San Lorenzo, 61)

www.coltelleriaboido.it

Acknowledgments

At least 1,000 Italians, and probably more, helped me with these 100 recipes! I can’t even begin to list every Italian grandma, home cook, chef, blogger, and friend, so here are just a few that deserve special mention:

Special thanks to the wonderful
PASTA COMPANIES
Benedetto Cavalieri, Garofalo, Felicetti, Rummo, and Rustichella d’Abruzzo—who answered my endless questions, provided recipes and technical advice, and graciously donated their fabulous pasta for recipe testing and the photo shoot. Thanks to Benedetto Cavalieri and his family and to the Peduzzi family of Rustichella d’Abruzzo for their incredible hospitality during my visits. Thanks to Luca de Luca and the team at Garofalo for going above and beyond. Extraordinary pasta, exceptional people.

I am indebted to my gracious
ITALIAN FRIENDS
for arranging pasta-making sessions with relatives and friends and so much more!

Warmest thanks to Roberto Cava and his wife, Valeria Noris, for traipsing throughout Liguria and Piedmont hunting down antique corzetti stamps. Special appreciation to the talented photographer Giuseppe Perrone, of Studio Due in Alessandria, for photographs and to Michele Bottale, President of the Academy of Corzetto di Novi Ligure, who graciously made available his collection of antique
corzetti
stamps.

I can never adequately thank Tiziana Ragusi and her husband, Marco Paolini, for trekking throughout Abruzzo seeking out antique pasta equipment like the gorgeous nineteenth-century
chitarra
they meticulously restored. I will never forget the delightful day of pasta making Tiziana organized, when simultaneously her son, Roberto, her mother-in-law, Margherita Palumbi, and friends Lea Lanciaprima, Marisa Boccanera, Roberta di Donatantonio, and Giuseppina Nallira each taught me to make a different type of pasta.

Special thanks to all 360-plus wonderful Italians affectionately nicknamed
Cesarine
, Princesses, who host meals in their homes for visitors as part of the fabulous organization
HOME FOOD ITALY
(
www.Homefood.it
). Special thanks to Cristina Fortini and the “Cesarine”: Flavia Pantaleo in Rome, Palma
in Fruili, Matilda in Lombardy, and Antonietta from Tuscany. A special thank-you to Gabriella and Gianfranco Castaldo, who opened their lovely home and warm hearts to me and taught me the nuances of making
Neapolitan Carnevale Lasagne
. Thanks too to Gabriella’s brother, Dr. Guido Testai, for the most delicious
pizza fritta
I’ve ever eaten.

My deepest gratitude to renowned Italian beekeeper Rita Franceschini, from Azienda Agricola Bio in Rome, for all her advice on honey in pasta recipes; special thanks to good friends Luigi Falanga, Febo Cammarano, Marco Novello, and Giovanni Assante. Thanks to my delightful pal and travel buddy, the Italian journalist Sara Scaparone, for advice on Italian food festivals, chefs, pasta makers, and so much more.

I’m indebted to the following
CHEFS
for recipes and advice: Massimiliano Alajmo, of Le Calandre; Carlo Cracco, of Ristorante Cracco; Nicola Portinari, of La Peca Restaurant; Sara Preceruti, of Locanda del Notaio; Niko Romito, of Ristorante Reale; thanks to Gennaro Esposito, of Ristorante Torre del Saracino in Naples, for teaching me how to tell good from inferior pasta; and a big kiss to Davide Scabin, of Combal. zero in Torino, for some of the most unusual, exciting food experiences of my life. Special thanks and hugs to the charming Mauro Uliassi, of Ristorante Uliassi in Senigallia, for all his great cooking tips.

Heartfelt appreciation to Chef Donato Episcopo, executive chef of the lovely Risorgimento Resort in Lecce, for showing me so many fabulous cooking pointers and secret tips. He is a gifted chef and born teacher! Gratitude to Chef Emilio Pasqualini, of Cantina del Picchio, in the town of Offida, for teaching me the
3 Meats, 2 Sauces, 1 Pasta
recipe and to Chef Gianni Mattera, of Ristorante Alberto in Ischia, for the
Mafalde with Mussels in Velvety Chocolate Sauce
. Special thanks to Chef Filippo la Mantia, of the Hotel Majestic in Rome, for the wonderful pestos; Chef Andrea Apea, of Vun restaurant in the Park Hyatt Hotel in Milan, for his inspired
Purple Pasta
; Chef Libera Iovine, of Ischia’s Il Melograno; Domenico Ciaglia, at Hotel delle Colline in Basilicata; Enzo Barnabei and Maria Gabriella Testa, of Osteria degli Ulivi, a fabulous must-try restaurant in Teramo, Abruzzo; Chef Gioai Miracolo, President of the Italian Federation of Benevento Chefs; Chef Luigi Pomata, of Ristorante Luigi Pomata in Sardinia, and a special thanks to my friend, the wonderfully gifted Fabio Picchi, of Cibreo and Teatro del Sale in Florence. Thanks to the
remarkably talented Chef Marco Bistarelli, of il Postale Ristorante in Perugia, for a wonderful dinner featuring five fabulous pasta creations, and to Chef Maurizio Botta, of Vecchia Cantina Baroni in Siracusa, for the delicious
Spaghetti in Red Wine
recipe.

Warmest appreciation to these
RESTAURANTS
for help with recipes, local customs, finding food festivals and ingredients, and more: Bar à Fromage Restaurant de Montagne; Osteria ’E Curti; Locanda Al Gambero Rosso; Fornello da Ricci restaurant; Osteria Baciafemmine; Ristorante Centrale di Pirrera Giuseppe; Ristorante Al Becco della Civetta; and Ristorante Il Vecchio Castagno; Vecchia Cantina Baroni. Thank you to La Cecchina Ristorante in Bari, for teaching me all about grano arso, and to Ristorante da Margherita in Elice, Abruzzo, whose pasta alla mugnia and other specialties made for one of the most fun and fascinating meals I’ve ever had!

My appreciation to these talented
COOKING SCHOOL INSTRUCTORS
for all their help on regional recipes: Giorgia Chiatto and Carmela Caputo, of Cucinamica in Naples; Giovanna Muciaccia, of Insieme in Cucina in Puglia; Valeria Vocaturo, of Cuoche Percaso in Rome; and Rosita Di Antonio, of Teramo.

Thanks to all the fabulous
ITALIAN HOME COOKS
for providing recipes, pasta-making lessons, and lots of advice: Lucia Contrada and her husband, Pasquali Galluccio, for a wonderful day of Pugliese pasta making with the delightful Carla Milone; and Dr. Giovanna Gison and her daughter for the
Bucatini Dome
. Appreciation to Anna Moroni, Cristian Mometti, Francesca D’Orazio Buonerba, Pino Correnti, Paolo Cavacece, and Laura Ghezzi.

To
BLOGGERS
Sara Bardelli, Qual Cosa di Rosso blog; Ady Melles, Diario di una Passione blog; Giovanna Esposito, Lost in Kitchen blog; Alexandra Asnaghi, Ombra nel Portico blog; Loriana Ponti, La Mercante di Spezie blog; Virginia Portioli, Spilucchino blog; and Paola Sersante, Anice e Cannella blog. Special thanks to Lydia Capasso, Tzatziki a Colazione blog; and to Maria Teresa Di Marco, Marie Cécile Ferré, and Maurizio Maurizi—a trio of pals with the fabulous La Cucina de Calycanthus blog who all went above and beyond! My gratitude to Sonia Piscicelli, aka “Izn,” and her fabulous blog, Il Pasto Nudo, for teaching me the secrets to gnocchi making. A special acknowledgment to
Daniela Dal Ben, Daniela & Diocleziano blog, my go-to for all things Veneto and Friuli, and who deservedly won a contest for her cjalsons recipe; and to Agostina Battaglia, My Pane Burro e Marmellata blog, an invaluable resource for recipes from Calabria. Heartfelt appreciation to ALL my blogger friends, for gifting me with special vintage pasta-making devices, spending countless hours Skyping, answering questions, tracking down recipes, introducing me to chefs, and much more. I cherish our friendships!

Special thanks to Sicilian food historian Dr. Emanuele Lombardo, whose informative Web site, Echo of Taste, is a must for anyone interested in Sicily. On it, you’ll find fascinating information and even a novel on Sicily!

Thanks to the many
FOOD FESTIVALS,
but most especially to I Primi d’Italia, a festival held in Foligno, Umbria, every September celebrating Italy’s many first-course dishes, and Identità Golose, a wonderful organization that sponsors events around the world featuring the works of Italy’s top chefs.

Thanks to the following
ITALIAN CONSORTIUM AND TOURISM BUREAUS
for advice on regional specialties: Raffaele Rossi, of the province of Ascoli Piceno, in the le Marche region; Roberto Pasqualini, of the Pescara province in Abruzzo; Luigi Barbero and the entire team at the Alba, Bra, Langhe-Roero Tourism center in Piedmont; the Grana Padano consortium; Barbara Candolfini and the Emilia-Romagna Bureau of Tourism; Giorgia Zabbini and the Bologna Tourism Board; the Radicchio di Treviso consortium; Stefano Rubino and the Bureau of Tourism for Trento; Walter Santi of Ricette Umbre and the Umbria Tourism Board.

Gratitude and love to my husband, Marc, and daughter, Samantha, for help editing. After so much time spent in Italy speaking Italian, my English prose was left with a thick Italian accent!

Special appreciation to photographer Lucy Schaeffer, food stylist Simon Andrews, talented prop stylist Amy Wilson, and the entire gifted group for all the lovely photos. And finally, my deepest thanks to the entire Stewart, Tabori & Chang team: Leslie Stoker, publisher; John Gall, art director; and my editor, Elinor Hutton, whose sage advice greatly enhanced each and every page.

Index of Searchable Terms

A

Alajmo, Massimiliano

all-purpose flour

almonds

Almond Pasta Crunch

Chickpea-Mocha Ravioli

Christmas Eve Almond-Milk Pasta Pasta with Almond-Tomato Pesto Pasta with Poor Man’s Pesto Reginette with Walnut-Almond Pumpkin Pesto Ziti with Octopus & Orange-Almond Pesto anchovies

angel hair pasta

Angel’s Monday

appetizers.
See specific appetizers by name

Apple Ravioli with Fava-Pistachio Pesto apples

Aprea, Andrea

artichokes

avocados

Award-Winning Macaroni Fritters
B

baccalà

bacon

bagna cauda sauce

baked pasta

Almond Pasta Crunch

Bucatini Dome

Chickpea-Mocha Ravioli

Crunchy-Tender Pasta Squares Gooey Mozzarella Sliders

lasagna

Maccheroni Soufflé

Pasta Cups

Pasta Pretzel Sticks

Pretty Easter Pasta Pie