100 Ways to Be Pasta: Perfect Pasta Recipes from Gangivecchio - Hardcover

Tornabene, Wanda; Tornabene, Giovanna; Carreno, Carolynn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 140004104X ISBN 13: 9781400041046

Publisher: Knopf, 2005

Synopsis

For us, pasta is more than just a food. It is part of our histories. It is a good friend, a member of the family. It is something we love . . . When Italians offer a plate of pasta to friends or strangers, we are opening the doors of our homes and welcoming them inside in the most generous way. It is in that spirit that my mamma and I, who have had the good fortune to be accompanied all our lives by this most versatile of foods, invite you through the tall, ancient wooden doors of Gangivecchio and offer up these recipes, these one hundred versions of the golden strands, the god, pasta, to you. So put the water on to boil. And buon appetito! —Giovanna Tornabene, from her Introduction

Welcome back to Gangivecchio, where Wanda and Giovanna Tornabene, two-time James Beard Award winners and beloved doyennes of the Italian kitchen, have served up another irresistible helping of charm, wit, and culinary wisdom from the kitchen of the thirteenth-century abbey they call home. This time around, the dynamic mother-daughter duo takes us back to Sicilian basics, in a recipe-filled compendium and heartfelt tribute to the “queen of the Italian table”—pasta.

In 100 Ways to Be Pasta the Tornabenes once again weave memoir and history together with the vivid flavors of local village life, bringing us a true taste of Sicilian culture and cuisine. They incorporate lessons from basic pasta-cooking techniques to secret tips from old masters, and include an extensive glossary of pasta vocabulary, a dictionary of pasta types, and of course a generous sprinkling of anecdotes and advice.

All of this serves as a delightful setting for the one hundred authentic, mouth-watering recipes, lovingly honed and perfected in the old abbey kitchen. From quick, easy basics, like spaghetti with garlic, oil, and hot pepper or farfalle with peas and prosciutto, to traditional pasta soups like minestrone, to more elaborate baked and stuffed pastas like Baked Orecchiette with Lamb Ragù and Melted Mozzarella or Baked Timbale of Anelletti with Veal and Vegetables, each recipe serves up a little piece of Sicily for your very own kitchen.

As informative and useful to the beginner as to the experienced Italian cook, 100 Ways to Be Pasta is a must-have and a treasure for any cookbook shelf.

About this title

About the Author:

Wanda and Giovanna Tornabene have run their restaurant out of the thirteenth-century abbey Gangivecchio, in Sicily’s Madonie Mountains, since 1978. Both of their previous books, La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio and Sicilian Home Cooking, won the James Beard Award for Best Italian Cookbook. Wanda and Giovanna spend most of their time at Gangivecchio and also have a home in Palermo.

Carolynn Carreño is a freelance writer for magazines and a coauthor of Once Upon a Tart. Her work was selected for the anthology Best Food Writing 2002 and has been nominated for the James Beard Best Feature Writing award. She divides her time between New York City and Los Angeles.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Paolo's Pennette with Fresh Figs and PancettaPennette con Fichi e Pancetta di PaoloServes 6This is a recipe my brother invented, inspired from the fact that every day during the fall he walks out of his apartment at Gangivecchio to see the tons of fresh figs that have dropped off the two giant trees in the center of our courtyard. It's nice to serve this pasta with an additional whole fig, cut in quarters so that it opens like a flower with the contrast of the green peel and the red condimento.1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil1 medium white onion, finely chopped1/4 pound pancetta (or bacon), cut into 1/2-inch cubes2 pounds fresh figs, peeled and diced1/2 cup dry red wineSalt and freshly ground black pepper1 pound pennetteFreshly grated Parmesan cheese1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until is is hot but not smoking. Add the onions and saute for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Add the pancetta and cook until the pancetta and the onions are golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the figs and the wine and simmer just to soften the figs, about 5 minutes; don't cook the figs so long that they fall apart completely. Season with salt and pepper to taste and turn off the heat. 2. Meanwhile, bring a big saucepan of water to boil. Stir in a small fistful of salt and the pennette and cook until it is tender. Reserve a cupful of the pasta water and drain the pasta in a colander.3. Quickly transfer the pasta to the pan with the figs and place over high heat. Add a splash of pasta water, stir gently to mix the condimento and pasta together, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, adding more pasta water if the pasta is dry or sticky. Serve hot with freshly grated Parmesan cheese at the table.

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 140004104X
• ISBN 13: 9781400041046
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208