Pasta Modern by Francine Segan Page A

first introduce d ravioli aperti back in the 1980s. Nowadays, many Italians, pressed for time, forgo ravioli making and turn the filling into a free-form sauce for pasta. The flavors are the same and it saves time.
Bergamo, in Lombardy, is renowned for its casconcelli —highly delicious, very unusual ravioli made with an odd but oh-so-tasty assortment of ingredients: salami, roast beef, pears, raisins, and crushed almond cookies.
3 tablespoons butter
2 ounces (60 g) pancetta or bacon, diced
1 sweet sausage
4 ounces (115 g) roast beef, thinly sliced, then cut into strips
1 large pear, thinly sliced, with peel left on
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1 garlic clove, minced
3 to 4 small fresh sage leaves
1 pound (455 g) calamarata or other tube pasta
Zest of ½ lemon
Grana padano or other aged cheese
Ground cinnamon
Freshly grated nutmeg
Minced fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 or 3 amaretti cookies, crushed
In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until it is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the sausage from the casing and crumble it into the pan; cook until browned. Add the beef, pear, raisins, garlic, and sage. Cook the mixture until the pears are soft.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until it is almost al dente. Drain and toss into the sauce along with a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Stir well and cook, adding more cooking liquid if needed, until the pasta is al dente. Stir in the zest and season with grated cheese, cinnamon, nutmeg, and parsley to taste. Season with salt and pepper and serve the pasta topped with a sprinkling of amaretti crumbs.



CAVATELLI WITH GOAT RAGÙ
    { Cavatelli al sugo di capra }
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    SERVES 4 | REGION: Campania, especially the province of Salerno
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Goat cheese, goat yogurt, and even goat’s milk are available in most supermarkets and are increasingly common in the States. It’s time for us Americans to appreciate the rest of the goat! Goat is the world’s most widely consumed red meat, and it’s especially popular in southern Italy.
Rolled slices of succulent goat meat, filled with cheese, garlic, and parsley, are braised here in tomatoes. Because it slow cooks for hours, the resulting sauce gets deeply infused with flavor. The pasta is tossed with the sauce and then served with thin slices of the tender rolled meat.
2 pounds (910 g) goat leg meat, cut into 5 slices
About 1 cup (115 g) grated aged pecorino cheese
⅓ cup (30 g) minced fresh parsley
5 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
1 onion, minced
1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine
1 (26-ounce/750-g) container strained tomatoes or passata di pomodori , preferably Pomi or Alice Nero brands
1 pound (455 g) cavatelli or other short pasta
Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a cast-iron skillet, pound the meat slices until as thin as possible. Sprinkle them with the cheese, parsley, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Tightly roll up each slice and tie it with kitchen twine.
In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until it is golden, about 12 minutes. Push the onion to the side of the pan and add the goat rolls. Brown each roll on all sides, adding a little more oil if needed. Pour in the wine, stir the onion and rolls together, and simmer until the wine completely evaporates. Add the tomatoes, cover, and simmer on low for 2 hours, turning the rolls occasionally, until very tender. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. While the pasta is cooking, remove the goat rolls from the pot. Thinly slice one or two of the rolls. (The rest of the rolls, topped with a little sauce and grated cheese, can be served on a platter on the side or as a second course.) Drain the pasta, toss it into the sauce, and mix well. Serve it topped with a couple slices of the meat and shaved or grated cheese, if you like.
BEHIND THE SHAPE
Cavatelli , a