specialty of southern Italy, are made by rolling walnut-sized sections of pasta dough across a wooden board with a finger or blunt knife, making a little indentation. In Italy, there’s a special tool for this called sferre . The name of the pasta comes from cavato , to carve out. They are available in the States fresh or dried.
CRUNCHY-TENDER PASTA SQUARES
{ Basotti }
----
SERVES 4 | REGION: Romagna section of Emilia-Romagna
----
This is a contrast in textures—crunchy outside with a soft cheesy center. Basotti is a hallmark dish of cucina familiare , or home cooking, that is virtually unknown even in Italy, outside of Romagna.
To understand the importance of this traditional recipe, you need to go back sixty to seventy years, when the economic conditions of Emilia-Romagna were dire. This dish was once made with whatever was on hand, such as leftover pasta baked at the side of the hearth in a bit of broth, topped with a slice of lardo, if the farmer was lucky enough to have any. Nowadays they can splurge and put butter and grated cheese on top!
This recipe is simple to assemble, but must be made with egg pasta, either fresh or dried. You don’t need much pasta, as egg pasta expands as it bakes and absorbs the cheese and broth. Speaking of broth, since it provides most of the flavor, it’s best to use homemade.
10 tablespoons (140 g) butter, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs, toasted
8 ounces (225 g) egg tagliolini or another very thin egg noodle, preferably Spinosi brand
About 2 cups (230 g) grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 quart (960 ml) very hot pork, beef, or chicken broth
Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Generously butter an 8-by-15-inch (20-by-38-cm) metal baking pan and sprinkle it with the breadcrumbs.
Layer half of the pasta in the pan and top it with half of the sliced butter, a third of the cheese, and 1 tablespoon nutmeg. Add the remaining pasta in a thin scattered layer on top. Top it with the remaining butter and more nutmeg.
Ladle the broth over the pasta until the noodles are just covered. Sprinkle the top with half of the remaining cheese. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the pasta is firm to the touch.
Raise the oven temperature to 475°F (245°C).
Top the pasta with the remaining cheese and bake for a few minutes more, until it is crispy on top. Cut the basotti into squares and serve it hot.
CHAPTER
Savory Chocolate & Coffee
----
CON LE TRE C.
WITH THREE Cs.
What Neapolitans say when ordering coffee. The “Cs” refer to comm cazz coce, which features men’s anatomy … politely translated as “very hot.”
----
This unusual savory chapter includes recipes that feature either coffee or chocolate.
As you might expect from the nation that invented the espresso machine and is renowned for its fabulous roasting techniques, Italians perform magic in the kitchen with coffee. Italians add coffee to pasta sauce, mix it right into pasta dough itself, or simply add a dusting to the finished plate. Coffee adds a complex richness to savory dishes, with hints of roasted nuts and pleasing bitterness.
Chocolate is an equally marvelous ingredient with pasta. Like wine, fine dark chocolate has an amazingly complex taste profile, with hundreds of distinct nuanced aromas and flavors.
When cacao beans arrived in Italy in the sixteenth century, the Italians quickly realized that, despite the name, cacao beans are seeds, not beans. And just like many seeds—fennel, cardamom, caraway—cacao beans are a spice. It’s only the addition of sugar that makes chocolate a sweet. So the Italians ground and toasted the cacao beans and used them in many savory dishes.
INSTANT CHOCOLATE PASTA WITH ORANGE-BASIL CREAM
{ Garganelli al cioccolato in salsa di mascarpone }
----
SERVES 4 | REGION: Throughout northern and central Italy
----
I’m crazy about this Italian trick of adding a little cocoa powder to the water when boiling pasta. It makes instant chocolate pasta, rich and earthy.
CRUNCHY-TENDER PASTA SQUARES
{ Basotti }
----
SERVES 4 | REGION: Romagna section of Emilia-Romagna
----
This is a contrast in textures—crunchy outside with a soft cheesy center. Basotti is a hallmark dish of cucina familiare , or home cooking, that is virtually unknown even in Italy, outside of Romagna.
To understand the importance of this traditional recipe, you need to go back sixty to seventy years, when the economic conditions of Emilia-Romagna were dire. This dish was once made with whatever was on hand, such as leftover pasta baked at the side of the hearth in a bit of broth, topped with a slice of lardo, if the farmer was lucky enough to have any. Nowadays they can splurge and put butter and grated cheese on top!
This recipe is simple to assemble, but must be made with egg pasta, either fresh or dried. You don’t need much pasta, as egg pasta expands as it bakes and absorbs the cheese and broth. Speaking of broth, since it provides most of the flavor, it’s best to use homemade.
10 tablespoons (140 g) butter, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs, toasted
8 ounces (225 g) egg tagliolini or another very thin egg noodle, preferably Spinosi brand
About 2 cups (230 g) grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 quart (960 ml) very hot pork, beef, or chicken broth
Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Generously butter an 8-by-15-inch (20-by-38-cm) metal baking pan and sprinkle it with the breadcrumbs.
Layer half of the pasta in the pan and top it with half of the sliced butter, a third of the cheese, and 1 tablespoon nutmeg. Add the remaining pasta in a thin scattered layer on top. Top it with the remaining butter and more nutmeg.
Ladle the broth over the pasta until the noodles are just covered. Sprinkle the top with half of the remaining cheese. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the pasta is firm to the touch.
Raise the oven temperature to 475°F (245°C).
Top the pasta with the remaining cheese and bake for a few minutes more, until it is crispy on top. Cut the basotti into squares and serve it hot.
CHAPTER
Savory Chocolate & Coffee
----
CON LE TRE C.
WITH THREE Cs.
What Neapolitans say when ordering coffee. The “Cs” refer to comm cazz coce, which features men’s anatomy … politely translated as “very hot.”
----
This unusual savory chapter includes recipes that feature either coffee or chocolate.
As you might expect from the nation that invented the espresso machine and is renowned for its fabulous roasting techniques, Italians perform magic in the kitchen with coffee. Italians add coffee to pasta sauce, mix it right into pasta dough itself, or simply add a dusting to the finished plate. Coffee adds a complex richness to savory dishes, with hints of roasted nuts and pleasing bitterness.
Chocolate is an equally marvelous ingredient with pasta. Like wine, fine dark chocolate has an amazingly complex taste profile, with hundreds of distinct nuanced aromas and flavors.
When cacao beans arrived in Italy in the sixteenth century, the Italians quickly realized that, despite the name, cacao beans are seeds, not beans. And just like many seeds—fennel, cardamom, caraway—cacao beans are a spice. It’s only the addition of sugar that makes chocolate a sweet. So the Italians ground and toasted the cacao beans and used them in many savory dishes.
INSTANT CHOCOLATE PASTA WITH ORANGE-BASIL CREAM
{ Garganelli al cioccolato in salsa di mascarpone }
----
SERVES 4 | REGION: Throughout northern and central Italy
----
I’m crazy about this Italian trick of adding a little cocoa powder to the water when boiling pasta. It makes instant chocolate pasta, rich and earthy.
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