strozzapreti / handmade strozzapreti

November 15, 2012 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

the moment of truth

Our tour of the 20 regions of Italy organized by Trattoria MuVarA is coming to an end. It feels like yesterday that we started from Aosta Valley. Then, every two weeks, we have been hopping around the Italian peninsula discovering interesting places and tasty dishes along the way. I have created a page that gathers the links to all the recipes I prepared during the tour. Our last stop is Emilia-Romagna, a region rich in history, culture, and culinary traditions, a region that includes renowned cities like Bologna, Parma, Ferrara, Modena, Ravenna, etc. I know that people around the world followed closely the news of the earthquake that shook Emilia this past spring. I think it is fitting that we end our tour with a visit to that region.

To celebrate Emilia-Romagna, I chose to explore yet another pasta shape: strozzapreti (bear with me, I am on a pasta roll) . I will tell you that in Italian strozzare means to strangle, to choke, and that preti means priests, and I will stop here. There is much speculation about the origin of the name of this pasta shape and you can read about it around the web, if you wish. None of the theories put forward to explain the rather sinister name of strozzapreti has a bearing on the making and eating of this type of pasta.

The one thing I want to remark upon is that the same name indicates different types of pasta, depending on the region. So strozzapreti in my region of Umbria (also called stringozzi) is a different type of pasta from the strozzapreti you see in this post. Remember that the so-called Italian cuisine is not a coherent whole, but rather the result of the aggregation of culinary traditions deeply rooted in the local history, culture, agricultural and industrial production, art, etc.

I browsed around the web to gather information on how to make strozzapreti. I asked Vanessa of Italy in SF, who hails from Romagna, about the use of 00 flour (farina 00). She confirmed such use and also told me that her grandmother adds to the dough one egg for 500 g of flour (a bit more than a pound). In this post by Sean of Punk Domestic, you can see images of pasta making with nonna Fernanda during a trip to Emilia-Romagna.

ready to be cut

To make strozzapreti, I roll the dough to 1.5 mm / 1/16-inch thickness, hence thicker than when I make tagliatelle. I then cut the rolled dough into strips about 1/2-inch / 1.25 cm wide. With the palm of my hands, I roll each strip and with my fingers I break it, as the short video below shows. Note that each recipe I read contains different measures for the width of the strips and the length of the strozzapreti. The measures I give are based on my experience and preferences.

The video includes an alternative way of shaping I have seen that is not traditional and less fun, but that can be adopted initially, if you feel intimidated by the need to master two actions: instead of using the fingers to cut each strozzaprete, you cut the strip of dough into 2 1/2-inch long pieces beforehand and concentrate on the rolling action. I hope the video clarifies my words.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for strozzapreti

Ingredients for the pasta:

3.5 oz. / 100 g Italian 00 flour, sifted (I use KAF Italian-style flour, but other brands are available)
A scant tablespoon of blended egg (see Note below)
Enough warm water to make a total liquid amount of 50 g / 1.75 oz. (see Note below)
A pinch of salt

Note. Adding one egg per 500 g of flour means that for 100 g of flour, which is what I usually recommend to start with, you need a fraction of an egg. You can get that by subtracting a scant tablespoon of mixed eggs when you make a frittata. Or you can use a tablespoon of leftover egg wash, which is what I did a couple of times. The amount needs not be precise, so don't worry if you have a little less: you'll simply use a bit more water.

Ingredients for the tomato sauce:

Olive oil
A shallot, minced
Leaves of a sprig of thyme
A small garlic clove, thinly sliced
2 cups strained roasted tomatoes (thawed, if frozen)
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to taste

Make a dough with the pasta ingredients and knead until nice and smooth. Let the dough rest, covered, for half an hour or so.

Roll the dough into a disk 1/16-inch / 1.5 mm thick. Fold the dough as shown in the photo above and cut it into strips about 1/5-inch / 1.25 cm wide. Take up a strip and shape it into several strozzapreti by rolling the dough between the palms of your hands moving in opposite direction and breaking the rolled portion of the strip with your fingers, as shown in the video. Alternatively, cut the strip into 2 1/2-inch long pieces and shape each one into a strozzaprete. If your hands are dry, moisten them or the rolling motion will be difficult.

Lay out the strozzapreti to dry. You may want to dust lightly with flour the surface where you lay the shaped strozzapreti, to prevent them from sticking. As you can see in the photo below, my strozzapreti vary a bit in length and that's fine by me.

each one is unique

In a small saucepan, warm up a bit of olive oil, then add shallot and thyme. Cook gently for a few minutes, then add garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 7-8 minutes. Adjust salt, to taste. Note that this will make more sauce than you need to dress the strozzapreti, but once you have the sauce ready, I am sure you'll find ways of using it, like making more handmade pasta.

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, then toss the strozzapreti in it (what in Italian we call: buttare giù la pasta). The time needed is a bit variable, depending on the size of strozzapreti, how dry they are, etc. Taste and stop the cooking when the strozzapreti are ready. Pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and drain the strozzapreti. Place in a bowl, sprinkle a bit of the cheese on top and stir briefly, then distribute some tomato sauce and toss. Finally, sprinkle some cheese on top and serve immediately.

Alternatively, while the pasta is cooking, place a few tablespoons of the sauce in a small skillet and warm it up. Taste the pasta and stop the cooking slightly earlier than usual. Drain the pasta and drop it into the skillet with the sauce. Stir well over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle some of the cheese and stir one last time. Plate and sprinkle a bit more cheese on the top. Serve immediately. The recipe makes two small portions.

Note: if tomato season is ongoing in your area, you can make tomato sauce using crushed tomatoes, adjusting the cooking time to get a sauce of the right consistency. And if you have fresh basil, you can add a bit of it to the sauce.

This is my contribution to edition #290 of Presto Pasta Nights. The event was created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast and is hosted this week by the creator herself. It will be the last edition of PPN, so I invite all of you to say good-bye in style to this popular weekly rendezvous and to thank Ruth for her tireless effort in keeping the food blogging world well fed with pasta dishes. This post contains the roundup of the event.

This is also my submission for the final installment of the Abbecedario culinario d'Italia (Italian Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit all the 20 regions of Italy using the alphabet as guide. Z come Zocca (Emilia-Romagna) is hosted by Roxy of Curiosando in cucina. This page has the list of recipes submitted to the event and a slide show.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

strozzapreti

or launch the strozzapreti audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

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pasta, Italian recipe

strozzapreti

pronti per l'assaggio

Nel nostro giro d'Italia organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA siamo arrivati all'ultima tappa, l'Emilia-Romagna. Mi sembra di aver pubblicato ieri la prima ricetta, in onore della Valle d'Aosta! E invece eccoci all'arrivo e mi sembra giusto che concludiamo nella regione che quest'anno è stata tanto nei nostri pensieri a causa del terremoto. La lista delle ricette che ho contribuito all'Abbecedario la trovate su questa pagina.

A proposito di questo, grazie a Francesca di Burro e zucchero, sono venuta a conoscenza dell'iniziativa La mia ricetta per l'Emilia organizzata dall'azienda Melinda Val di Non. Ho contribuito a tale evento una ricetta su briciole, la mia bella mela salata al cartoccio (per l'occasione tradotta in italiano) e anche una ricetta inedita che trovate sulla pagina dell'evento su Facebook: frittata di mele. Andate a vedere quante belle ricette fanno parte della raccolta.

Per celebrare l'Emilia-Romagna ho scelto di fare gli strozzapreti (abbiate pazienza, questo è il mio periodo pastaiolo). Le varie teorie sull'origine del nome sono appunto teorie. Quello che mi preme ricordare è che lo stesso nome viene usato altrove, per esempio in Umbria, per tipi di pasta diversi.

Ho guardato un po' in giro su internet e raccolto informazioni su come fare gli strozzapreti. Ho chiesto conferma a Vanessa di Italy in SF, che è romagnola, dell'uso di farina 00. Oltre a darmi tale conferma, Vanessa mi ha detto che sua nonna usa un uovo per 500 g di farina. In questo post di Sean di Punk Domestic, potete vedere foto di nonna Fernanda e della sessione dedicata alla pasta durante un viaggio in Emilia-Romagna.

pronta al taglio

Per fare gli strozzapreti, spiano la pasta fino ad uno spessore di 1,5 mm, quindi più spessa che per fare le tagliatelle. Poi la taglio a strisce larghe circa 1,25 cm. Col palmo delle mani, arrotolo la pasta e con le dita la rompo, come si vede nel video in basso. Ogni ricetta che ho letto dà misure diverse per larghezza delle strisce di pasta e lunghezza degli strozzapreti. Le misure che uso sono basate sulla mia esperienza e preferenze.

Il video comprende un'alternativa per formare gli strozzapreti che ho visto che non è tradizionale ed è meno divertente, ma che potete provare ad usare all'inizio per semplificare la procedura: invece di usare le dita per staccare ciascun strozzaprete, potete tagliare la striscia di pasta in pezzi lunghi 6 cm prima e poi arrotolarla. Spero che il video renda chiare le mie parole.

Ingredienti:

100 g farina 00 setacciata
10 ml di uovo e acqua calda per un totale di liquido di 50 g (vedi nota sotto)
un pizzico di sale
sugo di pomodoro a piacere
Parmigiano-Reggiano grattugiato

Nota. Un uovo per mezzo chilo di farina corrisponde ad una frazione di uovo per 100 g di farina, la quantità che suggerisco di usare all'inizio. Potete sottrarre un pochino di uovo quando preparate una frittata o usare un avanzo di glassa d'uovo.

Lavorare i primi tre ingredienti fino ad avere un bell'impasto liscio. Farlo riposare, coperto, per una mezz'ora. Spianare la pasta fino a quando sia spessa 1,5 mm. Tagliarla a strisce larghe 1,25 cm. Prendere in mano una striscia e formare gli strozzapreti usando il palmo delle mani per arrotolare la pasta e le dita per staccare il pezzo arrotolato, come si vede nel video. In alternativa, tagliare una striscia a pezzi lunghi 6 cm e arrotolarli. Se avete le mani asciutte umettatele un po' o arrotolare la pasta è difficoltoso. Lasciar asciugare. Come si vede nella foto sotto, i miei strozzapreti variano un po' in lunghezza: che dire? Sono fatti a mano!

ogni strozzaprete è unico

Preparate un sugo di pomodoro come volete. Nel mio caso, avevo della passata di pomodori arrosto e ho usato quella.

Cuocete gli strozzapreti in abbondante acqua salata, conditeli con sugo e formaggio a piacere. Questa ricetta fa due porzioni piccole.

Questo è il mio contributo all'Abbecedario culinario d'Italia, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare tutte le regioni italiane utilizzando come guida l'alfabeto. Z come Zocca (Emilia Romagna) è ospitata da Roxy di Curiosando in cucina.

Questa pagina contiene la lista delle ricette inviate all'evento e uno slide show.

Presto Pasta Nights #288: il riepilogo / the roundup

November 2, 2012 | Simona

It's Friday and time to share the pasta dishes that I have received as contributions to edition #288 of Presto Pasta Nights, the popular event created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. For each contribution, I will give you the official information (author, blog name and post title) and a short quote or brief description — a teaser that invites you to follow the link to read the relevant post. Make sure you come back to this post and read it all through, included the important announcement at the bottom.

Marija of Palachinka prepared Chicken and Brandy Farfalle
"Meat gets a special aroma after cooking with booze, admit it. Add dried mushrooms, anchovies and pine nuts and you’ve got a winner."

Alicia of Foodycat shares with us her Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Orzo
"The sweet pumpkin, salty-creamy cheese, salty-crunchy panceta and clean, minerally spinach worked very well together, with the salty, spicy pumpkin seeds adding another layer of texture."

Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once prepared some Panzerotti with Red Capsicum and Tomato — "as ricotta fillings can be quite bland, the sauce needs a certain amount of richness. To fill this need, I've made a sauce that combines red capsicums and sweet cherry tomatoes."

tigerfish of an escape to food shares with us Kale and Tomato Soba Noodle Soup
A bowl of veggie-noodle soup prepared from scratch to go with some frozen handmade dumpling for a soul and body warming meal.

Ivy of Kopiaste to Greek Hospitality prepared Penne with Mushroos, Roasted Garlic, Cilantro and Marinare Sauce — Ivy makes marinara sauce, then stores it in the freezer and she always has roasted garlic, so it takes her less than 15 minutes to prepare this dish.

Ruth of Once Upon a Feast prepared Fiorelli with Homemade Garlicky Breadcrumbs
"How could I resist three of my favorite ingredients – garlic (6 large cloves), anchovies (I used 6) and fresh breadcrumbs"?

Simona of briciole presents handmade trofiette
"To make a trofietta, I roll the short piece of dough with the side of my thumb, at the same time pushing slightly towards the right." (See the video in the post which also has a book giveaway)

And that concludes my roundup, which will be added to all the previous Presto Pasta Nights roundups and continue the lovely tradition started by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.

As you read this, edition #289 is already under way, hosted by fellow Californians Kirsten of From Kirsten's Kitchen to Yours. To participate, send your entries to kirstenmlindquist AT gmail DOT com and cc: ruth AT 4everykitchen DOT com by Thursday, November 8.

Important announcement: Edition #289 is the last but one and then Ruth will host the final edition. I am calling all pasta lovers around the world: let's make sure we say a fitting goodbye to Presto Pasta Nigths and a huge thank you! to Ruth who has created and organized the event for 290 weeks.

Many thanks to all who contributed to produce an interesting collection of pasta dishes for this edition of Presto Pasta Nights. I do hope I have not left anybody out of the roundup. If you find that, notwithstanding my best intentions, I actually have omitted a post, please send me a note.

Arrivederci a presto

trofiette / handmade trofiette

November 1, 2012 | Simona

trofiette with tomato sauce

Thomas Jefferson's Crème Brûlée is an appealing title for an interesting book (see giveaway rules ahead) in which the author, Thomas J. Craughwell, tells the story of Jefferson's sojourn in Paris, from 1784 to 1789. Jefferson was there as a commissioner and minister, and during those years, he had one of his slaves, James Hemings, apprentice as a cook so he could learn French cuisine.

As James apprenticed under master French chefs, Jefferson studied the cultivation of French crops (especially grapes for winemaking) so they might be replicated in American agriculture. The two men returned home with such marvels as pasta, French fries, champagne, macaroni and cheese, crème brûlée, and a host of other treats. (source)

Jefferson brought back "86 crates of European kitchen utensils and equipment and hundreds of bottled of wine, cheeses, and ingredients unavailable in America, such as olive oil and Maille mustard." James brought back all he had learned, and he then trained his brother Peter. Once he had accomplished the task, Jefferson freed him in 1796, honoring a contract the two had signed to that effect.

The book describes Jefferson's fascination with French cuisine and table customs, produce and wines. Unfortunately, we don't know James Hemings' perspective about his life in Paris: learning French, working as an apprentice chef, being a slave. On pages 43-47, Craughwell talks about this: "The moment James set foot in France, he would have been able to claim his freedom, and Jefferson could have done nothing to stop him." Hence, Jefferson's offer of freedom if he taught another slave. I think it is really sad that we don't have any historical documents telling Hemings' side of the story. What did he think of Paris? How did he fel about his legal condition, surrounded as he was by people not owned by anybody?

James was not the only Hemings to spend time in France. In 1785, Jefferson's youngest daughter, Polly, arrived in Paris accompanied by Sally Hemings. I knew a certain amount about Thomas Jefferson's life before reading the book, and certainly learned more by reading it. At the same time, I also read a very interesting article on the Smithsonian website, titled The Dark Side of Thomas Jefferson, which describes life at Monticello, Jefferson's plantation ("a small town in everything but name, not just because of its size, but in its complexity"), and discusses Jefferson's "transformation" on slavery and his perspective of it in the years that followed:

"One cannot question the genuineness of Jefferson’s liberal dreams," writes historian David Brion Davis. "He was one of the first statesmen in any part of the world to advocate concrete measures for restricting and eradicating Negro slavery."

But in the 1790s, Davis continues, "the most remarkable thing about Jefferson’s stand on slavery is his immense silence. And later, Davis finds, Jefferson’s emancipation efforts "virtually ceased."

The same site also mentions the book discussed here in the post Meet Edith and Fanny, Thomas Jefferson’s Enslaved Master Chefs. which talks about Edith Fossett and and Fanny Hern, the two young women Jefferson brought to Washington in 1802.

Thomas Jefferson's Crème Brûlée offers a view of Jefferson's life and also of the historical period, since he spent in Paris the years leading to the French Revolution (he and his family sailed back to the US in November of 1789, after it had started). In the years after his return home, Jefferson processed the information and knowledge he had acquired during his stay in Paris and his travels elsewhere in Europe. One thing that made me smile is the use Jefferson made of excellent dinners he provided at his house for political purposes, as in the case of bringing Alexander Hamilton to compromise on the location of the US capital in 1790.

The book suggests that Jefferson introduced macaroni (general term for pasta) and cheese to the US. In his documents, we see that he got interested in pasta and on pages 116 and 117, there are two interesting documents:

a note by Jefferson that includes the drawing of a pasta machine and starts with the words: "The best maccaroni in Italy is made with a particular sort of flour called Semola, in Naples…"
the transcription of a recipe for macaroni noodles (this page has a good reproduction), which uses eggs and milk and explicitly excludes water.

The transcription of both documents is available on this page of the Monticello website. As for the recipe, Craughwell's trascription has "a little salt" as the fourth ingredient and I agree; I disagree with both sources on the amount of flour, which I think is noted as 2 lb (it cannot be 2 tb, as you would not get a pasta dough with that amount, given 6 whole eggs and "2 wine glasses of milk"¹).

Jefferson's drawing of the pasta machine is quite intriguing, as is the fact that he obtained a pasta machine:

In February 1789, William Short wrote to Jefferson that he had procured a "mould for making macaroni" at Jefferson's request in Naples, and had it forwarded on to his mentor in Paris. The macaroni mold probably did not reach Paris until after Jefferson had departed. His belongings were shipped to Philadelphia in 1790, and the machine was probably included with those items. We know that Jefferson did have the machine in the United States eventually, as it is listed in a packing list with other household items shipped from Philadelphia to Monticello in 1793. (source)

In my recent pasta shape explorations, I have focused on using my hands to shape pasta. As I have showed in recent months, making pasta with semolina flour (semola di grano duro) is easy and a great introductory exercise to pasta making, a craft that obviously intrigued Jefferson. I wonder if James Hemings invented some shapes of his own. Trofiette is the sixth pasta shape I have explored recently and I did so while reading "Thomas Jefferson's Crème Brûlée," so I am presenting them in the same post.

Book giveaway: I will gladly send a copy of Thomas Jefferson's Crème Brûlée to one of the people who will either comment on the post OR re-tweet the announcement OR like briciole's page on Facebook by the end of Friday, November 15. Update (November 21): 15 people qualified for the random drawing and the random number generator gave me number 11. The 11th name in the list is Cynthia: congratulations to the winner!

Differently from other pasta shapes I have made recently, trofiette come from Liguria, a region in northern Italy. I saw a rendition of them in a video (starting at 3:15) and then went about making them my way. This is another pasta shape for which you don't need any special tool.

To make a trofietta, I roll the short piece of dough with the side of my thumb, at the same time pushing slightly towards the right. I hope the video gives an idea of the hand movement. Note that in making trofiette, you need the working surface to offer a slight resistance, i.e., you don't want the piece of dough to slide on it as the thumb applies pressure. Hence, I recommend that you clean the working surface you are using for shaping the trofiette and don't sprinkle any flour on it. (It is fine to sprinkle flour on the area where you lay out the trofiette to dry.)

looking a trofietta in the eye

The dough I used is the same as described in previous posts on handmade pasta, most recently fusilli al ferro.

Ingredients for the pasta (I recommend weighing both flour and water because the quantities involved are small):

100 g / 3.5 oz. semolina flour of good quality²
50 g / 1.75 oz. warm water (I recommend weighing the water)
a pinch of salt

Trofiette are great with pesto, but I had a nice fresh batch of my tomato sauce when I made them for the photo-op, so that is what I used.

Ingredients for the tomato sauce:

olive oil
a shallot, minced
leaves of a sprig of thyme
a small garlic clove, thinly sliced
2 cups strained roasted tomatoes (thawed, if frozen)
sea salt, to taste
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to taste

Make a dough with the three ingredients and knead until nice and smooth. [This post (with video) talks about how to make semolina pasta dough] Let the dough rest, covered, for half an hour or so.

Roll the dough into a thick salami and cut it into pieces. Keep them covered while you shape the trofiette. Roll each piece into a thin snake, 1/4 inch / 0.5 cm thick, then cut into pieces about 1 1/2 inch / 4 cm long (I use my three middle fingers to guide the blade).

Shape each piece into a trofietta (see video above and the paragraph underneath it) and lay it out. You may want to dust lightly with flour the surface where you lay the shaped trofiette, to prevent them from sticking.

each piece of handmade pasta is unique

In a small saucepan, warm up a bit of olive oil, then add shallot and thyme. Cook gently for a few minutes, then add garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 7-8 minutes. Adjust salt, to taste. Note that this will make more sauce than you need to dress the trofiette, but once you have the sauce ready, I am sure you'll find ways of using it, like making more handmade pasta.

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, then toss the trofiette in it (what in Italian we call: buttare giù la pasta). The time needed is a bit variable, depending on the size of trofiette, how dry they are, etc. Taste and stop the cooking when the trofiette are ready. Pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and drain the trofiette. Place in a bowl, sprinkle a bit of the cheese on top and stir briefly, then distribute some tomato sauce and toss. Finally, sprinkle some cheese on top and serve immediately.

The recipe makes two small portions.

There is a page on the blog where you can browse the complete collection of handmade pasta shapes, some of them of my own creation.

¹ I wrote a comment about this on the page referenced and it has been published, but I have yet to receive an answer.

² See the post on orecchiette for details on the various types of ground durum wheat.

This is my contribution to edition #288 of Presto Pasta Nights. The event was created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast and is hosted this week by Simona of briciole (that would be me).

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

trofiette

or launch the trofiette audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

FTC disclosure: I have requested a review copy of the book mentioned in this post from the publisher and received it free of charge. I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for discussing the book on my blog. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

pasta, tomato sauce, Italian recipe

annuncio / announcement: Presto Pasta Nights #288

October 26, 2012 | Simona

This week, I have once again the honor of hosting Presto Pasta Night, edition #288 to be precise.

Pasta comes in a myriad shapes. This past summer, I started a journey into pasta shapes from southern Italy made by hand using an eggless dough: strascinati, orecchiette, maccheroni al ferro, gnocchetti sardi, and fusilli al ferro. I am having so much fun that I am planning to continue teaching my hands to make new tricks.

Week after week, Presto Pasta Nights captures snapshots of the countless realizations of pasta dishes by food bloggers around the world.

Important note: Ruth of Once Upon a Feast, the creator and organizer of Presto Pasta Nights, has just announced that edition #290 will be the last one: "After over five years, and what will be 290 roundups hosted by close to 100 charming hosts and too many recipes to count, it's time to call it a day."

Let's make sure we say Goodbye and Thank you with all due flourish to this beloved event!

I will be delighted to receive your contribution to this week's edition of Presto Pasta Nights. The rules to participate are detailed on this page. Feel free to let me or Ruth know if you have any questions.

Entries for this week's edition of PPN must be posted during the days covered by it, meaning, from Friday October 26 through Thursday, November 1. In your post, include a link to Presto Pasta Nights and also to briciole. You can download the PPN logo to add to your post.

Send your entry to me at simosite AT mac DOT com and cc Ruth at ruth AT 4everykitchen DOT com, specifying PPN #288 in the title of the message.

In your email please include the following information:

Your Name
Your Blog Name/URL
Your Post URL
Attach a photo (maximum width 400px)

Sometimes messages get lost in cyberspace, so if you don't receive an acknowledgment of your email or see a comment on your post, please contact me again by leaving a comment on this announcement.

The deadline for submitting your contribution is Thursday night November 1, 2012. I will post the roundup on Friday.

Presto Pasta Nights #280: il riepilogo / the roundup

September 7, 2012 | Simona

It's Friday and time to share the pasta dishes that I have received as contributions to edition #280 of Presto Pasta Nights, the popular event created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. For each contribution, I will give you the official information (author, blog name and post title) and a short quote or brief description — a teaser that invites you to follow the link to read the relevant post.

Priya of The Humpty Dumpty Kitchen prepared Tortiglioni with Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Lime Infused Béchamel — "What I wanted to do was a lime infused cream sauce… The only thing you need to do here is fire roast your tomatoes."

Janet of The Taste Space prepared Zucchini Spaghetti with Chickpeas and a Roasted Tomato-Peach Sauce — This recipe "combines seemingly polarized end of summer produce: tomatoes and peaches. Both become sweet through roasting in the oven."

Val of More Than Burnt Toast shares with us Linguine ai Porcini
"I fell in love with this pasta dish when I first tasted it from Pietro's demonstration. The dried porcini and the artisanal pasta make for a memorable dish."

Elizabeth of The Law Student’s Cookbook prepared Roasted Eggplant
"Roasting the eggplant definitely transformed the texture into something palatable. This was a very easy pasta dish with a lot of flavor."

Heather of girlichef prepared Whole Wheat Couscous w/ Smoked Salmon, Baby Kale, & Za'atar
The title says it all: this is a combination of great ingredients with assertive flavors, seasone with olive oil from New Zealand.

Joanne of Eats Well With Others offers us Creamy Spinach Spaghetti with Roasted Tomatoes
"A spinach avocado pesto that tastes creamy and buttery even though there is not a hint of either in it, offset by the deeply sweet and slightly tangy flavor of roasted cherry tomatoes…"

Ruth of Once Upon a Feast prepared Better then Best Stuffed Pasta Shells
"My Honey loved them because they taste like pizza. I really loved the dry, crispness of them, so unlike usual ooey-gooey, saucy bakes."

Simona of briciole presents fusilli al ferro (handmade fusilli)
A wooden skewer helps shape the fusilli, which are later dressed with a variation of beloved burro e parmigiano.

And that concludes my roundup, which will be added to all the previous Presto Pasta Nights roundups and continue the lovely tradition started by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.

As you read this, edition #281 is already under way, hosted by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. To participate, send your entries to ruth AT 4everykitchen DOT com by Thursday, September 14.

If you are interested in hosting this lovely event on your blog, contact Ruth at: ruth AT 4everykitchen DOT com. You can always check who is hosting the current edition on this page.

Arrivederci a presto

fusilli al ferro / handmade fusilli

September 6, 2012 | Simona

handmade fusilli with browned butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano

In learning to make maccheroni al ferro, I saw the possibility of using the same simple tool to create another type of pasta shape. Slightly different hand movements result in different shapes. (from this post)

This is what I meant:

Browsing around, I found a video where the hand movements are basically the same as mine: as I suspected, I had made fusilli.

In Italian fusillo means small fuso (spindle). As I have mentioned before, the names of pasta shapes may be a bit confusing. For example, in this video Rosetta Costantino shows how to make Calabrian fusilli, which look like very long maccheroni. I have also seen videos in which fusilli are shaped starting from a rectangle of pasta, rather then a thin rope. I like to do a bit of research to find out where things come from, but when I get entangled in the mesh of local traditions that differ from village to village, I give up. In the end, what counts is having fun with the task at hand.

What's the trick in making fusilli? As I hope you can see from the video above, the piece of dough to make a fusillo is thinner and longer than the one I use to make a maccherone. The dough gets wrapped around the skewer starting at an angle and the hands do not flatten the dough, but rather, roll it slightly to thin the pasta and make the pasta spiral a bit tighter.

handmade fusilli on the kneading board

The dough I used is the same as described before. What I did differently this time is that I dressed the pasta with a variation of the burro e parmigiano theme, using browned butter (burro nocciola).

Ingredients for the pasta (I recommend weighing both flour and water because the quantities involved are small):

100 g / 3.5 oz. semolina flour of good quality¹
50 g / 1.75 oz. warm water (I recommend weighing the water)
a pinch of salt

To dress the pasta:

1/2 tablespoon / 7 g browned butter, or to taste
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to taste

Make a dough with the three ingredients and knead until nice and smooth. [This post (with video) talks about how to make semolina pasta dough] Let the dough rest, covered, for at least half an hour.

Roll the dough into a thick salami and cut it into 5-6 pieces. Keep them covered while you shape the fusilli. Roll each piece into a thin snake (1/4 inch / 6 mm thick), then cut into pieces about 2 1/2 inch / 6.5 cm long. Shape each piece into a fusillo with the skewer.

Place a piece of dough on the working surface on a diagonal. Place the skewer at the bottom end of the piece of dough, then roll the skewer away from you until the dough is all wrapped around it. Rock the skewer back and forth a few times while pressing it gently with your hands to the right and left of the rolled dough. Do not press hard or the dough will stick to the skewer. Gently slide the fusillo off the skewer and lay it out to dry on a lightly floured section of the kneading board (or a baking sheet lined with a cotton kitchen towel).

Have at least two skewers ready to work with and exchange them every few pieces of pasta. Insert the skewers into some flour in between uses, so they dry.

Repeat until you have used up the prepared dough. Be very gentle in handling the hollow pasta, as it tends to flatten a bit.

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, then toss the fusilli in it (what in Italian we call: buttare giù la pasta). The time needed is a bit variable, depending on the size of fusilli, how dry they are, etc.

When the fusilli are nearly done, melt the browned butter in a small frying pan.

Taste and stop the cooking when the fusilli are ready. Pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and drain the fusilli. Drop the pasta into the pan with the butter. Stir well, then sprinkle some of the cheese and stir some more. Plate and sprinkle a bit more cheese on the top. Serve immediately.

The recipe makes two small portions.

For the current edition of Cook the Books, we are reading Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin (1988). I didn't know this book before I saw it on our reading list and am grateful to Deb of Kahakai Kitchen for choosing such a delightful memoir. The style is sparkling, the voice fresh and engaging, and the book is a real pleasure to dive into. If you have not read Home Cooking, I warmly recommend it.

Ms. Colwin shares a number of recipes with her readers, from her take on traditional dishes like Boston Brown Bread, to the result of her experiments in the kitchen, like Polenta and Broccoli di Rape. I'll be totally honest and admit that while I enjoyed reading about the recipes, I had difficulty being inspired by them, as Colwin's style of cooking is quite different from mine.

I know though, that she enjoyed making pasta, because she says so on page 178:

I was once given a pasta machine and instantly set about making pasta. My pasta was not beautiful and it did not emerge from its final rolling in one long, beautiful sheet, but it certainly was delicious and not overly time-consuming.

Ms. Colwin was open to trying new things to decide for herself whether she liked them or not. I am sure she would have been open to learn to make the pasta shapes with which I have been experimenting recently (strascinati, orecchiette, maccheroni al ferro, gnocchetti sardi ), and she would have commented on her experience with the wit she shows throughout Home Cooking. So, to her I dedicate my last adventure in pasta making: fusilli al ferro. And based on the recipes in the book, I know she would have liked the burro e parmigiano dressing.

¹ See the post on orecchiette for details on the various types of ground durum wheat.

This is my contribution to the current edition of Cook the Books, hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. You can find the guidelines for participating in the event here, and here is the announcement. This post contains the roundup of the event.

This is also my contribution to edition #280 of Presto Pasta Nights. The event was created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast and is hosted this week by Simona of briciole (that would be me). This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

fusilli al ferro

or launch the fusilli al ferro audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

pasta, butter, Parmigiano-Reggiano

annuncio / announcement: Presto Pasta Nights #280

August 31, 2012 | Simona

This week, I have once again the honor of hosting Presto Pasta Night, edition #280 to be precise.

Pasta comes in a myriad shapes. Recently, I have started a journey into pasta shapes from southern Italy made by hand using an eggless dough: strascinati, orecchiette, maccheroni al ferro and gnocchetti sardi. I am having so much fun that I am planning to continue teaching my hands to make new tricks.

Week after week, Presto Pasta Nights captures snapshots of the countless realizations of pasta dishes by food bloggers around the world.

I will be delighted to receive your contribution to this week’s edition of Presto Pasta Nights. The rules to participate are detailed on this page. Feel free to let me or Ruth know if you have any questions.

Entries for this week’s edition of PPN must be posted during the days covered by it, meaning, from Friday August 31 through Thursday, September 6. In your post, include a link to Presto Pasta Nights and also to briciole. You can download the PPN logo to add to your post.

Send your entry to me at simosite AT mac DOT com and cc Ruth at ruth AT 4everykitchen DOT com, specifying PPN #280 in the title of the message.

In your email please include the following information:

Your Name
Your Blog Name/URL
Your Post URL
Attach a photo (maximum width 400px)

Sometimes messages get lost in cyberspace, so if you don’t receive an acknowledgment of your email or see a comment on your post, please contact me again by leaving a comment on this announcement.

The deadline for submitting your contribution is Thursday night September 6, 2012. I will post the roundup on Friday.

gnocchetti sardi al sugo / Sardinian gnocchi with tomato sauce

August 26, 2012 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

malloreddus (Sardinian gnocchi)

Another cool type of handmade pasta! You can tell I am having a lot of fun with my recent explorations of traditional Italian pasta shapes. As the Abbecedario culinario d'Italia (Italian Culinary ABC) crossed the sea to reach the shores of Sardegna (Sardinia), I knew this would be my chance to explore the traditional small gnocchi (gnocchetti) that are made on the island, called malloreddus.

Although I have been to Sardinia once, a trip from which I have a lot of fond memories, my connection with malloreddus comes from the fact that in my first job, I had a number of colleagues from Sardinia and a couple of times I saw the malloreddus one of them made. I wish I had been interested in cooking back then: I could have learned to make this pasta from an expert, but I wasn't and so I only remember the shape and the small size.

For my rendition, I was inspired by this video: the gnocchetti part starts at 2:52. The size of the pasta in the video is larger than what I made. Different recipes I read make different sizes, so I decided to make my an executive decision: my gnocchetti are on the small side, but not terribly small.

For the occasion, I purchased a gnocchi board, something I had on my wish list for a while. It is a small, inexpensive tool and is quite handy for making this pasta. In this video starting at 9:30, you can see malloreddus shaped inside a basket with a flat bottom (called ciuliri in dialect): based on what I read, this is the traditional way of making them. (If you don't have a gnocchi board, you can try using the tines of a fork or the back of a cheese grater as surface to shape the dough. Update, May 22, 2013: I have learned that an online store sells a malloreddus board, whose surface is a bit different from the gnocchi board.)

a pretty pasta shape

Here are my gnocchetti on the kneading board (spianatoia), which this time I remembered to flour lightly. And the short video shows my hands cutting the rope of pasta and shaping gnocchetti. As in the video that inspired me, I am showing two ways of shaping the pasta: you can use your thumb or your index finger, depending on how you feel more comfortable. You'll see in the video that the position of the gnocchi board depends on the finger you want to use.

The trick here is to apply the right amount of pressure on the piece of dough while dragging it along the board so that you get the sort of curl with the grooves on the surface and the nice nook on the other side (think: sauce cradle). If you press too hard, the dough gets sort of smushed and sticks to the board. I found that I did not need to flour the gnocchi board: it remained dry throughout the process. However, as usual, I made a small batch every time, which is what I suggest you do too, the first time you try. (To learn well, though, I made the small batch six times in a matter of 10 days or so.)

The dough for malloreddus includes a small amount of zafferano (saffron), which is a product of the island, "the crimson spice that turns foods an inviting yellow while conferring an elusive something that makes the food taste all the better." (source)

The tomato sauce in the recipe for malloreddus alla campidanese (Campidano is an area of Sardinia) includes sausage, but I skipped that in favor of my usual, simpler, tomato sauce made with roasted tomatoes. However, based on those recipes, a suggestion I received in a recent comment, and the fact that this pasta shape is fairly sturdy, I decided to finish the dish in a small skillet, where I warmed up the sauce.

Ingredients for the pasta (I recommend weighing both flour and water because the quantities involved are small):

50 g / 1.75 oz. hot water
a few strand of saffron or a pinch of saffron powder
100 g / 3.5 oz. semolina flour of good quality¹
a pinch of salt

Ingredients for the tomato sauce:

olive oil
a shallot, minced
leaves of a sprig of thyme
a small garlic clove, thinly sliced
2 cups strained roasted tomatoes (thawed, if frozen)
sea salt, to taste
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or fiore sardo (Sardinian sheep cheese), or a mix of the two cheeses, to taste

Add the saffron strands or the powder to the water. Stir and let sit for 10 minutes or so. If using the strands, remove them before using the water to make the pasta dough.

Make a dough with the water, flour and salt and knead until nice and smooth. [This post (with video) talks about how to make semolina pasta dough] Let the dough rest, covered well so that it does not dry out, for at least half an hour.

Roll the dough into a thick salami and cut it into pieces. Keep them covered while you shape the gnocchetti. Roll each piece into a pencil-size snake (3/8 inch / 1 cm thick), then cut into 1 cm / 3/8 inch long pieces. Shape each small piece into a gnocchetto using a gnocchi board or other method (see above). Place a piece of dough on the board, apply to it some pressure with either your thumb or your index finger and drag it on the board to curl it. The resulting gnocchetto will have grooves on the convex surface and a nice nook on the other side. If you use your thumb, the board handle points towards you and the dragging motion is away from you. If you use your index finger, the board faces you and the dragging motion is towards you.

Lay out the gnocchetti to dry.

In a small saucepan, warm up a bit of olive oil, then add shallot and thyme. Cook gently for a few minutes, then add garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes. Adjust salt, to taste. Note that this will make more sauce than you need to dress the orecchiette, but once you have the sauce ready, I am sure you'll find ways of using it, like making more handmade pasta.

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, then toss the malloreddus in it (what in Italian we call: buttare giù la pasta). They will come to the surface as they cook. The time needed is a bit variable, depending on the size of the gnocchetti, how dry they are, etc. Of all the pasta shapes I made recently, this is the one that took longest to cook. Still don't wander far away from the pot, but, for example, grate the cheese while you wait.

While the pasta is cooking, place a few tablespoons of the sauce in a small skillet and warm it up. Taste the pasta and stop the cooking slightly earlier than usual. Drain the pasta and drop it into the skillet with the sauce. Stir well over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle some of the cheese and stir one last time. Plate and sprinkle a bit more cheese on the top. Serve immediately. The recipe makes two small portions.

¹ See the post on orecchiette for details on the various types of ground durum wheat.

Totally cute pasta, don't you think?

This is my submission for the 14th installment of the Abbecedario culinario d'Italia (Italian Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit all the 20 regions of Italy using the alphabet as guide. Q come Quartu Sant'Elena (Sardegna) is hosted by Bribantilla e Satori of The Cooking Sisters. This page contains the list of all the contributions to the event.

I am also sending this to the #279 edition of Presto Pasta Nights. The event was created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast and is hosted this week by the creator herself. This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

gnocchetti sardi al sugo

or launch the gnocchetti sardi al sugo audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

[jump to Comments]

pasta, tomato sauce, Italian recipe

gnocchetti sardi al sugo

malloreddus (gnocchetti sardi)

Un'altra tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario d'Italia e un'altra occasione per cimentarmi con una pasta tradizionale: arriviamo in Sardegna e io imparo a fare i malloreddus.

Della mia unica visita in Sardegna ho dei bei ricordi, ma i malloreddus della mia memoria vengono dalle colleghe sarde del mio primo lavoro. Avrei potuto imparare da loro, ma a quell'epoca la cucina non mi interessava (e tra lavoro a tempo pieno e università non avevo nemmeno tempo). Mi ricordo però che erano piccoli.

Per i miei esperimenti ho seguito questo video (la signora comincia a formare gli gnocchetti dopo 2' e 52"). Per l'occasione, mi sono dotata di riga gnocchi e mi ci sono trovata bene. Ho letto che tradizionalmente i malloreddus si preparano con l'aiuto di un cestino che si chiama ciuliri (in questo video lo si vede dopo 9' e 30".)

una pasta davvero carina

Questa breve sequenza mostra le mie mani al lavoro. Stavolta mi sono ricordata di infarinare un po' la spianatoia. Come nel video che mi ha ispirato, faccio vedere due modi per formare gli gnocchi: col pollice o con l'indice. La posizione del riga gnocchi rispetto alle mani dipende da quale dito usate.

Occorre applicare abbastanza pressione al pezzetto di pasta mentre lo si trascina lungo le righe per farlo arricciare, ma non tanta da spiaccicarlo. Non ho mai avuto bisogno di infarinare il riga gnocchi, forse perché come al solito ogni volta ho fatto una quantità di pasta limitata in modo da imparare senza sentirmi sotterrata (in totale credo di averli fatti sei volte in una decina di giorni).

L'impasto per fare i malloreddus comprende una piccola quantità di zafferano, prodotto tipico dell'isola. Invece di fare un sugo sostanzioso, data anche la stagione, ho usato il mio solito sugo di pomodoro fatto con i pomodori arrosto. Però in base a delle ricette che ho visto, ad un commento recente, e al fatto che questo tipo di pasta è piuttosto resistente alla cottura, ho deciso di terminare la cottura in una padellina col sugo.

Ingredienti:

50 g acqua molto calda
alcuni stimmi di zafferano o un pizzico di zafferano in polvere
100 g semola di grano duro
un pizzico di sale
sugo di pomodoro a piacere
Parmigiano-Reggiano o fiore sardo grattugiato, o un misto, a piacere

Mettere i fili di zafferano o la polvere nell'acqua e mescolare. Far riposare per 10 minuti. Lavorare semola, acqua e sale fino ad avere un bell'impasto liscio. [Questo post (con video) descrive come faccio l'impasto per pasta con la semola] Farlo riposare, ben coperto, per almeno mezz'ora.

Formare un salsicciotto e tagliarlo a pezzi da lavorare uno alla volta, mentre gli altri rimangono al coperto. Rotolare fino ad ottenere un serpentello grosso come una matita (anche qui ho notato un po' di variabilità, ma questo è quello che ho fatto io) e tagliarlo a pezzetti di 1 cm. Fare ad ogni pezzetto di impasto la forma di uno gnocchetto usando il riga gnocchi o altro metodo che preferite.

Occorre applicare abbastanza pressione al pezzetto di pasta mentre lo si trascina lungo le righe per farlo arricciare, ma non tanta da spiaccicarlo. La posizione del riga gnocchi rispetto alle mani dipende da quale dito usate per formare lo gnocchetto. Se usate il pollice, il manico del riga gnocchi è puntato verso di voi e il dito si allontana da voi. Se usate l'indice, il riga gnocchi è di fronte a voi e il dito si muove verso di voi.

Lasciar asciugare gli gnocchetti.

Preparate un sugo di pomodoro come volete. Questa è la stagione dei pomodori, quindi usarli freschi è un'opzione. Nel mio caso, avevo della passata di pomodori arrosto e ho usato quella.

Cuocere gli gnocchetti in abbondante acqua salata. Nel frattempo, mettere qualche cucchiaio di sugo in una padellina e scaldarlo. Scolare gli gnocchetti un po' prima del solito e versarli nella padellina col sugo. Alzare il calore e mescolare bene per un paio di minuti. Condire con parte del formaggio e mescolare un'ultima volta. Impiattare e spargere dell'altro formaggio sulla pasta. Servire immediatamente. Questa ricetta fa due porzioni piccole.

Sono carinissimi, vero?

Con questo post contribuisco anche all'Abbecedario culinario d'Italia, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare tutte le regioni italiane utilizzando come guida l'alfabeto. La tappa Q come Quartu Sant'Elena (Sardegna) è ospitata da Bribantilla e Satori di The Cooking Sisters.

Questa pagina contiene la lista dei contributi all'evento.

pasta veloce per cena numero 277: il riepilogo / Presto Pasta Nights #277: the roundup

August 17, 2012 | Simona

It's Friday and time to share the pasta dishes that I have received as contributions to edition #277 of Presto Pasta Nights, the popular event created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. For each contribution, I will give you the official information (author, blog name and post title) and a short quote or brief description — a teaser that invites you to follow the link to read the relevant post.

Sarah of La Cuisine de Sarah prepared Truffle & Mushroom Ravioli
A series on TV inspired "to dust off the old pasta machine. To honour its outing I decided to open the jar of truffle paste I had been saving."

Becky of Veghotpot shares with us Summer Courgette Pasta
"The juices from the tomatoes and courgettes make the pasta ‘saucey’ enough to not be dry and the soft mushrooms add another texture."

Kathryn of Crafts and Creations with Kmom14 presents Pasta Alfredo
"The sauce has a bit of a nutty flavor from the nutmeg, a bit of tangy flavor from the lemon, and combined with the other ingredients is a filling main dish "comfort" food."

Valerie of A Canadian Foodie prepared Serbian Meatballs with the Best Ever Homemade Tomato Sauce — "A frozen package of my always-on-hand and used-to-enhance-so-many-dishes Best Ever Homemade Tomato Sauce was thrown in with the browned balls, a little cream was added" and wide, crimped pasta.

Pam of Sidewalk Shoes presents Penne with Zucchini and Mint
"It’s lovely. Simple. Fresh. Totally encompasses the eat what is in season now. It’s not a huge show stopper, it’s just simplicity at it’s best."

Ruth of Once Upon a Feast prepared Thai-style Chicken & Mushroom Udon Stir-fry
"I had a plan. Use udon noodles, beet greens and shrimp… this dish was so good my daughter said she had to "drink" the last of the sauce."

Simona of briciole presents maccheroni al ferro al sugo (handmade maccheroni with tomato sauce) — A wooden skewer helps shape the maccheroni, which are later dressed with a simple tomato sauce.

And that concludes my roundup, which will be added to all the previous Presto Pasta Nights roundups and continue the lovely tradition started by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.

As you read this, edition #278 is already under way, hosted by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. To participate, send your entries to ruth AT 4everykitchen DOT com by Thursday, August 23.

If you are interested in hosting this lovely event on your blog, contact Ruth at: ruth AT 4everykitchen DOT com. You can always check who is hosting the current edition on this page.

Arrivederci a presto

maccheroni al ferro al sugo / handmade maccheroni with tomato sauce

August 16, 2012 | Simona

handmade maccheroni with tomato sauce

I am on a roll with handmade pasta. Just in the past few weeks, I have made strascinati and orecchiette. Here, I continue my exploration of pasta shapes with maccheroni al ferro.

maccheroni making in progress

In my rendition of this pasta, I followed this video and made relatively short maccheroni. I suggest you do the same the first few times, until you become familiar with the process. Then, if you like, you can try making longer maccheroni, as shown in the video included in this post (in Italian).

image from distilleryimage3.s3.amazonaws.com

my first try at making longer maccheroni

The dough is basically the same as the one for orecchiette. Instead of just your hands, for maccheroni you need the ferro, a metal spike (you can see it in this photo). However, a thin wooden skewer works as a substitute and it is what I have used.

My hands making maccheroni al ferro are shown in this short video:

The trick, so to speak, is to apply enough pressure on the piece of dough so that it flattens and spreads around the ferro as you roll it, but not so much as to make it stick to the ferro. At the end of the process, you want to be able to slide the maccherone from the ferro without misshaping it (if that happens, you can always re-roll the dough and try again).

It helps to flour the skewer often. I have two of them at hand: while I am using one, the other is inside the flour bag. When the first one becomes a bit sticky, I put it in the flour and take up the other. (In the photo above they are both on the kneading board for demo purposes.)

As I have said in the past, when you decide to try, start with a small amount of flour, so you don't get overwhelmed. Then, when you are comfortable with the process, you can double the amount, or more.

a nice plate of handmade pasta

Dress maccheroni with a simple tomato sauce, or try the combination with another sauce you like.

Ingredients for the pasta (I recommend weighing both flour and water because the quantities involved are small):

100 g / 3.5 oz. semolina flour of good quality¹
50 g / 1.75 oz. warm water
a pinch of salt

Ingredients for the tomato sauce:

olive oil
a shallot, minced
leaves of a sprig of thyme
a small garlic clove, thinly sliced
2 cups strained roasted tomatoes, thawed if frozen
sea salt, to taste
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to taste

Make the pasta
Make a dough with the first three ingredients and knead until nice and smooth. [This post (with video) talks about how to make semolina pasta dough] This is a bit of an exercise, since the dough is fairly stiff (you are making pasta, not bread). The dough is of a lovely pale yellow color. Let the dough rest, covered, for at least half an hour.

Roll the dough into a thick salami and cut it into pieces. Keep them covered while you shape the maccheroni. Roll each piece into a pencil-size snake (3/8 inch / 1 cm thick), then cut into 2 inch / 5 cm long pieces (if you are making longer maccheroni, cut the roll into 2 3/4 inch / 7 cm long pieces).

Shape each piece into a maccherone with the skewer. Place the ferro on the center of the piece of dough, press it lightly to make it stable, then start rolling. The first thing that happens is that a cylinder is formed, then the cylinder gets longer.

Lay out to dry. You may want to dust the surface lightly with flour or line it with a cotton kitchen towel.

ready to be cooked

Make the tomato sauce
In a small saucepan, warm up a bit of olive oil, then add shallot and thyme. Cook gently for a few minutes, then add garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes. Adjust salt, to taste. Note that this will make more sauce than you need to dress the maccheroni, but once you have the sauce ready, I am sure you'll find ways of using it, like making more handmade pasta.

The final act
Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, then toss the maccheroni in it (what in Italian we call: buttare giù la pasta). The maccheroni will come to the surface as they cook. The time needed is a bit variable, depending on the type of flour used, the size of maccheroni, how dry they are, etc., but it is short, so don't wander far away from the pot. Taste and stop the cooking when the maccheroni are ready. Pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and drain the maccheroni. Place in a bowl, sprinkle a bit of the cheese on top and stir briefly, then distribute some tomato sauce and toss. Finally, sprinkle some cheese and serve immediately.

The recipe makes two small portions.

Last year, I wrote a post about maccherone, where I talked about the word, expressions that use it, and a sequence from an Italian movie that has to do with maccheroni: check it out here.

¹ See the post on orecchiette for details on the various types of ground durum wheat.

This is my contribution to edition #277 of Presto Pasta Nights. The event was created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast and is hosted this week by Simona of briciole (that would be me).

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

maccheroni al ferro al sugo

or launch the maccheroni al ferro al sugo audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

pasta, tomato sauce