Tag Archive: Pasta

As Federico Fellini once said, “Life is a combination of magic and pasta.” The word pasta comes from the Italian word for paste, what the dough for making pasta looks like before it is kneaded and formed into its different final shapes. Basically, pasta comes in two types – fresh and dried – both generally easy to find in markets. Dried pasta is usually available in a wide array of shapes, while fresh pastas tend to be more limited in shape.

Because fresh pasta virtually always contains eggs, it is almost always found refrigerated or frozen. It is more delicate than dried, softer, and takes less time to cook. Because it already contains moisture it doesn’t swell much during cooking, it also will not be as al dente, or slightly firm, as it starts out fairly soft, though a pinch of baking soda can add to its texture. It also has a limited “shelf life” – 3-4 days in the refrigerator, maybe 6-8 weeks in the freezer. Because of the eggs it is higher in nutrition than many dried pastas that don’t contain egg, and the fat content of the egg also helps carry flavor better – which is why fresh pastas take so well to the addition of strong flavors like garlic, chilies and herbs.

Dried pasta can be stored pretty much indefinitely, as long as it is in a sealed package (not because it will go stale when opened, but being a wheat based product tends to attract bugs of one sort or another once opened). It does not require refrigeration or freezing. It takes longer to cook, and swells significantly during cooking. Unless completely overcooked, it will maintain an al dente, or firm texture, so works well with heavier sauces that contain meats or vegetables.

At its most basic, pasta is made with flour and water. Eggs, salt, and other additions, or substitutions on the liquid, are common. The type of flour affects both nutritional content and flavor of the pasta. The most common flours used are semolina, unbleached white, and whole wheat. Semolina is ground from a hard durum wheat, has a high gluten content, making the dough very elastic, which lends itself to both ease of shaping and holding a shape, and therefore is used for a lot of dried pastas. Unbleached white flour is ground from red winter wheat and produces a lighter dough that is easy to work with, especially for fresh pastas (here in Buenos Aires this is usually labeled as 000 flour). Whole wheat is more of a health choice, it isn’t particularly a tradition, and produces a nuttier tasting, heavier textured pasta that combines well with rustic flavors like chickpeas, nuts, and mushrooms, or as a nice foil to something like a veal cream sauce.

Today I thought I’d share one of our simplest pasta recipes and a household favorite, Pici alle Briciole, or “pici” (the shape) with breadcrumbs.

220 gm semolina flour
220 gm all-purpose flour (000 or 0000)
260 ml of tepid water (approximately)

Pici, or pinci, is “poor people’s pasta” – it is a thick, irregular, hand rolled strand pasta, usually served with a simple sauce or seasoning.

Mix the flours together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the water a little at a time, stirring with your hands until a dough is formed. You may need more or less water, depending on the humidity in your kitchen, the particular type of flour, etc. Place the dough on a floured work surface and knead it like bread until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. You can, of course, do this in a mixer with a dough hook if you have one. Cover the dough and let it stand for 10 minutes at room temperature.

Roll the dough into long dowels about 1 cm thick. Place the pasta strands between your hands and lightly roll back and forth to create a lightly spiraled, snake-like noodle. Place the pici on a sheet tray that has been dusted with semolina flour, cover with a clean dish towel, and set aside until ready to use. At this point, the pasta can be frozen for several months. This quantity makes 4 main course servings.

When ready to cook, simply boil in salted water for about 4 minutes until they swell up slightly and are al dente when you try them.

4 garlic cloves, chopped
hot peppers, thinly sliced or chopped (traditionally, equal in volume to the garlic)
60 gm breadcrumbs
60 ml olive oil
salt and pepper

Saute the garlic and peppers in the oil until just starting to turn golden. Add the breadcrumbs, continue cooking for another minute. Add the pasta, already cooked, and toss with the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

A series of recipes and articles that I started writing for the Buenos Aires Herald Sunday supplement, Food & Wine section, at the beginning of 2012. My original proposal to them was to take local favorite dishes and classics and lighten them up for modern day sensibilities. We’re not talking spa or diet recipes, but at the very least, making them healthier in content, particularly salt, fat and portion size. As time went by, that morphed into a recipe column that, while emphasizing food that is relatively “good for you”, wasn’t necessarily focused on local cuisine. At the beginning of 2013 I decided to stop writing for them over some administrative issues, but it was fun while it lasted.

Just in time for Gnocchi Day. You do know about El Día de los Ñoquis, don’t you? Surely if you’ve spent time here someone has mentioned that it’s custom to eat these little pillows of potato-y goodness on the 29th of each month. The question is… why? There are several theories.

The most widely accepted one, that most Argentines will tell you, is that, you see, times were tough. And with payday generally being once a month, as the end each approaches the ingredients in the pantry start to run out and there’s no money to buy more. You use the cheapest ingredients – potatoes, flour, eggs – and make your family a big, hearty bowl of gnocchi to dig into and tide you over fora day or two.

Is that the real origin, reaching out to us from the late 1800s? Perhaps. Or perhaps it’s because there have always been patronage jobs, that cadre of folk who get paid by the government but don’t actually work – just show up once a month for a paycheck. They’re called ñoquis too. Some say that a couple of local restaurants around the government offices came up with the “holiday” as a dig.

More cynical folk around claim that one of the big pasta companies here started the tradition as a sales pitch. That one’s not as probable, since back in the 1800s most people probably made their own pastas rather than buying commercial brands. It also doesn’t explain why the custom is widespread in other parts of South America, particularly places with larger Italian populations.

Of course, it could just be because the 29th of each month in the area around Rome is celebrated as San Pantaleon Day and gnocchi are the dish of choice, and has been since long before Argentina was a single nation. It would involve a bit of a reinterpretation, because gnocchi alla romana don’t involve potatoes or rolled pillows of dough, but are generally flat discs of semolina flour, eggs and cheese.

Regardless of the origin, I wanted to prepare you for this month’s Day with my easy way to prepare these little treats, and a simple and healthy alternative to the tomato sauce tinged bechamel that usually is glopped over these. Unless you like that sort of thing.

Gnocchi

1 kg baking potatoes
handful of coarse salt
200 gm flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg

Heat your oven to moderate, 180°C. In a baking dish put a layer of coarse salt that just covers the bottom. Set the potatoes on top and stick the pan in the oven and roast them for approximately one hour, until when you stick a knife in it slides in easily. Remove from the oven – we’re going to work with these while they’re hot. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and place them, one at a time, cut side down, on a fairly fine sieve and press them through with your hand or a spatula. You should be left with just the skin, which you can toss (or snack on).

Once you have your “riced” potatoes, crack in the egg, the salt, and add the flour. Mix well, it’s best if you do this with your hands as you can feel the mixture. You don’t want to beat this or knead it, just get it all thoroughly mixed together. Break off a handful and roll it on your counter or cutting board into a long rope, about 2 cm in diameter. Using a knife or pastry cutter, cut 1 cm slices on a slight diagonal. Some people like to press the sides with a fork for the distinctive groove pattern – a nice touch if you’re using a sauce because it helps it cling to the gnocchi. I usually just press them in slightly with thumb and forefinger to make a little concave pillow.

You can refrigerate these, lightly covered with a towel, for up to a couple of hours or use them straightaway. When ready to cook them, bring salted water to a boil and then unceremoniously plop the gnocchi in. When they float, they’re ready to remove. Toss with some olive oil and then add your sauce or topping. My pick of the week, chicken breast and broccoli sauteed in olive oil with a little chopped garlic and fresh chilies.

Oh, and don’t forget to stick a one-peso coin under each plate at the table for good luck during the upcoming month! It’s tradition, you know?

A series of recipes and articles that I started writing for the Buenos Aires Herald Sunday supplement, Food & Wine section, at the beginning of 2012. My original proposal to them was to take local favorite dishes and classics and lighten them up for modern day sensibilities. We’re not talking spa or diet recipes, but at the very least, making them healthier in content, particularly salt, fat and portion size. As time went by, that morphed into a recipe column that, while emphasizing food that is relatively “good for you”, wasn’t necessarily focused on local cuisine. At the beginning of 2013 I decided to stop writing for them over some administrative issues, but it was fun while it lasted.