Pasta Modern (6 page)

Bake until set, about 12 minutes. Serve plain or top each with about 2 teaspoons of something yummy.

{
Timballi di capellini e spinaci
}

SERVES
6
to
8
|
REGION:
Campania and southern Italy

Adorable little pasta sandwiches! A riff on the slider, only the bun is actually angel hair pasta pressed into a muffin tin, and instead of a burger there’s a meatless filling of sautéed spinach and mozzarella. It’s all baked together until crunchy on the outside and beautifully chewy and gooey inside.

11 tablespoons (165 g) butter

Homemade breadcrumbs, toasted

4 ounces (115 g) baby spinach

Salt

2 large eggs

Grated Parmesan cheese

12 ounces (340 g) capellini or other long, thin pasta

8 ounces (225 g) mozzarella, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Lightly butter eighteen muffin cups or ramekins and sprinkle them with breadcrumbs.

In a small pan, sauté the spinach in 1 tablespoon of the butter and a pinch of salt until just tender. Chop and set aside.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs and ⅓ cup (40 g) of Parmesan, then stir in 8 tablespoons (115 g) thinly sliced butter. Set aside.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss with the egg mixture until well combined and the butter has melted. Using a fork, twirl a few strands into a nest shape and press them firmly into a prepared muffin cup, filling it halfway. Top with a thin layer of spinach and a slice of mozzarella. Add another twirl of pasta on top and firmly press down, making sure it’s tightly packed. Top with thin slices of the remaining butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden. Let the sliders rest for a few minutes before removing them from the cups.

MACCHERONI SOUFFLÉ

SERVES
6
|
REGION:
Piedmont

Wild! This is one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen done with pasta: It is intentionally overcooked, pureed, and converted into a simple-to-make soufflé. It is then served in a pool of tomato or meat sauce and topped with Parmesan cream. You get the distinct taste of sauce and creamy cheese with each glorious mouthful.

It is a whimsical, playful creation of chef Davide Scabin, who wanted a lighter version of the French soufflé, so in place of all that butter and flour, he cleverly substituted pureed pasta.

Butter

4 ounces (115 g) penne or other short pasta, preferably Felicetti brand

3 large eggs, separated

Grated
grana padano
or Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream

2 cups (480 ml) meat or tomato sauce (homemade or store-bought)

Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Butter six ramekins or muffin tins.

Boil the pasta in 3 cups (720 ml) unsalted water for about 30 minutes, until very mushy. Drain and puree in a food processor or blender, adding a little of the cooking liquid, until smooth. Leave the puree in the processor until it has cooled to room temperature, then puree in the egg yolks, 2 heaping tablespoons of the cheese, the nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.

In a bowl, beat the egg whites with a handheld mixer until very stiff. Pulse half the whites into the pasta mixture, then stir in the rest. It will be very dense.

Pour the mixture into the prepared ramekins and bake for about 18 minutes, until set.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, simmer the cream and 2 additional tablespoons of cheese over very low heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Season with pepper.

Heat the meat or tomato sauce and divide it among six small serving plates. Unmold a soufflé onto the center of each plate and top with the cheese sauce.

{
Spiedino gratinato di ruote pazze
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Puglia

Pasta, scallops, sweet peaches, and red onion grilled on a stick—Italy’s delightful answer to shish kebob.

This is a wonderfully new way to serve pasta, artful and exceptionally delicious. To make this whimsical dish you need a whimsical pasta—
ruote pazze
, crazy wheels. This is a toothsome, thick, irregular-shaped wagon-wheel pasta that was invented by the Benedetto Cavalieri pasta company in the 1930s, with a special textured design that stays delightfully al dente to the very last bite and is easy to skewer.

I spent a magical few days in Puglia with the Cavalieri family, observing their old-world artisanal methods, chatting about the nuances of pasta making, and enjoying lunches and dinners together. Benedetto Cavalieri and his son Andrea continue a more than one-hundred-year family tradition of exceptional pasta making.

8 rosemary branches or wooden skewers, about 5 inches (13 cm)

8 large scallops

1 peach, cut into 8 slices

½ small red onion, cut into bite-sized pieces

Olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 garlic clove, finely minced

Black pepper

16 wagon-wheel pasta, preferably
ruote pazze
, Benedetto Cavalieri brand

Salt

Soak the branches or skewers in water for 1 hour to prevent charring.

Preheat the broiler or a grill to medium-high heat.

In a bowl, combine the scallops, peaches, onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic, and season with black pepper.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss with the other ingredients. Thread a pasta wheel, peach slice, scallop, onion piece, and a second pasta wheel onto each branch or skewer. Season the skewers with salt and grill or broil them, turning them over after a minute or so, until the scallops are cooked through, about 3 minutes total.

{
Minestra nel sacchetto
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Emilia-Romagna

Here is one of the fastest ways to enjoy fresh pasta, without even getting flour on your hands! The dough ingredients—semolina flour seasoned with Parmesan, nutmeg, and other goodies—go into a sack, simmer in broth, then are cut into pieces. The result is glorious, flavorful pasta cubes.

In the past, every home in Bologna had special little hand-sewn cloth cooking bags specifically for this dish, but today parchment paper or a cotton dishcloth is used instead. The dough can be made with or without minced cold cuts. This version includes mortadella, the real Bolognese bologna, plus a bit of prosciutto, but you can omit the meats if you prefer.

This soup is drop-dead delicious, unusual, easy, fun to make, versatile … and did I mention delicious?

¾ cup (115 g) semolina flour

Grated Parmesan cheese

4 large eggs

4 tablespoons (60 g) butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 ounces (60 g) mortadella or bologna, finely minced

2 ounces (60 g) prosciutto or ham, finely minced

10 cups (2.5 L) vegetable, chicken, or other broth

In a bowl, combine the semolina, ½ cup (60 g) of Parmesan, eggs, and butter and blend with a fork. Season to taste with the nutmeg and salt and pepper. Stir the mortadella and prosciutto into the mixture.

Spread a sheet of parchment paper or cotton dishcloth onto a work surface, put the mixture in the middle, and form it into a salami shape. Fold the paper or cloth around the log loosely—since the dough expands—and tie both ends with cotton kitchen string.

In a large pot, bring the broth to a boil. Put the “sack” into the broth. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 1 ½ hours, until the sack is very firm.

Remove the sack from the broth to a plate and untie the ends. Dice the pasta and divide it between four serving bowls, then top with the hot broth and a sprinkle of Parmesan.

{
Zuppa di passatelli
}

SERVES
4
|
REGION:
Tuscany, le Marche, and Emilia-Romagna

Much like the playdough you couldn’t get enough of as a child, this intriguing pasta is made by extruding the dough through a potato ricer. The results are long, thick rods of pasta called
passatelli
, which means “passing through.”

The toothsome strands are flavored with Parmesan and lemon zest. They liven up any broth, as served here, or when drained, they are great topped with tomato sauce. You can easily double or triple the pasta recipe, but in that case you might want to extrude the dough through the largest holes in your standing mixer’s food grinder attachment.

1 cup (170 g) semolina flour

Grated Parmesan cheese

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon butter, softened

Zest of ½ lemon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 quarts (2 L) vegetable, chicken, or other broth

In a bowl, stir together the semolina, ¾ cup (85 g) Parmesan, the eggs, butter, and zest until well combined and season with salt and pepper. Let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low boil.

Working directly over the simmering broth, pass the dough through the largest holes in a potato ricer, right into the broth. (Or if using a standing mixer’s food grinder attachment, put out a platter to catch the passatelli, then gently add them to the broth.) Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat. When the passatelli float to the surface, they’re done. Serve them in bowls with the broth, topped with shaved or grated Parmesan.