Aliza Green - Making Artisan Pasta: How to Make a World of Handmade Noodles, Stuffed Pasta, Dumplings, and More

HOW TO MAKE A WORLD OF
HANDMADE NOODLES,
STUFFED PASTA, DUMPLINGS,
AND MORE

2012 Quarry Books
Text 2012 Aliza Green
Photography 2012 Quarry Books

First published in the United States of America in 2012, 2011 by
Quarry Books, a member of
Quayside Publishing Group
100 Cummings Center
Suite 406-L
Beverly, Massachusetts 01915-6101
Telephone: (978) 282-9590
Fax: (978) 283-2742
www.quarrybooks.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the copyright owners. All images in this book have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the artists concerned, and no responsibility is accepted by the producer, publisher, or printer for any infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure that credits accurately comply with information supplied. We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have occurred and will resolve inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent reprinting of the book.

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ISBN: 978-1-59253-732-7

Digital edition published in 2012
eISBN: 978-1-61058-195-0

Digital Edition: 978-1-61058-195-0
Softcover Edition: 978-1-59253-732-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

Design: Sandra Salamony
Photography: Steve Legato, except for by Aliza Green

I dedicate this book to the pasta artisans of the world,
who create delicious art with their hands daily.

CHAPTER ONE:
PASTA INGREDIENTS

CHAPTER TWO:
MAKING PASTA DOUGH FROM WHEAT AND OTHER FLOURS

CHAPTER THREE:
FLAVORING PASTA DOUGH

CHAPTER FOUR:
DUMPLINGS

CHAPTER FIVE:
PASTA SHEETS

CHAPTER SIX:
MAKING CUT PASTA

CHAPTER SEVEN:
SPECIALTY HAND-FORMED PASTA

CHAPTER EIGHT:
STUFFED PASTA

I FIRST MET ALIZA GREEN when she was working on a new edition of her book, The Bean Bible. A fellow mangiafagioli (bean eateralso a nickname for people from Tuscany, my home), she contacted me to learn more about the heir-loom Tuscan beans that I import for my company, The Republic of Beans.

We hit it off immediately because we share a love of rustic, unpretentious food with strong roots in tradition and contemporary creativity. She understands cooking from both the heart and the intellect. As a lifelong food explorer, voracious reader, and accomplished self-taught chef, Aliza is flexible and curious, and shes a relentless researcher. I dont know many chefs who would spend five years studying Italian just to be able to cook more authentic food!

Aliza spent many years developing her pasta skills, preparing traditional and creative fresh pasta for customers in the restaurants where she established a well-deserved reputation as one of Philadelphias top chefs, at a time when few thought of that city as a culinary center. To research Making Artisan Pasta and hone her pasta techniques, she worked with chefs, artisan pasta makers, and home cooks in Italy and elsewhere.

One of my earliest memories is learning from my grandmother how to hand roll tordelli, a traditional pasta from my home town of Lucca. I can still practically do it in my sleep. Follow Alizas detailed instructions, accompanied by Steve Legatos clear, attractive photographs, and even if you dont have an Italian grandmother, you can learn to make excellent hand rolled pasta for tagliolini, tortelli (another name for ravioli), and tortelloni. A personal favorite is pappardelle, the wide ribbon-shaped pasta that has been a Tuscan specialty for hundreds of years, always served with a slow-cooked, herb-scented meat or game rag.

In Italy, we eat pasta as just one of five courses:

ANTIPASTI (appetizers such as marinated vegetables, olives, thin-sliced cured meatsor pimzimonio or raw vegetables dipped in extra virgin olive oil)

PRIMI (first course, pasta, soup, polenta, or risotto)

SECONDI (meat course, not a gigantic steak)

CONTORNI (side dishes, vegetables)

DOLCI (sweets, not too much and not too sweet).

Because the meat is surrounded by other foods, we Tuscans, though meat is important to us, eat it in smaller portions. This was originally because of economics, but now we also consider environmental and health concerns. We dont drown our pasta in sauce, and we cook it so it is quite chewy, which is both more healthful and more fun.

Im not a purist. I dont think everything has to be done the same way it was one hundred or two hundred years ago, with specific ingredients and presentation. If anything, its the opposite. I love taking traditional dishes from Veneto, Puglia, even ancient Rome and translating them into something new. I like free-range cooking that takes inspirations from all periods and all of Italy. In Making Artisan Pasta, Aliza includes classic Italian recipes like tortellini from Bologna, ombrichelli from Orvieto, and corzetti from Genoa, as well as manti from Turkey, pierogi from Poland, and nouilles from Alsace so readers can learn and experiment freely.

Aliza teaches us why some flours yield dough that stretches easily and others yield dough that snaps back like a rubber band; why some flours yield meltingly tender pasta and others yield chewy pasta with a bite. She describes how the three main ingredients in fresh pasta doughflour, eggs, and waterwork, not just taste. If your potato gnocchi taste more like potato bullets (an old Italian name for gnocchi translates to this), through Alizas techniques youll succeed in making light, tender gnocchi anyone would be proud to serve. Perhaps youve wanted to try passatelli, garganelli, or cavatelli? Dont settle for mediocre industrial fresh pasta, and dont be intimidated by lack of experience. Follow Alizas instructions and youre sure to succeed.