Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

by Marcella Hazan

  Spread the squares out on clean, dry, cloth towels, making sure they do not touch while the dough is still soft. If they do they will stick to one another and tear when you try to pull them apart. If you are not cooking them right away, turn the squares over from time to time while they are drying.

  • Garganelli Garganelli, a hand-turned, grooved tubular pasta, is a specialty of Imola and other towns in Romagna. Its floppy shape, somewhat reminiscent of factory-made penne, and its texture, which is that of homemade pasta, combine to offer unique and delicious sensations when matched with a congenial sauce. Although it is not stuffed, garganelli must be made with soft, fresh dough, like the tortellini and tortelloni above.

  In Romagna, garganelli is made with the help of a small, loom-like tool called pettine, or comb. As a substitute, you can use a clean, new hair comb with teeth at least 1½ inches long. An Afro comb would do the job. You also need a small dowel or a smooth, perfectly round pencil ¼ inch in diameter and 6 to 7 inches long.

  Cut soft, fresh dough into 1½-inch squares. Lay the comb flat on the counter, its teeth pointing away from you. Lay a pasta square diagonally on the comb so that one corner points toward you, another toward the tips of the comb’s teeth. Place the dowel or pencil on the square and parallel to the comb. Curl the corner of the square facing you around the dowel and, with gentle downward pressure, push the dowel away from you and off the comb. Tip the dowel on its end and a small, ridged tube of pasta will slide off. Spread the garganelli on a clean, dry, cloth towel, making sure they do not touch each other. Garganelli cannot be made long in advance and dried like other pasta because they will crack while cooking. They are best cooked immediately, but if you cannot do that, plunge them in boiling water for a few seconds, drain immediately, toss with olive oil, and spread on a tray to cool.

  • Stricchetti This is the shape known as “bow ties” in English or farfalline in standard Italian; stricchetti is in the dialect of Romagna, where the shape probably originated. It is the easiest of all pasta shapes to form by hand. Cut soft, freshly made pasta dough into rectangles 1 by 1½ inches. Pinch each rectangle at the middle of its long sides, bringing the sides together, and squeezing them fast. There is also a slightly more complicated method that has the advantage of producing a smaller mound in the center. Place your thumb in the middle of the rectangle, and fold the center of one of the long sides toward it; replace the thumb with the tip of your index finger, and with your thumb, bring the center of the other side of the rectangle to meet it. Squeeze tightly to fasten the fold.

  Drying stuffed and shaped pasta Tortellini, ravioli, and the other stuffed or shaped pasta described above can be stored for at least a week once fully dry and leather hard. Allow the pasta to dry out for 24 hours, turning it from time to time, before putting it away. It can be stored in a cupboard, as is done in Italy, but if you’d rather refrigerate the stuffed pasta, you can do so. Make certain it has dried thoroughly first, or mold will develop.

  PASTA BY THE ROLLING-PIN METHOD

  The necessary equipment To make pasta by hand you need a large, steady table and a pasta rolling pin. For cutting the pasta after it is rolled out, it would be helpful to have a Chinese cleaver, which is what most closely resembles the kind of knife used in Bologna.

  A depth of 24 inches is sufficient for the table, but the longer it is, the easier it is to work with. Three feet would be adequate, and 4½ would be ideal.

  The best material for the table’s top is wood, either solid hardwood planking or butcher block. Formica or Corian is satisfactory. The least desirable material is marble, whose coldness inhibits the dough, making it inelastic.

  If the top is wood, make sure the edge near you is not sharply angular, because it would cut a sheer sheet of pasta hanging over it. If it is not smooth and rounded, sand it to make it so. Laminated tops usually don’t present this problem because the edge is either covered by a molding or it is finished blunt.

  The rolling pin for pasta is narrower and longer than pastry pins. Its classic dimensions are 1½ inches in diameter and 32 inches in length. It’s not easy to come by outside of Emilia-Romagna, although some particularly well-stocked kitchen equipment stores occasionally carry it. A good lumber-supply house can cut you one from a hardwood dowel whose thickness can vary from 1½ to 2 inches. Sand the ends of the dowel to make them perfectly smooth.

  Curing and storing a rolling pin: Wash it with soap and water, then rinse all the soap away under cold running water. Dry thoroughly with a soft cloth. Allow the pin to become completely dry in a moderately warm room.

  Moisten a cloth with any neutral-tasting vegetable oil and with it rub the entire surface of the pin. Don’t put on too much oil, it should be a very light coating. When the oil has seeped into the wood, rub the pin with flour.

  To maintain the pin in good condition, repeat the “cure” once every dozen times the pin is used.

  Store the pin hanging free to keep it from warping. Screw an eye hook into one end, and suspend the pin from a hook set into a wall or inside a cupboard. Take care not to dent the pin because any unevenness in its surface may tear the pasta.

  Before you pick up the rolling pin, read through all the following instructions carefully. The movements with the pin are like a ballet of the hands and they should be learned as a dancer learns a part. Before your hands can take over and their action become intuitive, the logic and sequence of the motions must unfold clearly in the mind.

  The dough Prepare a kneaded ball of dough exactly as described in the section on "Pasta by the Machine Method."

  Suggestion: When making pasta by hand for the first time, you’ll find it easier to start with green pasta dough. It is softer and easier to stretch.

  Relaxing the dough Even when you have become accomplished in the use of the pin, it is desirable to let the kneaded dough rest and relax its gluten before rolling it out. When it is fully kneaded, wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or as much as 2 hours.

  The first movement Remove the plastic wrap from the ball of dough and place the dough within comfortable reach in the center of the work table. Flatten it slightly by pounding it two or three times smartly with the palm of your hand.

  Place the rolling pin across the flattened top of the ball, about one-third of the way in toward its center. The pin must be parallel to the edge of the table near you.

  Open out the ball of dough by pushing the pin forcefully forward, letting it roll lightly backward to its starting point, and pushing it forward again, repeating the operation 4 or 5 times. Do not at any time allow the pin to roll onto or past the far edge of the dough.

  Turn the dough a full quarter turn, and repeat the above operation. Continue to turn the gradually flatter disk of dough a full quarter turn at first, then gradually less, but always in the same direction. If you are doing it correctly, the ball will spread into an evenly flattened, regularly circular shape. When it has been opened up to a diameter of about 8 to 9 inches, proceed to the next movement.

  The second movement You will now begin to stretch the dough. Hold the near edge of the dough down with one hand. Place the rolling pin at the opposite, far edge of the dough, laying it down parallel to your side of the table. One hand will be working the pin while the other will act as a stop, holding down the edge of the dough nearest you.

  Curl the far edge of the dough around the pin. Begin to roll the pin toward you, taking up as much dough as needed to fit snugly under the pin. Hold the near edge of the dough still with your other hand. Roll the pin toward you, then use the heel of your palm to push it back. Do not roll it back, but push, making the sheet of dough taut between your two hands, and stretching it. This should be done very rapidly, in a continuous and fluid motion. Do not put any downward pressure whatsoever into the movement. Do not let the hand working the pin rest on the dough longer than 2 or 3 seconds on the same spot.

  Keep rolling the pin toward you, stopping, pushing it forwa
rd to stretch the dough, taking up more dough with it, rolling it toward you, stopping, stretching, repeating the sequence several times until you have taken up all the dough on the pin. Then, while the dough is curled around the pin, rotate the pin a full half turn—180°—so that it points toward you, and unfurl the dough, opening it up flat.

  Repeat the rolling and stretching operation described above until the dough is once again completely wrapped around the pin. Rotate the pin another 180° in the same direction as before, uncurl the dough from it, and repeat the operation once again. Continue this procedure until the sheet of dough has been stretched to a diameter of about 12 inches. Proceed immediately to the next movement.

  The third movement This is the decisive step, the one in which you’ll stretch the sheet of dough to nearly double its preceding diameter, when it ceases to be merely dough and becomes pasta. When your hands have mastered the rhythmic and pressureless execution of this movement, you will have acquired one of the most precious of culinary crafts: handmade pasta in the Bolognese tradition.

  The circle of dough lies flat before you on the table. Place the rolling pin at its far end, parallel to the edge of the table near you. Curl the end of the dough around the center of the pin and roll the pin toward you, taking up with it about 4 inches of the sheet of dough. Cup both your hands lightly over the center of the pin, keeping your fingers from touching it. Roll the pin away from you and then toward you, taking up with it no more than the original 4 inches of dough. At the same time that you are rolling the pin back and forth, slide your hands apart from each other and toward the ends of the pin, and back to the center, quickly repeating the motion a number of times.

  As your hands move away from the center, let the heels of your palms brush against the surface of the dough, dragging it, pulling it, in fact stretching it toward the ends of the pin. At the same time that you are sliding your hands from the center toward the ends, you must roll the pin toward you. Bear in mind that there is some pressure in this motion but it is directed sideways, not downward. If you press down on the dough it won’t stretch because it will stick to the pin.

  When the hands move back toward the center they should float over the dough, barely skimming it. You want to stretch the dough outward, toward the ends of the pin, and not drag it back toward the center. At the same time that you are bringing your hands back to the center of the pin, roll it forward, away from you.

  Your hands must flit out and back very rapidly, touching the dough only with the heel of the palm, applying pull as they move outward, never weight. And all this while, you must also rock the pin forward and back.

  Take up another few inches of dough on the pin and repeat the combined motion: The hands moving out and in, the pin rocking forward and back.

  When you have taken up and stretched all but the last few inches of dough, rotate the pin 180°, unfurl the sheet of dough opening it up flat, and start again from the far end, repeating the entire stretching operation described above.

  As the sheet of dough becomes larger, let it hang over the near side of the table. It will act as a counterweight and contribute to the stretching action. But do not lean against it, because you might break it. As you take up dough on the rolling pin, you will allow the end of the sheet to slide gradually back onto the table.

  When you have rotated the pasta sheet a complete turn and it is all fully stretched, open it up flat on the table and use the rolling pin to iron out any creases.

  The entire third movement should be executed in 10 minutes or less for a standard quantity of pasta dough.

  Suggestions:

  • Thinning out a ball of dough into a sheer sheet of pasta is a race against time. Dough can be stretched as long as it is soft and pliable, but its flexibility is short-lived. The moment dough begins to dry out, it refuses to give and starts to crack. From the very beginning, you must work on developing speed.

  • Do not make pasta while the oven is turned on, or near a hot radiator, or in a draft. All these cause dough to dry out.

  • Work with the dough within easy reach of your arms to exercise better control of your movements.

  • Before you begin rolling out real dough, it might be helpful to try out the stretching motion, using a circular sheet of oilcloth or non-sticky plastic.

  Problems: Their Causes and Possible Solutions

  • Holes in the pasta. It happens to everyone, occasionally even to experts. Usually it’s not serious. Patch the dough, narrowly overlapping the edges of the tears. Seal with slightly moistened fingertips, if necessary. Smooth the patch with the rolling pin, and resume working the dough.

  • Tiny cracks at the edges. This means the dough began to dry out faster than you were stretching it. Or you thinned out the edge of the sheet more than the center. The sheet cannot be stretched further, but if it is already passably thin, it can still be used.

  • The dough falls apart. Either you are letting it dry out by not stretching it fast enough, or you kneaded it too dry originally, with too much flour, that is. A fatal symptom. Start over again from scratch, taking special care, when kneading, to produce dough that is tender and elastic.

  • You cannot get the pasta thin enough. Basically it’s a question of practice and perseverance. Reread the descriptions of the stretching movements. Work faster. There may also be technical reasons: The dough has not been kneaded long or thoroughly enough; it has too much flour; you didn’t let it rest after kneading; the kitchen may be too hot, too dry, too draughty.

  • The sheet sticks to itself or to the rolling pin. You may be putting downward pressure into your stretching motion. Or you have kneaded the dough too soft, with insufficient flour. In this case, you may be able to rescue the dough by sprinkling flour over it and spreading it uniformly over the sheet.

  • The pasta is too thick for fettuccine or tortellini, but looks too good to throw away. Cut it into maltagliati, quadrucci, or manfrigul, and use in soup. If very thick, allow adequate time when cooking.

  Drying handmade pasta Spread a dry, clean, cloth towel on a table or work counter and lay the sheet of pasta flat over the towel, making sure there are no creases. Let one-third of the sheet hang over the edge of the table or counter. After about 10 minutes, rotate the sheet to let a different part of it hang. Another 10 minutes and rotate it again. Total drying time depends on the softness of the dough and the temperature and ventilation in the room. The dough must lose enough of its moisture so that it will not stick to itself when folded and cut, but it must not dry out too much or it will become brittle and crack. It is usually ready when the surface of the pasta begins to have a leathery look.

  Cutting handmade pasta When the dough has reached a desirable stage of dryness, roll up the sheet on the pasta pin, remove the towel from the counter, and unroll the pasta from the pin, laying it flat on the work surface. Pick up the edge of the sheet farthest from you, and fold the sheet loosely about 3 inches in from the edge. Fold it again, and again, until the whole sheet has been folded into a long, flat, rectangular roll about 3 inches wide.

  With a cleaver or other suitable knife, cut the roll across into ribbons, ¼ inch wide for tagliatelle, a little narrower for fettuccine. Unfold the ribbons and spread out on a dry, clean, cloth towel. See instructions on drying pasta for long-term storage, and for other cuts.

  Using handmade pasta for tortellini and other shapes If you are going to make stuffed pasta and other shapes that require soft dough, do not let the pasta sheet dry. Refer to remarks on dough for stuffed pasta.

  Trim one end of the pasta sheet to give it a straight edge. (Save the trimmings to cut into soup squares.) Cut off a rectangular strip from the sheet; if you are making tortellini, the strip should be 1½ inches wide; if you are making tortelloni or other square shapes, the strip should be twice the width of the shape required by the recipe.

  Move the remaining sheet of dough to one side, and cover it with plastic wrap to keep it from drying. Use the strip to make tortellini, or any other s
hape. When the one strip has been turned into the desired shape, cut off another identical strip from the main sheet, remembering afterward to keep the main sheet covered in plastic wrap.

  Pasta Sauces

  TOMATO SAUCES

  For a long time, Italian dishes abroad had been characterized by such a heavy-handed use of tomato that, for the many who had begun to discover refinement and infinite variety in the regional cuisines of Italy, the color red and any taste of tomato in a sauce came to represent a coarse and discredited style of cooking. The moment for a major reassessment may be at hand.

  There is nothing inherently crude about tomato sauce. Quite the contrary: No other preparation is more successful in delivering the prodigious satisfactions of Italian cooking than a competently executed sauce with tomatoes; no flavor expresses more clearly the genius of Italian cooks than the freshness, the immediacy, the richness of good tomatoes adroitly matched to the most suitable choice of pasta.

  The sauces that are grouped immediately below are those in which tomatoes have a dominant role. They are followed by a broad selection of recipes that shift their focus from tomatoes to other vegetables, to cheese, to fish, to meat, illustrating the unrestricted choice of ingredients on which a pasta sauce can be based.

  The basic cooking method Pasta sauces may cook slowly or rapidly, they may take 4 minutes or 4 hours, but they always cook by evaporation, which concentrates and clearly defines their flavor. Never cook a sauce in a covered pan, or it will emerge with a bland, steamed, weakly formulated taste.

  Tasting a sauce and correcting for salt A sauce must be sufficiently savory to season pasta adequately. Blandness is not a virtue, tastelessness is not a joy. Always taste a sauce before tossing the pasta with it. If it seems barely salty enough on its own, it’s not salty enough for the pasta. Remember it must have flavor enough to cover a pound or more of cooked, virtually unsalted pasta.