5. Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the tablespoon of butter, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.
Ahead-of-time note If you cannot watch the sauce for a 3- to 4-hour stretch, you can turn off the heat whenever you need to leave, and resume cooking later on, as long as you complete the sauce within the same day. Once done, you can refrigerate the sauce in a tightly sealed container for 3 days, or you can freeze it. Before tossing with pasta, reheat it, letting it simmer for 15 minutes and stirring it once or twice.
Variation of Ragù with Pork
Pork is an important part of Bologna’s culture, its economy, and the cuisine, and many cooks add some pork to make their ragù tastier. Use 1 part ground pork, preferably from the neck or Boston butt, to 2 parts beef, and make the meat sauce exactly as described in the basic recipe above.
Chicken Liver Sauce
For 4 to 6 servings
½ pound fresh chicken livers
2 tablespoons chopped shallot OR onion
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
¼ teaspoon garlic chopped very fine
3 tablespoons diced pancetta OR prosciutto
4 to 5 whole sage leaves
¼ pound ground beef chuck
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 teaspoon tomato paste, dissolved in ¼ cup dry white vermouth
1¼ pounds homemade pasta
Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table
Recommended pasta Here we have a magnificent sauce for pappardelle, the eye- and mouth-filling homemade broad noodles. It can also be combined with the Molded Parmesan Risotto with Chicken Liver Sauce.
1. Remove any greenish spots and particles of fat from the chicken livers, rinse them in cold water, cut each liver into 3 or 4 pieces, and pat them thoroughly dry with paper towels.
2. Put the shallot or onion in a saucepan or small sauté pan together with the oil and butter; turn on the heat to medium. Cook and stir the shallot or onion until it becomes translucent. Add the chopped garlic and cook it briefly, not long enough to become colored, then add the diced pancetta or prosciutto, and the sage. Stir well, cooking for about a minute or less, then add the ground beef, a large pinch of salt, and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork and cook it until it has lost its raw, red color.
3. Add the cut-up chicken livers, turn the heat up to medium high, stir thoroughly, and cook briefly, just until the livers have lost their raw, red color.
4. Add the tomato paste and vermouth mixture, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring from time to time. Taste and correct for salt.
5. Turn out the entire contents of the pan over cooked drained pasta, toss well, coating all the strands, and serve at once with grated Parmesan on the side.
Special Pasta Dishes
Tortellini with Meat and Cheese Filling
About 200 tortellini
FOR THE STUFFING
¼ pound pork, preferably from the neck OR Boston butt
6 ounces boned, skinless chicken breast
2 tablespoons butter
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
3 tablespoons mortadella chopped very fine
1¼ cups fresh ricotta
1 egg yolk
1 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Whole nutmeg
FOR THE PASTA
Homemade yellow pasta dough, made as directed by the machine method, OR by the hand-rolled method, using 4 large eggs, approximately 2 cups unbleached flour, and 1 tablespoon milk
Recommended sauce The traditional way of serving tortellini is in broth, calculating about 2½ quarts homemade meat broth for cooking and serving 100 tortellini, approximately 6 portions. Not as traditional, but very good all the same is Cream and Butter Sauce, or Tomato Sauce with Heavy Cream, or Bolognese Meat Sauce. Calculate about 2 dozen tortellini per person when serving them with sauce. In all the above instances, serve with grated Parmesan.
1. Dice the pork and the boned, skinless chicken breast into ½-inch cubes.
2. Put the butter in a skillet and turn on the heat to medium. When the butter foam begins to subside, add the cubed pork, one or two pinches of salt, and a few grindings of pepper. Cook for 6 or 7 minutes, turning it to brown it evenly on all sides. Using a slotted spoon, remove it from the skillet and set aside to cool.
3. Add the chicken pieces to the skillet with a pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Brown the chicken on all sides, cooking it about 2 minutes. Remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool with the pork.
4. When cool enough to handle, chop the pork and chicken together to a grainy, slightly coarse consistency. It is all right to use the food processor, but do not reduce the meat to a pulp.
5. Put the chopped meat in a bowl and add the mortadella, ricotta, egg yolk, grated Parmesan, and a tiny grating—about ⅛ teaspoon—of nutmeg. Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are evenly amalgamated. Taste and correct for salt.
6. Make yellow pasta dough by the machine method, or by the hand-rolled method. Cut it into tortellini, and stuff them with the above mixture. When boiling the pasta, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the water.
Green Tortellini with Meat and Ricotta Stuffing
About 130 tortellini, 5 to 6 servings
FOR THE STUFFING
¼ pound pork, preferably from the neck OR Boston butt
¼ pound veal shoulder
1 tablespoon butter
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 tablespoon mortadella chopped very fine
½ cup fresh ricotta
⅓ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1 egg yolk
Whole nutmeg
FOR THE PASTA
Homemade green pasta dough, made by the machine method, OR by the hand-rolled method, using 2 large eggs, ⅓ package frozen leaf spinach OR 6 ounces fresh spinach, salt, approximately 1½ cups unbleached flour, and 1 tablespoon milk
Recommended sauce Prosciutto and Cream Sauce; Cream and Butter Sauce; Tomato Sauce with Heavy Cream. Always serve with grated Parmesan.
1. Cut the pork and veal into thin slices, then into 1-inch pieces more or less square. Keep the two meats separate.
2. Put the butter and pork in a small skillet, and turn on the heat to medium low. Cook for 5 minutes, browning the meat on both sides and turning it frequently.
3. Add the veal, and cook it for 1½ minutes or less, browning it on both sides. Add salt, a few grindings of pepper, stir thoroughly to coat well, then remove all the meat from the pan, using a slotted spoon so that all the fat remains behind.
4. When cool enough to handle, chop the pork and veal together to a grainy, slightly coarse consistency. It is all right to use the food processor, but do not reduce the meat to a pulp.
5. Put the chopped meat in a bowl, and add the mortadella, ricotta, grated cheese, egg yolk, and a tiny grating—about ⅛ teaspoon—of nutmeg. Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are evenly amalgamated. Taste and correct for salt and pepper.
6. Make green pasta dough by the machine method, or by the hand-rolled method. Cut it, stuff it with the above mixture, and shape it into tortellini. When boiling the pasta, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the water.
Tortellini with Fish Stuffing
About 140 tortellini, 6 servings
FOR THE STUFFING
1 small onion
1 medium carrot
1 small celery stalk
A 1-pound piece of fish, in a single slice if possible, preferably sea bass, OR other fish with comparable delicate flavor and juicy flesh
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
Salt
2 egg yolks
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
⅛ teaspoon dried marjoram OR a few fresh leaves
Whole nutmeg
Black pepp
er, ground fresh from the mill
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
FOR THE PASTA
Homemade yellow pasta dough, made by the machine method, OR by the hand-rolled method, using 3 large eggs, approximately 1⅔ cups unbleached flour, and 1 tablespoon milk
Recommended sauce Pink Shrimp Sauce with Cream, or Tomato Sauce with Heavy Cream. You can serve it with or without grated cheese.
1. Peel the onion and carrot, and rinse the carrot and celery under cold water.
2. Put enough water in a pan to cover the fish at a later point. Add the onion, carrot, and celery, and bring to a boil.
3. Add the fish, vinegar, and salt, and cover the pan. When the water returns to a boil, adjust the heat so that the fish cooks at a gentle, steady simmer. Cook about 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.
4. Using a slotted spoon or spatula, transfer the fish to a platter. Remove the skin, any gelatinous matter, the center bone, and carefully pick out all the small bones you may find. Do not be concerned about keeping the piece of fish whole, because you will shortly have to break it up for the stuffing.
5. Put the fish in a bowl and mash it with a fork. Add the egg yolks, grated Parmesan, marjoram, a tiny grating—about ⅛ teaspoon—of nutmeg, just a few grindings of pepper, and the heavy cream. Mix all ingredients with a fork until they are evenly amalgamated. Taste and correct for salt.
6. Make yellow pasta dough by the machine method, or by the hand-rolled method. Cut it, stuff it with the fish mixture, and shape it into tortellini. When boiling the pasta, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the water.
Tortelli Stuffed with Parsley and Ricotta
About 140 tortelli, 6 servings
FOR THE STUFFING
½ cup chopped parsley
1 ½ cups fresh ricotta
1 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Salt
1 egg yolk
Whole nutmeg
FOR THE PASTA
Homemade yellow pasta dough, made by the machine method, OR by the hand-rolled method, using 3 large eggs, 1⅔ cups unbleached flour, and 1 tablespoon milk
Recommended sauce First choice goes to the Cream and Butter Sauce, second to Tomato Sauce with Heavy Cream. Serve with grated Parmesan.
1. Put the parsley, ricotta, grated Parmesan, salt, egg yolk, and a tiny grating—about ¼ teaspoon—of nutmeg into a bowl and mix with a fork until all ingredients are evenly combined. Taste and correct for salt.
2. Make yellow pasta dough by the machine method, or by the hand-rolled method. Cut it for square tortelli with 2-inch sides, and stuff with the ricotta and parsley mixture. When boiling the pasta, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the water.
Tortelloni Stuffed with Swiss Chard, Prosciutto, and Ricotta
About 140 tortelloni, 6 servings
FOR THE STUFFING
2 pounds Swiss chard, if the stalks are very thin, OR 2½ pounds, if the stalks are broad, OR 2 pounds fresh spinach
Salt
2½ tablespoons onion chopped very fine
3½ tablespoons chopped prosciutto OR pancetta OR unsmoked boiled ham
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup fresh ricotta
1 egg yolk
⅔ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Whole nutmeg
FOR THE PASTA
Homemade yellow pasta dough, made by the machine method, OR by the hand-rolled method, using 3 large eggs, approximately 1⅔ cups unbleached flour, and 1 tablespoon milk
Recommended sauce Butter and Sage Sauce, Butter and Parmesan Cheese Sauce, or Tomato Sauce with Heavy Cream. Serve with grated Parmesan.
1. Pull the Swiss chard leaves from the stalks, or the spinach from its stems, and discard any bruised, wilted, or discolored leaves. If you have a mature chard with large, white stalks, save the stalks and use them in Swiss Chard Stalks Gratinéed with Parmesan Cheese. Soak the leaves in a basin of cold water, lifting out the chard and changing the water several times, until there is no trace of soil at the bottom of the basin.
2. Gently scoop up the leaves without shaking them and put them in a pot with just the water that clings to them. Add large pinches of salt to keep the vegetable green, cover the pot, turn on the heat to medium, and cook until tender, about 12 minutes or so, depending on the freshness of the chard or spinach. Drain, and as soon as it is cool enough to handle, squeeze it gently to drive out as much moisture as possible, and chop it very fine.
3. In a small sauté pan put the onion, prosciutto, and butter and turn on the heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until the onion becomes translucent, then add the chopped chard or spinach. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until all the butter has been absorbed.
4. Turn out all the contents of the pan into a bowl. Add the ricotta, egg yolk, grated Parmesan, and a tiny grating—about ⅛ teaspoon—of nutmeg, and mix with a fork until all ingredients have been evenly combined. Taste and correct for salt.
5. Make yellow pasta dough by the machine method, or by the hand-rolled method. Cut it for square tortelloni with 2-inch sides, and stuff them with the vegetable mixture. When boiling the pasta, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the water.
Cappellacci—Ravioli Filled with Sweet Potatoes
WHEN YOU SAY cappellacci in Italy, it is understood you are talking about a square pasta dumpling with a furtively sweet pumpkin-based filling. It is a specialty of the northeastern section of Emilia-Romagna, in particular of the city of Ferrara.
The pumpkin used there, known as zucca barucca, is sweet and juicy with a satiny flesh. It has no equivalent among other squashes. When I first set down the recipe in The Classic Italian Cook Book, I found that I could most closely recreate the filling in North America not with any of the local pumpkin varieties, none of which is comparable in flavor and texture to zucca barucca, but by using sweet potato instead.
You must choose the right kind of sweet potato: Not the one with the pale, grayish yellow skin, but the dark-skinned one with a reddish-orange flesh, sometimes mistakenly called a yam. When cooked, it is lusciously sweet and moist, quite as good for cappellacci as the best zucca barucca.
About 140 cappellacci, 6 servings
FOR THE FILLING
1¾ pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, see prefatory remarks above
A pair of imported Italian amaretti cookies
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons chopped prosciutto
1½ cups freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
3 tablespoons parsley chopped very fine
Whole nutmeg
Salt
FOR THE PASTA
Homemade yellow pasta dough, made by the machine method, OR by the hand-rolled method, using 3 large eggs, approximately 1⅔ cups unbleached flour, and 1 tablespoon milk
Recommended sauce Butter and Parmesan Cheese Sauce, or Cream and Butter Sauce. Serve with grated Parmesan.
1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Bake the potatoes in the middle level of the hot oven. After 20 minutes turn the thermostat down to 400° and cook for another 35 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender when prodded with a fork.
3. Turn off the oven. Remove the potatoes and split them in half lengthwise. Return the potatoes to the oven, cut side facing up, leaving the oven door slightly ajar. Remove after 10 minutes, when they will have dried out some.
4. Reduce the amaretti cookies to a powder using the food processor or a pestle and mortar.
5. Peel the potatoes and purée them through a food mill into a bowl. Add the powdered cookies, egg yolk, prosciutto, grated Parmesan, parsley, a tiny grating—about ⅛ teaspoon—of nutmeg, and salt. Mix with a fork until all ingredients are evenly combined.
6. Make yellow pasta dough by the machine method, or by the hand-rolled method. Cut it for square ravioli with 2-inch sides, and stuff them with the sweet potato mixture. When boiling the pasta, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the water.
Baked Rigatoni with Bolognese Meat Sauce
/> For 6 servings
1½ pounds rigatoni
Salt
Bolognese Meat Sauce
A medium-thick Béchamel Sauce, using 2 cups milk, 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, 3 tablespoons flour, and ¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
An oven-to-table ceramic baking dish
Butter for smearing and dotting the dish
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Cook the rigatoni in abundant, boiling salted water. Drain when exceptionally firm, a shade less cooked than al dente because it will undergo additional cooking in the oven. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
3. Add the meat sauce, béchamel, and 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan to the pasta. Toss thoroughly to coat the pasta well and distribute the sauces uniformly.
4. Lightly smear the baking dish with butter. Put in the entire contents of the bowl, leveling it with a spatula. Top with 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan and dot with butter. Put the dish on the uppermost rack of the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes, until a little bit of a crust forms on top. After taking it out of the oven, allow the rigatoni to settle for a few minutes before bringing to the table.
LASAGNE
Properly made lasagne consists of several layers of delicate, nearly weightless pasta spaced by layers of savory, but not overbearing filling made of meat or artichokes or mushrooms or other fine mixtures. The only pasta suitable for lasagne is paper-thin dough freshly made at home. If you have not mastered rolling out pasta by hand, the machine method does a fully satisfactory job with nearly no effort.
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking Page 24
