Read Saveur: The New Comfort Food Online
Authors: James Oseland
Saveur: The New Comfort Food (12 page)
Many Bolognese pasta makers roll their pasta dough by hand to make tagliatelle, but we found that using a hand-cranked pasta roller and cutting the dough with a knife yields excellent results.
A
On a clean surface, form 3 cups flour into a mound; create a well in center. Sprinkle 1 tsp. kosher salt over flour. Add 3 eggs, 1 egg yolk, 2 tbsp. water, and 1 tbsp. olive oil to well.
B
Using a fork, incorporate eggs and liquid in a circular motion, pulling in small amounts of flour until dough becomes stiff.
C
Knead dough, adding a little flour as necessary, until it’s smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap; let rest for 30 minutes.
D
Cut dough into quarters.
E
Flatten 1 quarter into a rectangle (cover others with a towel). Pass dough through a hand-cranked pasta roller set at widest setting.
F
Fold dough in thirds, creating another rectangle; feed open edge through roller set at widest setting. Fold again; roll twice more using same setting. Decrease setting one notch and roll the pasta through again; repeat, decreasing setting each time until you’ve reached the second-to-last setting, creating a 1/16-inch thick sheet.
G
Sprinkle sheet with flour; halve crosswise. Transfer to flour-dusted parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining dough, adding flour-dusted parchment paper between each layer.
H
Tightly roll each sheet, from short end to short end; cut cylinder crosswise into
3
/
8
-inch wide strips. Unroll strips and toss with flour; spread on a floured parchment sheet. Let dry for 30 minutes. To serve: Cook tagliatelle in salted boiling water until al dente, about 3–4 minutes. Drain; transfer to a bowl and toss with 2 cups ragù (or more, to taste); see
Pasta with Ragù recipe
. Serve with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Serves 4
Bucatini all’Amatriciana
This Roman classic is flavored with guanciale, or cured pork jowl, though pancetta is a fine substitute. Toasting the black pepper in the fat rendered out from the guanciale boosts the flavor of this sauce.
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
4 oz. thinly sliced guanciale or pancetta, cut into
¾-inch pieces Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small carrot, minced
½ medium onion, minced
½ tsp. crushed red chile flakes
1 28-oz. can peeled tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, undrained and puréed Kosher salt, to taste
1 lb. bucatini or spaghetti
1¼ cups grated Pecorino Romano
Serves 4
1. Heat oil in a large, high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add guanciale; cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 6–8 minutes. Add pepper; cook, stirring often, until toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes more. Increase heat to medium-high; add garlic, carrots, and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 6 minutes. Add chile flakes; cook for 1 minute. Stir in tomato purée, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens and flavors meld, 20–25 minutes. Season with salt; keep warm.
2. Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just al dente, 6–8 minutes. Reserve ½ cup pasta water; drain pasta. Heat reserved sauce over medium heat. Add pasta and reserved water; cook, tossing, until sauce clings to pasta, 2–3 minutes. Add ½ cup Pecorino Romano; toss. Divide between serving bowls; serve with remaining Pecorino Romano.
Cured pork jowl, known as guanciale, is an essential component of many Roman pasta dishes, including spaghetti alla carbonara and bucatini all’amatriciana. But it can also be sautéed with vegetables, added to stewed fava beans, or cooked with meat or fish so that its fragrant fat renders out and suffuses the dish. Usually sold whole, guanciale has a flavor that is less salty but stronger and fattier than its cousin pancetta—Italian salt-cured pork belly—and a texture that’s somewhat softer. While guanciale, which can be cured with everything from black pepper to spices, is traditionally unsmoked, smoked versions are popular nowadays in Rome. Smoked guanciale isn’t readily available in the United States, but Mauro Trabalza, the chef at Sora Lella, a restaurant in Rome that has an outpost in New York City, recommends a mixture of three parts regular guanciale or pancetta to one part bacon to approximate the flavor of smoked guanciale.
You can use any kind of cooked or cured ham for this luscious mac and cheese, which has a pleasingly tangy edge thanks to the addition of a little blue cheese. Black Forest ham, for example, will add a note of subtle sweetness, while country ham will provide an earthy, deeply savory flavor and a slightly chewy texture.
11 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted Kosher salt, to taste
12 oz. pasta, such as rigatoni
2 slices crustless white bread
2 tsp. minced fresh thyme
1 small onion, minced
½ cup flour
3 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
12 oz. grated sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz. cooked ham (any variety will do), roughly chopped
3 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
½ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
¼ tsp. hot sauce, such as Tabasco
4 scallions, minced
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1
/
8
tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
Serves 8–10
1. Grease a 2-qt. baking dish with 1 tbsp. melted butter and set aside. Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta, rinse, and set aside. Pulse the bread in a food processor until finely ground, mix with 4 tbsp. butter, and set aside.
2. Heat the oven to 400°F. Melt the remaining butter in a 6-qt. pot over medium heat. Add the thyme and onions and cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cream. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, whisking, until thick, 10–12 minutes. Whisk in the cheddar, ham, blue cheese, parsley, hot sauce, scallions, pepper, and nutmeg. Taste and season with salt as needed. Stir in the pasta, transfer to the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, 30–40 minutes.
COOKING NOTE
There are a few tried-and-true secrets to making macaroni and cheese with the perfect creamy texture. You need a smooth sauce as a base—in this case, it’s a velvety béchamel made of butter, flour, milk, and cream. And you need to make sure the cheese melts evenly and becomes one with that sauce. Firm cheeses like cheddar, Comté, fontina, and Gruyère are reliable choices. Let the cheese come to room temperature before you use it, shred it as finely as possible, and heat it gently with the sauce; a blast of high heat can cause proteins in the cheese to separate from the fats, resulting in a macaroni and cheese that’s both grainy and oily.
A volunteer plates spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce at the Sacred Heart Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. The church has been hosting its biannual Italian Spaghetti and Ravioli Dinner since 1910.
This dish, a mainstay at Figaretti’s restaurant in Wheeling, West Virginia, is Italian-American cooking at its bighearted, bountiful best: shrimp and mussels, peppers and tomatoes, fresh basil, white wine, and silky linguine.
Kosher salt, to taste
8 oz. dried linguine
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup chopped green bell pepper
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1
/
3
cup white wine8 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
½ cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 leaves basil, torn, plus more for garnish Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ cup grated Asiago cheese
4 lemon wedges
Serves 2
1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the linguine; cook until al dente, 8–10 minutes. Drain the pasta; reserve ¼ cup pasta water.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the green and red peppers, garlic, and onion; cook until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and the mussels; cook, covered, until the mussels open, about 2 minutes. Add reserved pasta water, tomatoes, butter, and shrimp and cook, stirring, until the shrimp are just pink, about 1 minute. Add the cooked linguine, toss to combine, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and clings to the pasta. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Divide pasta between 2 bowls. Sprinkle with more basil and Asiago and garnish with lemon wedges.
