The Month in Pasta: Part II
Classics Near and Far
PART II: CLASSICS NEAR AND FAR
These selections from the Month in Pasta are evergreen classics, but are not solely from Bologna: like a high speed southbound Frecciargento train, this list stops in the regions of Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, points south including Naples, and Puglia, all the way at the bottom of the peninsula.
Cappellacci di zucca
The signature pasta of the city of Ferrara, a Renaissance political and artistic powerhouse 50km northwest of Bologna, looks like a tortellone but is filled with pumpkin and nutmeg, served with butter, sage, cheese, and occasionally crumbled amaretti almond cookies. This pasta includes my favorite piece of Italian grammar, the insulting pejorative suffix “-accio” (pronounced AH-chee-oh) - mean bad, or big and ugly. So cappellacci are literally Big Ugly Hats - they look like floppy wide-brimmed straw hats worn by farmers.
Where to try cappellacci di zucca? Anywhere in Ferrara, a beautiful city (and UNESCO world heritage site!) that is definitely worth a visit.
Balanzoni
Named because they look like the carnival mask sported by Dottore Balanzone, a favorite Bolognese commedia dell’arte character, these are cappellacci by another name. Or tortelloni by ANOTHER other name. This version is green, stuffed with a mild salty filling of ricotta, parmigiano, spinach, egg and bits of mortadella, served with butter and sage.
Where to try balanzoni? In Bologna! I wouldn’t say I have found the best yet, but they serve good ones at Bottega Portici, the Bolognese fast food outpost recommended in Part I.
Passatelli in brodo
Passatelli are made from bread crumbs, eggs, grated parmesan - the dough is similar to a coarse matzo ball, and is then run through a hand cranked press that extrudes short tubes that are half pasta, half dumpling. Another hearty, cold weather dish from the Emilia Romagna region around Bologna, served in a bowl of broth.
Where to try pasatelli in brodo? Ristorante Da Enzo - Via Coltellini 17, Modena. This old fashioned upstairs dining room in Modena (just 30 minutes by train from Bologna) is a real locals’ place: I called to make a reservation in broken Italian, left my name with with the Nonna, and when we arrived the card on the table just said “riservato: stranieri” (reserved: foreigners.) I was not offended, I had a great meal, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Gramigna with sausage
Short squiggles of pasta, with a hole through the middle like bucatini, typically served with a white (no tomato) ragu of sausage, onion, white wine and some butter or cream. They are yet another Bolognese classic.
Where to try gramigna alla salsiccia? Oltre. - Via Augusto Majani 1, Bologna. Stylish, modern, dramatically lit interior; wild, imaginative cocktails; totally classic, perfectly executed classic Bolognese food (and even functional website!) This is a great restaurant, and one of their signatures is a deceptively simple and surprisingly great gramigna with salsiccia.
Tagliatelle with friggione
Friggione is my favorite Bolognese side dish: sweet onions cooked down for hours with a little tomato. It can be sweet, or it can be ultra-caramelized to a dark intensity that is almost spicy. When served on tagliatelle, it is like a lighter, summer alternative to traditional ragu.
Where to try tagliatelle with friggione? Polpette e Crescentine - Via S. Gervasio 3, Bologna. Inside the Mercato delle Erbe covered market.
Pappardelle all’anatra (duck ragu)
Duck is a big part of the cuisine in the river deltas and wetlands that stretch along the Adriatic coast from Venice to Ravenna, and that influence reaches at least as far inland as Ferrara, where I had this dish. Duck ragu (a white ragu, hand-chopped chunks of duck cooked in white wine, no tomato) is typically served with pappardelle, a long fresh pasta wider than tagliatelle, with plenty of surface area to bathe in and soak up the juices of a ragu. The version I tried included slices of candied orange to cut through the richness of the sauce.
Where to try ragu all'anatra? Osteria I Quattro Angeli - Piazzetta del Castello 10, Ferrara.
Lasagna ai carciofi
Lasagna, but make it green! With artichoke hearts and basil pesto.
Where to try lasagna al carciofi? Pasta Fresca Naldi, Via del Pratello 69, Bologna. A beloved hole-in-the-wall on Bologna’s counterculture street, selling cheap classics to go.
Gnocchi with lamb ragu
Lamb is common in the early spring, which makes this a classic Easter dish.
Where to try gnocchi with lamb ragu? Club Culinario Toscano da Osvaldo - Piazza dei Peruzzi 3, Firenze. This ragu may only be on the menu of this Florence restaurant in the spring, but when it is they make it with lamb that they receive from the farmer just the day before.
Orecchiette con cime di rapa
Now we move to the south of Italy, where most pasta is made from just water and hard semolina flour - no eggs, unlike the fresh pasta in the north. In late April, I celebrated my birthday with a trip to Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot, famous for beaches, olive oil, whitewashed Medieval and Baroque hill towns, and orecchiette pasta. Orecchiette or “little ears” are made by rolling the edge of your thumb, hard, across a morsel of dough until it pops out looking like its namesake. The most common way to serve them is in a sauce of broccoli rabe (rapini or cime di rapa), breadcrumbs, garlic, and - if you’re lucky - an anchovy.
Where to try orecchiette with cime di rapa? La Cucina di Mamma Elvira - Lecce, Puglia. A modern restaurant with excellent wine list and a menu of traditional rustic dishes.
Spaghettone with tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies and breadcrumbs
Despite its natural beauty, Puglia has been a fairly poor region for the last couple centuries - like much of Southern Italy it has suffered from a major lack of investment since the country was unified (under a northern Italian king) in the mid 1800s - and poverty shapes the local cooking sometimes referred to as “cucina povera pugliese.” At the restaurant where I ordered this dish, the chef poetically called it “spaghettone con otto ingredienti poveri” - the eight poor ingredients: tomato sauce, datterini cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, garlic, breadcrumbs, anchovy, and… love? I’ve forgotten #8. But the combination different flavors and textures made this simple plate, at just 7 euros, the best pasta I had in all of Puglia.
Where to try spaghettone with “otto ingredienti poveri”? Osteria del Caroseno, Castellana Grotte, Puglia. A truly fantastic restaurant, a chef with world class ambition, using a wealth of local ingredients in a small town rarely visited by foreign tourists - the best, most creative, most exciting meal we had in Puglia.
Spaghetti alle vongole
Spaghetti with clams, is popular throughout the world, but it originated in Naples where clams have been part of the diet since ancient times, and where people are obsessed with the dish. So…
Where to try spaghetti alle vongole? In Naples! Or anywhere in the immediate area.
Gnocchi alla Sorrentina
Be honest, there is no shame in admitting that you know this pasta from the Trader Joe’s freezer case. Before achieving international frozen fame, gnocchi alla sorrentina was a regional dish from Sorrento, on the Bay of Naples, sharing a peninsula and a glorious climate with the Amalfi Coast. The dish combines two of this fertile region’s greatest resources, tomatoes and mozzarella, into a creamy sauce.
Where to try gnocchi alla sorrentina? In Sorrento! Or anywhere in the area around Naples.
Spaghetti al Nerano
Spaghetti tossed with parmigiano reggiano cheese and a sauce of zucchini and basil fried in lots of olive oil - Italy’s finest pasta futurists are convinced that this is THE next hot international pasta, because it has spread to all the menus in the Naples area. At least some of that fame is owed to Stanley Tucci, who loves the dish and dedicated a good portion of his Naples episode his CNN show to making this pasta at its place of origin.
Where to try spaghetti al Nerano? Lo Scoglio da Tommaso - Marina del Cantone on the Amalfi Coast. Did I eat it here? No. But this is the rare instance where a popular pasta recipe can be traced to a single point of origin - this restaurant in this fishing village. So if you can, why not taste it at the source?
Ravioli Capresi
The island of Capri, with its incredible scenery and dramatic cliffs, has always been a popular vacation destination for the rich and famous, from Roman emperors to 19th century writers and industrialists to 21st century oligarchs. Wealthy tourists and beautiful views are often a red flag if you’re looking for good local food. But on the other hand, Capri is blessed with a beautiful climate, and did give us the Caprese salad. Ravioli capresi are a less well known contribution, ravioli filled with ricotta and marjoram, served in a simple tomato sauce.
Where to try ravioli capresi? Terrazza Brunella, Via Tragara, Capri. I’ve never had a better view while eating lunch, and yet the food was excellent! Like most lunch options on the island this restaurant is pricy, and attached to a luxury hotel. But it is located on Via Tragara, a slightly less touristy yet very scenic street of villas that leads to the Via del Pizzolungo hiking trail with views of the famous Faraglioni rock spires and the Casa Malaparte. What could be better hiking fuel than ravioli capresi and limoncello?
That’s it for the famous classics! Stay tuned tomorrow for the most exciting dispatch yet in The Month In Pasta - PART III: RARITIES & REGIONAL DEEP CUTS. The weird, the exotic, the never seen outside of Italy. Andiamo!