EATALY

ALL ABOUT

PASTA
A Complete Guide with Recipes

'%?.9l..!
 ALL ABOUT PASTA

How to Make Egg Pasta

EGG PASTA IS THE MOST COMMON FORM OF FRESH PASTA IN ITALY and is eaten
throughout central and northern Italy. Egg pasta is not difficult to make, and it uses
only two ingredients, which you likely already have on hand: unbleached all-purpose
flour and eggs.
You will need 1 large egg and about 1 cup flour per portion. Start with ¾ cup flour
for each egg and then add as you go along. You will need a large wooden work surface
(in Italy, most home kitchens are equipped with a board that has a lip that hangs over
the side of the counter to hold it in place), a bench scraper, and a straight dowel rolling
pin if you are rolling out the dough by hand (preferable, but it takes practice) or a crank
pasta machine. Egg pasta is also used to make stuffed pasta and pasta al forno, or
baked pasta.

1. Form the flour into a well on the work surface or in a bowl. (In a bowl is easier
and recommended the first few times you try this.) Crack the eggs into the well,
and with the index and middle finger of one hand or with a small fork, whisk the
eggs. Gradually draw in flour from the sides of the well until the egg has been
absorbed by the flour. With a bench scraper, set the dough off to the side.

2. Clean off your hands, adding any dough scraps to the dough, and wash your
hands. Clean the work surface, first by scraping it with the bench scraper, and
then by wiping it with a damp cloth or sponge. (If you began by kneading the
dough in a bowl, you don’t need to perform this step.) Lightly flour the work
surface.

3. Transfer the dough to the lightly floured part of the work surface. Knead the
dough. The weather, the age of your flour, the size of your eggs, and numerous
other factors can influence the dough’s texture. If the dough is dry and crum-
bly, sprinkle it with lukewarm water until it becomes pliable. If it is so wet that
it is unwieldy, add flour, about a tablespoon at a time, until you can handle it.
Continue kneading the dough until smooth, about 10 minutes. When you cut
through the dough with a knife, you should see a consistent color and texture,
not whorls of flour and/or egg.

4. Clean off the work surface with a bench scraper. Set the dough to the side on
the work surface, cover with an overturned bowl (if you used a bowl above, just
rinse it out and use it here), and allow to rest for 30 minutes. This is probably
the most important step in making egg pasta dough—don’t try to skip it.

5. Cut off a piece of pasta dough the size of an egg. Leave the remaining dough
covered under the overturned bowl.
(continued)

68

20115_Int_Final_May16.indd 68 5/16/18 5:00 PM

 PASTA FRESCA

When you cut into the dough, it's good to see layers, but you do not want to see bits of flour or egg.

To roll by hand, start at the center of the dough and roll toward the outer edges.

69

20115_Int_Final_May16.indd 69 5/16/18 5:00 PM

 ALL ABOUT PASTA

6. To roll pasta dough by hand: Shape the dough into a rough circle. Lightly flour
the clean work surface. Begin rolling the dough as you would a pastry crust,
starting in the center and rolling away from you to the outer edge. Turn the
ball of dough a quarter-turn and repeat all the way around, then continue roll-
ing, turning the dough about one-eighth of the way around, until the sheet of
dough is ¹⁄8 inch thin or less. Scatter a small amount of flour on the dough any
time it threatens to stick to the surface or the rolling pin. Finish thinning the
sheet of dough by wrapping three-quarters of the sheet around the rolling pin
toward you, then rapidly unrolling it while running your hands across the sheet
of dough, from the center of the rolling pin to the ends. Press out and away
from you with the rolling pin. Continue to do this, turning the dough between
rolls, until the sheet is extremely thin (see Note).

To roll pasta dough using a crank machine: Pass the piece of dough between the
smooth rollers on the widest setting. Fold the piece of dough in half and pass
it through again, fold it, and pass it through a third time. It should be smooth.
Proceed to thin the pasta dough through the smooth rollers by decreasing
the setting between rolls. In other words, if 10 is the widest setting on your
machine, now decrease the setting to 9 and pass the piece of dough through.
This time, do not fold it, but decrease the setting step-by-step until you have
thinned the dough to the desired thickness, usually the thinnest setting, but
see below for some exceptions. Set the thinned pasta dough aside for about
10 minutes while you repeat with the remaining dough. Arrange the sheet of
dough on a table or counter so that about one-third is hanging over the edge
while you repeat with the remaining dough.

7. To cut hand-rolled pasta dough into shapes: Clean and very lightly flour the
work surface. Spread out a clean flat-weave dish towel on the counter and set
aside. Gently roll the first sheet of dough around the rolling pin and slip it off
the rolling pin and onto the work surface. (It should be a flat roll.) Cut the roll of
dough into strips the desired width, then gently lift them in the air and let them
drop onto the dish towel to separate them. Repeat with remaining sheets of
dough. (Flour the cut strips lightly if they threaten to stick, though by now they
should be fairly dry.)

To cut machine-rolled pasta dough into shapes: The surface of the sheets of
dough should feel very dry and matte. Flour them lightly and pass the dough
through the notched rollers for strips, or cut it by hand into the desired shape.

NOTE: Tradition dictates that the sheet of dough should be transparent

enough that if you lay it over a newspaper, you can read the newsprint
through it. Since that’s not a very sanitary practice, to determine whether or
not the sheet of dough is thin enough, slide your hand underneath and check
whether you can see it.

70

20115_Int_Final_May16.indd 70 5/16/18 5:00 PM

 PASTA FRESCA

To use a hand-cranked machine, pass the dough through several times to ensure smoothness.

When the dough is finished, it should be so thin as to be translucent.

71

20115_Int_Final_May16.indd 71 5/16/18 5:00 PM

 WHAT SHAPE ARE YOU FEELING?
Choose the shape that best matches your taste and your sauce . . .

SIMPLICITY
spaghetti
Spaghetti look like pieces of string, or spago. Since early forks
weren’t sharp and had only three tines, they weren’t good for
eating pasta.So spaghetti started out as finger food. Spaghetti
was particularly popular because it was easy to pick up by hand.

EXPLOSION DEPTH
vesuvio rigatoni
This is a twisted form of pasta that Rigatoni were originally
looks like Mount Vesuvius. Excellent produced only for central Italy
with vegetable-based sauces. and especially Roma. Classic
INFINITY rigatoni romani are paired with
casarecce pajata, or calf intestines.
A piece of this curled pasta looks
like a rolled-up parchment scroll.
Casarecce resemble handmade
pasta and match beautifully with
a classic Neapolitan meat sauce.
CONTINUITY CURIOSITY
calamarata ziti
The name of this pasta derives In the old days, unmarried
from its resemblance to the sliced women—zite—stayed home on
bodies of squid. It matches well Sundays to cook pasta rather
with seafood in dishes such as than attending mass. This
calamarata, or calamari pasta pasta was named for them.
tossed with actual calamari.
ENERGY
paccheri
Pacchero is Neapolitan dialect for
“slap.” The sound of this pasta
IMPERFECTION being mixed with sauce is said to INVENTION
orecchiette sound like someone being hit. eliche
This pasta has noble Medieval These spirals, or helixes, are
origins. It was introduced in larger than classic fusilli. They
Puglia by the Angevin dynasty, are perfect for capturing sauce.
which ruled southern Italy
in the thirteenth century.

20115_Int_Final_May16.indd 176 5/16/18 5:01 PM

 ALL ABOUT PASTA

FILI D’ORO
When you knead eggs and flour into a dough, roll the dough out into a thin
sheet, and then cut the sheet into strips of varying widths, you are doing more
than just preparing pasta—you are participating in an age-old ritual that is still
practiced daily in much of central and northern Italy.
Making your own egg pasta is fun, and it’s not terribly difficult, but don’t
try to skip the step of allowing the pasta dough to rest before you roll it out by
hand. After you’ve formed the dough, shape it into a ball and either wrap it or
simply cover it with an overturned bowl (the goal is not to let it dry out as it
rests) and set it aside on the work surface. You should also take this opportunity
to scrape any bits of dried pasta dough off the surface so it’s perfectly clean
when you roll out the dough. Resting allows the dough to develop the proper
elasticity—without a little “time out” it will crumble when you attempt to flatten
it. Of course, if all this sounds daunting, you can always purchase fresh pasta at
Eataly. We make it all day long.

GARGANELLI

Garganelli resemble penne and other tubular dried

pasta, but they are made with egg pasta dough. To
make garganelli, roll out the dough and cut it into
squares (about 1½ inches per side). Wrap a square
around a thin dowel (with the dowel crossing the
square at two opposite corners) and then roll it
on a wooden board with ridges like the teeth of a
comb (see page 100) so that you simultaneously
seal the square into a tube and create ridges on
the outside of the pasta for capturing sauce.

92

20115_Int_Final_May16.indd 92 5/16/18 5:00 PM

 PASTA FRESCA

TAGLIATELLE

Tagliatelle are ribbons of egg pasta cut about

¼ inch wide. BIGOLI

➤ The official width defined for tagliatelle is said Bigoli are long handmade pasta similar to spaghetti.
to measure such that 12,270 pieces of the pasta While most fresh egg pasta is rolled out and cut,
stacked together would reach the height of the Torre bigoli are extruded through a tool known as a
degli Asinelli, one of Bologna’s two famous towers. torchio, or press. (Because of this, the dough for
bigoli should be slightly drier than a dough that you
plan to roll out.) This sturdy pasta is often made
with whole wheat flour which
gives them a rustic appeal.

CHITARRINE

Chitarrine, or spaghetti alla chitarra, are

made using a tool that is strung like a guitar
(see page 100). When viewed from the short TAGLIOLINI
end, they appear square in shape, and they
generally incorporate semolina flourfor Tagliolini are thin pasta strips, no more
extra chewiness. than ¹/¹º inch wide. They resemble fresh
spaghetti and are also known as taglierini.
(Taglio means “to cut” in Italian.)

93

20115_Int_Final_May16.indd 93 5/16/18 5:00 PM

 ALL ABOUT PASTA

ATTREZZI PER FARE

LA PASTA
Pasta making is not a high-tech art. Even hand-crank pasta machines are rarely
used in Italy, as the metal rollers produce a slicker surface than you get if you
roll out the dough with a wooden rolling pin on a wooden surface. That said,
there are a few attrezzi that can make your life in the pasta kitchen easier, and
a few you cannot do without. As with everything, having the right tool for the
job is key.

CHITARR A

If you want to make true spaghetti alla chitarra

or chitarrine, you’ll need this special tool.
A sfoglia, or “sheet,” of pasta is placed on top,
and then you roll over it with a rolling pin as the
evenly sized pasta strips collect in the box below. ROTELLE

MATTARELLO You can cut individual pieces of pasta such as

ravioli with a knife, but you’ll get prettier results
The rolling pin for making pasta is a dowel-style with a wheel cutter (two types are shown opposite).
wooden rolling pin (not the type with the handles You can use a straight-edge wheel cutter for larger
that roll independently of the body). It is useful to pieces, or choose a fluted or serrated cutter for
have a board with a lip on it that hooks over the smaller shapes. The cutter helps to seal the two edges
side of the counter to use as a work surface as well. a little as it separates the pieces from each other.

SPINETTE E SPIEDINI TAGLIERINO RIGA

Some types of pasta are formed by being wrapped Sometimes called a pettina, or “comb,”
around thin wooden dowels (spinette) and this board is used to create ridges on gnocchi,
metal skewers (spiedini) to form tubes or garganelli, and a few other types of pasta.
spirals. Keep a few different sizes on hand so
you have options. A knitting needle will do in TAGLIA R AVIOLI
a pinch—typical Italian ingenuity. Never press
the pasta too firmly against the dowel or skewer You can make plain ravioli by dotting a strip
when shaping or it will stick. Use a light hand of egg pasta with filling, placing another layer
so the finished pasta will slide off easily. of pasta on top, and sealing the two sheets
together, then cutting the ravioli with a knife.
But using a ravioli stamp, which is similar to a
cookie cutter, you’ll obtain prettier results.

100

20115_Int_Final_May16.indd 100 5/16/18 5:00 PM

 spinette

chitarra

taglia ravioli

mattarello

rotelle

spiedini

taglierino riga

20115_Int_Final_May16.indd 101 5/16/18 5:00 PM

 PASTA RIPIENA

How to Make Ravioli

RAVIOLI ARE PROBABLY THE BEST-KNOWN STUFFED PASTA. Indeed, the word “ravioli”
is often used as a synonym for stuffed pasta in general. Classic ravioli are square, but
there are also round ravioli, sometimes marked as ravioli tondi. Examples of round
ravioli include the anolini of Parma and Piacenza, which are almost always filled with
meat.
Whatever their shape, ravioli can be filled with vegetables, meat, cheese, fish,
or almost anything else you can imagine, though they were likely originally filled with
rapa, or turnip greens. At least that’s one of several theories about the etymology of the
word. Other possibilities include the idea that the stuffed pieces of pasta themselves—
with their bulging centers—resembled small turnips, and that the word derives from
the Genova dialect word rabiole, or “worthless stuff,” presumably because any leftover
bits and pieces could be used up in the filling.
When you consider how far back ravioli date, it’s no wonder that it’s hard to
pin down their origins. There are references to packets of dough with filling as far
back as the Middle Ages in Italy, and Giovanni Boccaccio wrote about ravioli in his
fourteenth-century masterpiece, The Decameron. Even then, Italians knew a good
thing when they heard about it. In the scene, one character describes a town where all
the residents do is make “macaroni and ravioli” and cook them in capon broth. “Oh,”
responds a listener, “that must be a wonderful place.”
Ravioli filling needs to hit a Goldilocks-style balance: neither too runny nor too dry.
It should be perfectly smooth, never chunky, and creamy. A filling that is too liquid will
be difficult to handle and leak out of the little packets; a filling that is not soft enough
will be unpleasantly pasty once the pasta is cooked. Drained ricotta is an excellent
base for a filling and can be supplemented with all kinds of minced or pureed vegeta-
bles. Any meat you use in a filling should be ground finely and cooked in advance.

139

20115_Int_Final_May16.indd 139 5/16/18 5:00 PM

 ALL ABOUT PASTA

Use two spoons to dollop out the filling in the center of the dough strip.

Place a top layer on top of the filling and press the edges down gently.

140

20115_Int_Final_May16.indd 140 5/16/18 5:00 PM

 PASTA RIPIENA

Use a stamp, rotelle cutter, or a sharp knife to cut out the ravioli.

Pull away the scraps of dough and reroll to make more ravioli.

141

20115_Int_Final_May16.indd 141 5/16/18 5:00 PM

 ALL ABOUT PASTA

How to Shape Tortellini and Cappelletti

TORTELLINI AND CAPPELLETTI ARE VERY SIMILAR. The only real difference in shape is
that tortellini begin with a circular piece of pasta that is stuffed and folded into a half-
moon, and cappelletti begin with a square that is folded into a triangle. (As for filling,
tortellini always contain at least some pork, while cappelletti fillings can vary. A debate
rages about size—some people will tell you that tortellini are always slightly larger than
cappelletti, while others insist the inverse is true.) Both are then wrapped around a
finger for a final shaping.
Such stuffed pieces of dough first appeared at banquets in Italy in the Middle
Ages, when well-to-do families in Bologna feasted on tortellorum on special occasions.
Obviously, the manual labor involved in creating small pieces of pasta was intense, so
serving tortellini and cappelletti was a sign of wealth and power.
Making tortellini and cappelletti is still a labor of love today, but in areas where
these pastas are signature dishes, no holiday would be complete without them. In
Italy, children are often recruited to do the folding and shaping—their narrow fingers
are perfect for wrapping and sealing smaller rings. You can prepare the filling for tor-
tellini and cappelletti up to several days in advance. Filled and shaped tortellini and
cappelletti also freeze beautifully. Simply arrange them in a single layer on a tray and
freeze, then transfer to freezer bags. You can drop them into boiling water or broth
directly from the freezer without defrosting them—they may take a minute or two lon-
ger to cook.
Roll out your egg pasta dough and cut it into squares or circles. Place filling in the
center of several of the pieces. Moisten the edge of the pasta with a finger (it’s helpful
to keep a small bowl of water on the work surface next to you) and fold the square into
a triangle (or fold a circle into a semi-circle).

Press with your finger along the edge to seal. This is important, as you don’t want filling
to leak out while the pasta is cooking.

Pick up a sealed triangle and wrap it around a finger so the two points overlap slightly.
(Or do the same with a semi-circle.) Press to seal.

Flip down the top point (or round edge on tortellini) so that the piece resembles a
tri-corner hat. Set aside on a lightly floured surface to dry while you finish the rest.

➤ Roll out one egg-size piece of pasta dough at a time and leave the rest covered or
wrapped to prevent them from drying out.

152

20115_Int_Final_May16.indd 152 5/16/18 5:01 PM

 PASTA RIPIENA

Fold the square into a triangle, pinching the edges.

Wrap the shape around your forefinger.

Pinch the circle to close it and pull the top point out.

153

20115_Int_Final_May16.indd 153 5/16/18 5:01 PM