Contents

Cover

About the Book

About the Author

Also by Diane Seed

Dedication

Title Page

Introduction

VEGETABLE SAUCES

Artichokes

Cannelloni with Artichoke

Tagliatelle with Artichokes

Spaghetti or Penne with Artichokes

Baked Pasta and Artichokes

Asparagus

Baked Pasta with Asparagus

Tagliatelle with Asparagus

Aubergines

Spaghetti Alla Norma

Spaghetti with Creamed Aubergines and Walnuts

Baked Pasta with Aubergines

Basil

Trenette with Basil Sauce

Black Olives

Linguine with Black Olives

Whore’s Spaghetti

Broad Beans, Peas

Penne with Broad Beans and Ham

Fetuccine with Broad Beans and Pecorino

Pasta with Fresh Peas

Pasta with Peas and Bacon

Pasta with Peas and Mint

Broccoli, Turnip Tops, Greens

Orecchiette with Turnip Tops

Orecchiette with Broccoli and Tomatoes

Cauliflower

Rigatoni with Sicilian Cauliflower Sauce

Penne with Cauliflower

Chickpeas

Chickpeas and Pasta

Pasta and Chickpeas

Lightning and Thunder

Chickpea and Pasta Broth

Continental or European Lentils

Small Pasta and Lentil Broth

Courgettes

Spaghetti of Maria Grace

Spaghetti with Courgettes

Penne with Courgettes, Mozzarella and Eggs

Baked Pasta with Courgettes

Courgette Flowers

Spaghetti with Courgette Flowers

Pasta and Courgette Flowers from Abruzzi

Dried Beans

Bucatini with Beans

Pasta and Beans

Pasta and Bean Broth

Garlic, Olive Oil, Chilli

Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil and Chilli Pepper

Devilled Spaghetti

Green Vegetables

Spring Pasta

Pasta with Green Vegetables

Lemon

Linguine with Lemon Sauce

Tagliolini with Lemon Sauce

Mushrooms

Carter’s Style Spaghetti

Forester’s Style Tagliatelle

Bucatini with Mushrooms

Onions

Tagliatelle with Onion Sauce

‘False’ Genovese or Short Pasta with Onion Sauce

Pumpkin

Pumpkin Pasta

Rocket

Pesto with Rocket

Spaghetti with Fresh Tomatoes and Rocket

Spinach

Linguine with Spinach

Tagliatelle with Mascarpone and Spinach

Baked Pasta Shells with a Green Sauce

Sweet Peppers

Quills with Sweet Pepper Sauce

Spaghetti Syracuse

Linguine with Sweet Pepper

Tomato

Basic Tomato Sauce

Tagliatelle or Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce

Tagliatelle with Tomato and Basil

Pasta Quills with Fiery Sauce

Spaghettini with Pachino Cherry Tomatoes

Pasta with Tomato and Almond Pesto

Spaghetti with Sorrentina or Vesuviano Sauce

Baked Rigatoni with Aurora Sauce

Baked Penne with Tomato and Cheese

Walnuts

Ravioli with Walnuts Sauce

Tagliatelle with Walnuts and Mascarpone

FISH SAUCES

Fish

Linguine with Tuna, Lemon and Rocket

Linguine with Tuna and Tomato

Linguine with Swordfish and Courgette

Pasta with Fish Sauce

Spaghetti with Anchovies and Orange Sauce

SHELLFISH SAUCES

Shellfish

Linguine with Mussels

Linguine with Prawns

Spaghetti with Clams

Tagliatelle with Scallops

Spaghetti with Crab Meat and Saffron

CHEESE SAUCES

Cheese

Pasta with Pecorino Cheese and Black Pepper

Tagliatelle with Cream and Cheese Sauce

Spaghetti with Gorgonzola and Ricotta

MEAT SAUCES

Bacon

Charcoal-Makers’ Spaghetti

Spaghetti from Griciano and Amatrice

Ham

Jewel Box Pasta

Paglia e Fieno Farmhouse Style

Meat

Zitoni with Neapolitan Meat Sauce

Fusilli with Meatballs

Tagliatelle with Bolognese Sauce

Rigatoni with Genovese Sauce

Sardinian Pasta with Lamb Sauce

Wide Ribbon Pasta with Hare Sauce

Spaghetti Alla Chitarra with Pork Sauce

Spaghetti with Pizzaiola Sauce

Sausages

Rigatoni with Norcia Sauce

Shells with Rustic Sauce

SPECIAL OCCASIONS

Crêpes

Crêpes Alexander

Moulded Pasta

Bucatini in a Mould

Pasta Cooked in Foil Parcels

Spaghetti with Shellfish in Foil

Pastry Cases

Timballo from the Leopard

Macaroni Pie for Palm Sunday

Soufflé

Soufflé with Standing-Up Pasta

Caviar

Spaghetti with Caviar Sauce

Smoked Salmon

Tagliolini with Smoked Salmon

Truffles

Tagliatelle with Truffle

Acknowledgements

Index

Copyright

About the Book

The scent of torn basil leaves; the sizzle of pan-fried prawns; the sight of an olive-studded Spaghetti alla Puttanesca and the earthy flavour of a Tagliatelle al Tartufo: pasta sauces invigorate all the senses.

Trusted by cooks for over 25 years, Diane Seed shares the one hundred best sauce recipes she has encountered in 40 years of living, loving, eating and cooking in Italy. Infinitely varied, it features specialities from regions across Italy including Sardinian Pasta with Lamb Sauce, and classics like Spaghetti alle Vongole, that are both delicious and economical. Plus there are some extra-special dishes such as the intricately moulded Bucatini alla Flamande that are perfect for occasions.

This charming, fully revised and definitive collection of recipes is as wide-ranging as Italian culture itself. With flavours bursting from the simplest ingredients, its authentic Italian pasta dishes will elevate home cooking to the truly sensational.

About the Author

Diane Seed has lived in Rome for 40 years and has built up an international reputation for her unrivalled knowledge of Italian regional cuisine. Her first cook book, Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces, sold over a million copies and was translated into 12 languages. Diane writes for various magazines and travels the world giving lectures, lessons and demonstrations. She worked frequently for the International Olive Oil Council, and for eight years as the Italian food consultant for Marks and Spencer in the UK.

Also by Diane Seed

Eating out in Italy

The Top One Hundred Italian Dishes

More Great Italian Pasta

Favourite Indian Food

Diane Seed’s Mediterranean Dishes

Italian Cooking with Olive Oil

Diane Seed’s Roman Kitchen or Rome for all Seasons

The Top 100 Italian Rice Dishes

Love food, Love Rome or The Food Lover’s Guide to the Secrets of Gourmet Rome

For Antonio, who first taught me to appreciate good pasta

Introduction

Pasta has always been the glory of Italian food, and a symbol of Italian national pride. Today, Italian pasta, like Italian fashion, delights the world.

Nutritionists daily publish new support for ‘the Mediterranean diet’ as the healthiest and most natural food for us all, low in fat, moderate in protein, high in vitamins and carbohydrates. And that diet is founded on vegetables, fish, and pasta. Pasta itself is not fattening, though some sauces inspire caution. Cooks of many nationalities, whether offering unusual dishes for demanding friends, attempting to fill hungry families, or needing something fast after the office, frequently find they can solve their menu problems by turning to pasta. Pasta dishes are infinitely varied: delicious, usually economical, largely vegetarian, can be fast and simple or complicated and extravagant according to mood.

Perhaps the one strength of which the non-Italian pasta cook is unaware is this variety. Even quite expert cooks often know only half a dozen pasta sauces. Yet the different regions of Italy yield many local specialities and numerous variations on national themes that have been tried and tested over generations. The fresh green vegetable sauces of Puglia in the southern ‘heel’ of Italy, the rich pork and tomato ragù of Naples, the delicate saffron and courgette-flower confection of the Abruzzi region, the aubergine recipes of Sicily, and the lemon sauces of the Amalfi coast all contribute to the amazing versatility of pasta as the foundation of innumerable meals. In the areas around Milan and Venice, traditionally dominated by rice, new pasta sauces are making increasing inroads. Italians eat pasta every day and they are not a people amused by monotony. Pasta has to appear in many guises to continue to arouse applause.

In this book, I have drawn together one hundred of the best pasta sauce recipes, encountered after many years of living, eating and cooking in Italy. Many of them are simple sauces that can be cooked in a few minutes. Others are elaborate confections from the kitchens of great Italian families. All of them adapt well to the needs of other countries, and other climates. However, it would be as well to remember that in Italy pasta is served as an entrée dish before the meat course, while outside Italy it is frequently thought of as the main course itself, and served with simply a salad to follow. In allowing for this, I have recommended quantities for all the pasta variations to feed four to six: an ample dinner for four hungry people, or sufficient for six elegant diners who will then move on to a main course, as in Italy.

How to serve pasta in the Italian style

Although pasta dishes are now eaten with equal enthusiasm from California to Australia, outside Italy they often do not taste as good as they could. But with time, and the knowledge of the following basic rules, we can all learn to perfect our pasta.

Top quality pasta

First and foremost, Italians make sure that the pasta itself takes priority and they know that no sauce, no matter how exquisite, will make the dish come right if the pasta itself is second-rate. This means buying good pasta to start with, from a reliable manufacturer of dried pasta or a high quality specialist shop making its own fresh pasta. If in doubt, I would always choose good quality dried pasta rather than doubtful or even stale ‘fresh’ pasta. The best durum wheat pasta is pressed through bronze dies. The metal is not completely smooth so the extruded pasta has a rough surface that attracts the sauce. Look for ‘bronze die’ on the packet. De Cecco, available worldwide, is popular throughtout Italy and use bronze dies. Another good pasta is Voiello but this is no longer exported. Pasta produced with teflon dies is too smooth and in many cases it repels the sauce. The pasta produced in Gragnano, in the province of Naples, is excellent although less widely distributed outside Italy.

A pan for pasta

A very large, tall, good quality pan in which to boil sufficient water for the pasta is also a necessity: every 500g/1lb of pasta needs to be cooked in at least 4 litres/7 pints of water and about 2 tablespoons of salt. Bring the water to the boil and add the salt. With the water boiling briskly add all the pasta at the same time. Long pasta should be eased in and never broken. Stir the pasta every so often with a wooden fork to ensure that it stays separate. Bring the pasta and water back to the boil and boil briskly in an uncovered pan. In Italy we always use coarse sea salt to cook pasta. In my early years in Rome I asked ‘why’ and the usual answer from everyone, including chefs, was ‘because you do’. When I used fine salt on my return visits to London I found it very difficult to get the correct level of salt. Over the years I have come to the conclusion that as coarse salt takes longer to dissolve, the pasta absorbs the salt gradually.

Timing: the essential skill

Italians fuss over perfectly cooked pasta as the French over a soufflé or the English over well-made tea. Pasta should always be firm and provide some resistance or ‘bite’, as the Italians say, al dente. The old Neopolitan description was vierdi or ‘green’ as in slightly unripened fruit. Pasta, after all, is largely a texture.

In Italy no one dreams of adding the pasta to the boiling water until those who are going to eat it are actually present. Restaurants cook pasta freshly for every customer and do not understand impatient tourists who fret about the delay at the start of the meal. Instant pasta invariably means bad pasta, so everyone should be prepared to wait for it to be freshly cooked. The golden rule is ‘the sauce waits for the pasta’. The water is ready boiling but the pasta is never thrown in until the sauce is ready. Pasta baked in the oven is the only kind that can be prepared in advance, which makes a dish like Baked Pasta and Artichokes (see here) ideal for formal entertaining.

Italian husbands about to leave their office used to say, ‘Butta la pasta’ – ‘throw in the pasta’ – in other words, ‘I’m on my way’. Italian traffic has changed all that and woe betide the wife who takes him literally and actuallys starts to cook it before he is safely home. Overcooked pasta is rejected with a curl of the lip and the verdict, ‘Scotta’ – overcooked – is a death sentence – to the pasta! Once overcooked it is always thrown away or given to the animals.

Most packets of dried pasta give directions for cooking, usually suggesting 8 to 10 minutes in boiling water. This is a general indication. Most Italians hover over the pan, lifting out a strand from time to time to make sure it is perfect. The ideal way to cook pasta is to make the sauce in a pan large enough to contain the cooked pasta. The drained pasta is then stirred into the sauce for the last few minutes before serving. Keep the pasta water because often a ladleful is stirred into the pan before serving. Egg pasta usually takes less time than flour and water pasta. For fresh pasta, ask the specialist shop what they recommend; 3 minutes or so is usually enough. But no Italian ever trusts such directions completely. An Italian never leaves the kitchen while the pasta is cooking and in the early days I used to scandalise my Roman friends by occasionally walking away from the boiling pot for a second or two.

Unless you are an experienced cook it is best to make the sauce first and leave it to one side to be warmed only, or have a little cream stirred in while the pasta is cooking. You can then give the pasta the benefit of your full attention. Stand over the saucepan, and every so often lift out a strand or piece of pasta to nibble. When it is a little too hard, that is the moment to turn off the heat and drain the pasta. The time that this takes will finish the cooking.

Getting the proportion right

The proportion of sauce to pasta is also a crucial question involving some skill. Italians would criticise foreign cooks intent on producing the authentic dish for a superabundance of sauce. This is one area where ‘the more the better’ does not apply. The sauce is literally a sauce, intended to coat the pasta strands or shapes and add its flavour to every mouthful. But it should never become a soup, swilling around on the dish after the pasta has been eaten. In the following recipes, I have advised proportions that non-Italians may at first find stingy, and some cooks may prefer to increase the sauce quantities. But if the pasta is really well stirred (and for this a large pan is very important) so that the pasta is very thoroughly coated with the accompanying sauce, this should not really be necessary.

Of course, there is always competition for the sauce. And the last portion in the serving bowl is usually the most delicious. In a typical Roman trattoria the woman is served first and then the man is traditionally presented with his portion to eat directly from the serving bowl. When I finally rebelled and demanded my turn to eat from the serving bowl, the waiters received my request with consternation as if the last bastion of male privilege had been threatened.

Cheese: the vital extra

Few cooks outside Italy are aware either of the importance for the final flavour of mixing freshly cooked pasta with freshly grated Parmesan before the addition of the sauce. This is not a process that is called for in every recipe, but it makes, for instance, Spaghetti Maria Grazia (see here), a dish of pasta and courgette, a memorable treat, while the combination without cheese or with cheese added at table might be much less interesting.

Needless to say, any cheese used with pasta must be freshly grated. Never use packets of ready-grated cheese. Parmesan is expensive, but it is often the only extravagant item in the whole dish. Fresh Parmesan can be bought at most supermarkets and it will keep well wrapped in foil in the refrigerator. The best Parmesan will be marked ‘Parmigiano-Reggiano’ on the rind. Freshly ground black pepper is also a must in many pasta dishes. Pecorino cheese can be substituted in some of the more robust sauces to get an authentic regional flavour. Cheese is NEVER served with seafood sauces, and pecorino cheese works better with garlic and chilli sauces.

Pasta: different ingredients and different shapes

There are two kinds of pasta: that made with durum hard wheat flour and water, and that made with durum or soft flour and eggs. Both kinds of pasta can be dried and are sold in packets. Only soft flour and egg pasta is sold fresh or made at home, with one or two regional exceptions.

Hard Wheat and Water Pasta

Hard wheat and water pasta is used for round pasta strands such as spaghetti and is suited to olive oil-based, robust sauces that make the pasta slippery and flavour it strongly with garlic and tomato. Since the durum wheat for this kind of pasta was grown around Naples, as early as the 16th century, Naples became the centre for the techniques of machine kneading and drying for wholesale consumption. Pasta dough made from durum wheat is too hard and brittle to knead by hand. Drying the hard pasta, always a tricky process since pasta dried too slowly goes mouldy and pasta dried too fast cracks and breaks, originally took place out of doors. The ancient streets and courtyards of old Naples were habitually strung not with washing but with pasta hung out to dry. The area around Torre Annunziata and Torre del Greco, where a combination of hot winds from Vesuvius and cool breezes from the sea were said to change the temperature four times a day, became the centre of the drying and, later, the manufacture of pasta. This tradition is kept alive in Gragnano where some of the most prized pasta is manufactured.

In the Naples area, the appetite for macaroni, as pasta was called, proved enormous from the start. Street vendors fished macaroni from boiling cauldrons, and sold it sprinkled with a little cheese and black pepper for a mere two grani. This pasta was eaten with the fingers, the local populace throwing their heads back and raising their eyes to heaven as they lowered the strands into their mouths. Ingenuous foreign visitors marvelled at the sight and assumed that the poor were thanking God for their daily pasta. Even aristocratic Neapolitans ate spaghetti with their hands and for this reason it was not served at court. Finally, Ferdinand II baulked at this deprivation, and his advisers invented the short four-pronged fork to allow their sovereign to eat his pasta with dignity.

French chefs imported by the richest families – the Neapolitan name for ‘chef’ was monzù, a corruption of monsieur – had to learn to embellish pasta, and some of the meat sauces I have included as well as the ‘special occasion’ dishes show their influence.

Flour and Egg Pasta

Flour and egg pasta was invented in the rich pastures of the central Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. According to tradition, egg pasta made its first appearance in 1487 for the marriage of Lucrezia Borgia to the Duke of Ferrara, when the cook Zafirano wished to compliment her golden curls and rolled the pasta sheets into coils, cutting them into ringlets.

These delicate golden sheets of pasta, with 2 eggs to every 200g/7oz of flour, are used for most stuffed pasta, and cut into ribbons for tagliatelle and the thinner taglionini or tagliarini. Egg pasta is ideally suited to mild cream and butter-based sauces, with additions such as green asparagus, or ham and peas.

Ideas for Leftover Pasta