MAKING PASTA

Pasta Sfoglia Dough for Lasagna and Ravioli

Whole-Egg Dough for Tagliatelle, Maltagliati, Pappardelle, and Tagliolini

Flour-and-Water Dough for Pici and Tonnarelli

Flour-and-Water Dough for Orecchiette and Cavatelli

Potato Gnocchi Dough

Canederli

Passatelli

If you’re a pasta novice, I want you to forget about recipes for a moment and instead get acquainted with how dough feels beneath your fingertips. A properly mixed pasta dough should have the consistency of Play-Doh and feel tacky but not sticky. Focus on how the mixture feels and how different flours behave when mixed with water and with one another.

Start with a cup of all-purpose flour from the supermarket: Place it on a work surface and make a well in the middle. Add ¾ cup water to the well and, using a fork, work in from the edges of the well to gradually incorporate the flour. The flour and water mixture will go from looking like clumps of cheese curd to forming a shaggy dough. The next time, do the same thing with Red Fife flour and see how a fresh-milled flour absorbs more water than all-purpose flour and how it feels beneath your fingers as it comes together. For the next try, mix Blue Beard durum with the water and notice how the durum dough feels slightly different from the one made with all-purpose or Red Fife.

For me, pasta making is all about feeling—and it’s important to keep that in mind as you practice. When you have mastered the recipes and techniques with lots of repetition (remember, no one’s grandma was a pasta master at birth), forget the recipes and “freestyle,” allowing your flour and liquid quantities to be guided by how the dough feels. This will bring you closer to the spirit of Italian pasta making—and really, Italian cooking in general. My grandma and my mom both used to grab a bunch of ingredients and just mix them together. They may not have been precise with their measurements, but they knew exactly how the ingredients affected one another and how they were supposed to feel. They knew that if the dough was too wet, they added flour. If it was too dry, they added a little water until it was just right.

The recipes here include instructions for making adjustments based on the conditions of your kitchen and variations in ingredients so you get a pasta dough with the perfect consistency, no matter where you are, every time. I encourage you to trust your instincts, learn the proper feel of a dough, and play around with different flours and blends. Let the consistency and the strength of the dough inspire its final shape and its sauce.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT GRAIN FOR THE JOB

When it comes to choosing a grain for pasta, the characteristics of that grain combined with the choice of wet ingredients (water, egg yolk, or whole eggs) will determine the shape the dough can hold. There are literally thousands of pasta shapes—there are whole books dedicated to this vast topic—but I have chosen a few of the most common ones here, offering recipes for the doughs most adapted to those specific pasta forms.

For pasta sfoglia—sheets of pasta made with flour and egg yolks—the objective is to create a cooked pasta that has some bite, snap, and pliability to it. This pasta type favors hearty, protein-rich grains like hard red wheats. The egg yolk’s fat lends pliability to the strong dough, allowing it to stretch, which is needed if you intend to roll the dough very thin for lasagna or to fill it to make ravioli.

Combining flour with whole eggs means the dough will have both the yolk’s fat and the white’s protein; this allows you to use a weaker flour with less protein, like soft spring wheat, and still have a strong and elastic dough. These conditions are ideal for noodles like tagliatelle, maltagliati, pappardelle, and tagliolini, which need to be thin, have bite, and hold together. Because an egg-heavy pasta has some protein from the whites and a larger quantity of fat from the yolk, it can be made with many different kinds of wheat and still hold its shape, but I like to use Sonora, a soft spring wheat.

For a flour-and-water dough, water populates the flour’s starch and protein, which makes the starch swell and develops the gluten. All this happens in the absence of added fat or protein, so you need a very strong flour like durum. The absence of yolk fat means the dough cannot stretch very much without breaking, making it ideal for small, shorter pasta shapes like orecchiette and cavatelli.

As you become more comfortable using freshly milled flour to make pasta, you can begin blending flours in order to combine traits. I use wine as an analogy: If you have a really tannic grape with high alcohol and acidity, you can blend in a lighter grape to balance out those characteristics. Similarly, if you have a wheat with low protein, such as rye, you can cut it with one that brings more protein, like Kansas Turkey, and achieve shapes that ask for stronger flours.

As an advanced pasta maker, I love experimenting with flour mixes, so if I have some rye, some winter wheat, and some spring wheat hanging around—or any other combination, really—I will mix them together, see how the dough behaves, and then select the pasta shape accordingly. Remember, it’s all about the feel. What’s fun about making pasta from a creative flour mixture is that the results are immediate because the dough doesn’t have to ferment. You can see and feel the dough immediately and, with experience, determine the shape it should take.

MILLING FOR PASTA

When milling flour to make pasta at home, the flour doesn’t have to be as fine as bread flour. And it can be a bit coarser still for certain kinds of shapes, like cavatelli, where tradition and function favor semolina. Ravioli dough, on the other hand, requires a slightly finer grind.

EXTRACTION

You can make all of the pasta recipes here with 100% bran inclusion, but I recommend sifting out the bran, then adding a percentage back to taste. If you’re stone-milling at home, there is always going to be some bran in your flour even if you sift it meticulously. But if you like the hearty, in-your-face aroma of the wheat you’re using, don’t sift the flour at all. I base how much I add back on the sauce I am using. If it’s something strong like a concentrated, hearty Bolognese, I add 5% of the weight of the flour—for example, I add 25 grams of bran to 500 grams of flour. For milder sauces like Alfredo, I sift out all the bran and rely on the bran that is naturally present due to stone-milling.

Bear in mind that bran takes on more water and that pastas made with bran can get crumbly if not adequately hydrated. Generally speaking, having a high bran content doesn’t affect the flour or blend that you use, and bran is so thin that it is not an obstacle to rolling the dough very thin. It mainly influences the amount of water added.

MIXING AND KNEADING

When mixing pasta dough, your main objective is to hydrate the flour and allow the gluten to develop. After the dry and liquid ingredients are fully incorporated, knead the dough energetically to further develop the gluten, thereby strengthening the dough. No matter what flours you mix, once you have kneaded the dough, allow it to sit for 30 minutes, covered with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. This set-aside time will let the flour fully hydrate and the gluten rest, but it isn’t enough time for the dough to begin fermenting as it would with bread or pizza dough. If the dough develops a dry skin, just roll it out before using it. Thanks to freshly milled flour’s oil-rich nature, the skin will be absorbed back into the dough with a few rolls of a rolling pin.

CONSERVING THE DOUGH

The raw, unshaped dough for tagliatelle, maltagliati, pappardelle, tagliolini, pici, tonnarelli, orecchiette, and cavatelli will keep, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 1 week in the refrigerator. Wrapped in plastic wrap, the shaped pasta freezes for up to a week, but the raw, unrolled dough does not freeze well.

COOKING

Most of the pasta dough recipes here yield four to six servings per half kilogram of pasta. Traditionally, Italians eat in courses: the primo (usually pasta) followed by the secondo (meat or fish). If you plan to do the same, the pasta course should feed six. If you are treating it as your main dish, the recipe serves four.

Cook the pasta until al dente, meaning the pasta still has some firmness and bite to it. Taste the pasta as it cooks and cook until it is still a bit firm.

SAUCING

In Italy, cooks are very opinionated about which pasta shapes pair with which sauces. There’s something of a science to it: long noodles go well with thick sauces and ragùs, while chunky sauces work best with shapes that “scoop” them up. The sauces in this chapter can, theoretically, be paired with any pasta, but I have recommended the ones that pair best, based on Italian sensibilities. I have also given some choices for ravioli fillings.

PASTA SFOGLIA DOUGH FOR LASAGNA AND RAVIOLI

MAKES ABOUT 750 GRAMS (1⅔ POUNDS) PASTA

Pasta sfoglia is a sheet of pasta that can be layered to make lasagna or filled to make ravioli. After years of developing my ideal pasta sfoglia recipe, I landed on this dough. It is perfectly pliable when cooked and has a satisfying bite. The farro flour is bold in flavor and highly distinctive, while the durum adds extensibility and a golden color. Meanwhile, the olive oil makes the dough soft and supple—ideal for lasagna as well as ravioli, both of which must be thin and flexible.

Ragù Bolognese ( this page) is the quintessential sauce for lasagna. For ravioli, use either filling beginning on this page and your choice of sauce (beginning on this page).

VARIATIONS

350 grams farro flour

150 grams durum wheat flour (I like Blue Beard)

12 large egg yolks, beaten

14 grams (1 tablespoon) extra-virgin olive oil

Durum semolina, for dusting

Bench flour (see tip on this page), for dusting

In a large bowl, whisk together the farro and durum flours. Pour the combined flours onto a work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the egg yolks and the olive oil and beat together with a fork. Working in from the edges of the well, continue using the fork to gradually incorporate the flour with the egg mixture to form a shaggy dough. The dough should feel tacky but not sticky. If the dough sticks to your fingers, add 1 tablespoon more flour. If the dough feels too dry, add water, a tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. Knead the dough energetically with both hands until it is a smooth, compact mass, 10 to 12 minutes. Wrap the dough in a semolina-dusted kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and set it aside to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

IF MAKING LASAGNA: With a knife, cut off a 150-gram (5-ounce) piece of dough, transfer it to a work surface lightly dusted with bench flour, and work it into a rough rectangle with a rolling pin: Working from the center to the edges, push forward and roll the dough out as thin as possible. You should get to about ⅛ inch of thickness before it starts pushing back. Turn the dough 180 degrees and repeat the forward pushing motion. Roll about 4 inches of the dough around the rolling pin, and roll it to a thickness you can see through. Continue for the entire length of the dough. Turn the dough 180 degrees and repeat the rolling process once more. (The sheet should now measure about 8 × 20 inches.) Repeat with the remaining dough to make a total of 5 sheets.

Dust the dough with semolina and set aside on baking sheets. Wrapped in plastic wrap, the pasta will keep for up to 1 week in the freezer. Do not refrigerate it.

To make the lasagna, preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet with extra-virgin olive oil.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt the water. When the salt has dissolved, add the pasta sheets and cook for 1 minute. Drain. Place a sheet of pasta on the oiled baking sheet, and spoon some ragù bolognese over it, distributing it evenly. Continue to layer the pasta and sauce until they are used up and a pasta sheet is the final layer. Bake until the pasta is cooked through and the edges are crispy and browned, about 25 minutes.

IF MAKING RAVIOLI: Follow the instructions for lasagna up to the point where you have a total of 5 sheets of dough.

Dust the dough with bench flour. Pipe or spoon tablespoons of the desired filling over half of the sheet (1), leaving a 3-inch border from the edges of the sheet and 3 inches between each portion of filling (2). Spray the half with the filling with a fine mist of water or moisten the dough by hand, and then fold the remaining dough over the filling to close (3). With your fingers, press gently around the filling, eliminating any air bubbles and ensuring the dough fits snugly around the filling and is pressed together around the edges of the filling (4). With a pasta wheel or knife, separate the ravioli, leaving an equal border around each raviolo. Or use a 2½-inch cookie cutter to separate the ravioli. Repeat with the remaining dough. You should have around thirty 2½-inch ravioli.

To cook the ravioli, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt the water. When the salt has dissolved, add the ravioli and cook until al dente, about 2 minutes. Drain and serve with your choice of sauce.

As an alternative to farro and durum—if, for example, you have only a weak flour, such as a soft spring wheat—you can build strength by laminating the dough: fold the pasta and pass it through a pasta machine a total of 25 times. Since you’re folding and turning, you create strength through a sort of cross-hatching.

WHOLE-EGG DOUGH FOR TAGLIATELLE, MALTAGLIATI, PAPPARDELLE, AND TAGLIOLINI

MAKES ABOUT 800 GRAMS (1¾ POUNDS) PASTA

At Vetri we used one dough for all our fresh pastas, whether we were making ravioli, pappardelle, or fettuccine. We used only egg yolks. When I departed for Bergamo to work at Osteria della Brughiera, I figured I would find a similar yolk-rich approach to their dough, maybe applied to some highly regional pasta shape I had never seen. But when I arrived, what I saw blew my mind. They used freshly milled flour—remember, I didn’t really know what that meant yet, but the flavor was incredible—and no two pasta recipes were identical. Of course now this makes total sense to me: each dough was adapted to its singular use. The chefs’ use of whole eggs instead of just yolks also clicked for me because it resulted in zero waste, a mirror of how most Bergamaschi actually cook. A whole egg has more water than a yolk alone has, and it also has more protein. The protein from the egg white gives strength and helps to make an al dente noodle when combined with soft spring wheats like Frederick or Sonora, which aren’t ideal for yolk-only noodles because of their low protein content. Shapes like tagliatelle, maltagliati, pappardelle, and tagliolini need the strength from this protein; otherwise the noodles will break.

VARIATIONS

500 grams soft spring wheat flour (I like Frederick or Sonora)

5 large eggs, beaten

Durum semolina, for dusting

Bench flour (see tip on this page), for dusting

Pour the flour onto a work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs (1) and beat them with a fork (2). Working in from the edges of the well, continue using the fork to gradually incorporate the flour with the eggs (3) to form a shaggy dough (4). The dough should feel tacky but not sticky. If the dough sticks to your fingers, add 1 tablespoon more flour. If the dough feels too dry, add water, a tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. Knead the dough energetically with both hands until it is a smooth, compact mass, 10 to 12 minutes. Wrap the dough in a semolina-dusted kitchen towel or plastic wrap and set it aside to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

IF MAKING TAGLIATELLE: With a bench scraper or knife, cut off a 150-gram (5-ounce) piece of dough (1), transfer it to a work surface lightly dusted with bench flour, and work it into a rough rectangle with a rolling pin (2): Working from the center to the edges, push forward and roll the dough out as thin as possible. You should get to about ⅛ inch of thickness before it starts pushing back. Turn the dough 180 degrees and repeat the forward pushing motion. Roll about 4 inches of the dough around the rolling pin (3), and roll it to a thickness you can see through. Continue for the entire length of the dough. Turn the dough 180 degrees and repeat the rolling process once more. The sheet should measure about 8 × 20 inches (4). Repeat with the remaining dough.

Dust each piece of dough with bench flour, placing one layer over another. With one short edge facing you, fold about 2 inches of the near end of the dough over itself. Continue folding the dough over itself to form a loose, rectangular tube (5). Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into ¼-inch-wide strands (6). Pick up the dough strands and toss gently to separate them. Dust them with semolina and set them aside on a plate. Wrapped in plastic wrap, the pasta will keep for up to 1 week in the freezer. Do not refrigerate it.

To cook the tagliatelle, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt the water. When the salt has dissolved, add the tagliatelle and cook until al dente, about 30 seconds. Drain and serve with your choice of sauce (beginning on this page).

IF MAKING MALTAGLIATI: Follow the procedure for tagliatelle until you dust each piece of dough with bench flour. Slice the dough diagonally into 2-inch-wide strips (7). Then cut each strip into diamonds measuring about 2 inches per side (8).

IF MAKING PAPPARDELLE: Follow the procedure for tagliatelle but cut the dough to a width of 1 inch (9).

IF MAKING TAGLIOLINI: Follow the procedure for tagliatelle but cut the dough to a width of ⅛ inch (10).

Whether you are making tagliatelle, maltagliati, pappardelle, or tagliolini, you can “cheat” the kneading phase by passing the shaggy dough through a pasta machine instead of doing it by hand. This will cut the kneading time to about 2 minutes.

FLOUR-AND-WATER DOUGH FOR PICI AND TONNARELLI

MAKES 775 GRAMS (ABOUT 1⅔ POUNDS) PASTA

The first time I visited Tuscany, Marc Vetri took me to meet Signora Dania Lucherini at La Chiusa, a hotel and restaurant in a beautifully restored farmhouse in Montefollonico. Dania had been making pasta there for twenty years and to her, our countless questions about pasta shapes and tools must have seemed overzealous. For Signora Dania, novel shapes were not nearly as important as the flour that she used: a rustic blend milled down the street. We spent some time watching her work. She was the first person I ever saw use coarse stone-milled Tipo 1 flour instead of a roller-milled Tipo 00 for pappardelle. She didn’t use eggs in her pasta at all; she said they were for the upper class and the tradition of pasta where she is from was less extravagant, meant for average people. Meanwhile back in Philly, I had been struggling to get forty egg yolks into a kilo of semolina. The experience was eye-opening.

The best dish of our stay was a simple bowl of pici, the classic Tuscan noodle, which is rolled by hand and served with potent sauces like game ragù. I still remember the taste of the pasta itself, flavored strongly by freshly milled flour. I was eager to re-create the texture and flavor of Signora Dania’s pici. I imagined she used a high-protein, highly flavorful flour. My choice was Kansas Turkey wheat. And I marry the pici with a condiment of fragrant garlic, floral olive oil, and subtly piquant pepper without it being overpowered by—or overpowering—these flavors. The result is pure harmony.

I use pici dough to make tonnarelli, as well. Also known as spaghetti alla chitarra because in some regions the pasta is made by rolling the dough over an instrument featuring wires that resemble guitar strings, tonnarelli are long strands of squared-off spaghetti. Protein-rich hard winter wheat gives just the bite and structure I am looking for in such a pasta strand.

VARIATIONS

  • Replace hard winter wheat flour with 450 grams Red Fife flour and 50 grams Red Russian flour. Strong Red Fife mixed with extensible, stretchy Red Russian flour combines to create a noodle with a pleasing bite.

  • Replace hard winter wheat flour with 400 grams Blue Beard durum semolina and 100 grams Sonora soft spring wheat flour. The very strong and extensible durum conspires with the delicate and soft Sonora flour to make a suitable variation that has a pleasing bite and an interesting flavor.

500 grams hard winter wheat flour (I like Kansas Turkey)

275 grams tepid water

Durum semolina or bench flour (see tip), for dusting

Extra-virgin olive oil, for pici

Pour the flour onto a work surface and make a well in the middle. Add about a third of the water (1). Working in from the edges of the well, use a fork to incorporate a bit of the flour with the water (2). Continue to add the water in thirds, gradually incorporating the flour to form a shaggy dough (3). The dough should feel tacky but not sticky. If the dough sticks to your fingers, add 2 tablespoons more flour. If the dough feels too dry, add water, a teaspoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. Knead the dough energetically with both hands until it is a smooth, compact mass, 10 to 12 minutes (4). Wrap the dough in a semolina-dusted kitchen towel or plastic wrap and set it aside to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

IF MAKING PICI: With a knife, cut off a 150-gram (5-ounce) piece of dough, transfer it to a work surface lightly dusted with bench flour, and work it into a rough rectangle with a rolling pin: Working from the center to the edges, push forward and roll the dough out as thin as possible. You should get to about ⅛ inch of thickness before it starts pushing back. Turn the dough 180 degrees and repeat the forward pushing motion. (The sheet should measure about 8 × 20 inches.)

Dip one hand in olive oil and rub a thin sheen of oil over the entire surface of the dough. Repeat with the remaining dough. Set it aside to rest for about 30 minutes.

With a knife, cut the dough lengthwise into 1-inch-wide strips.

Roll each strip lengthwise into a long, tight tube: Pressing one end of the dough onto your work surface, use your other hand to roll the dough to a thickness of about ⅛ inch. Coil up the pici, dust with semolina, and set aside on a plate. Wrapped in plastic wrap, the pasta will keep for up to 1 week in the freezer. Do not refrigerate it.

To cook the pici, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt the water. When the salt has dissolved, add the pici and cook until al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain and serve with your choice of sauce (beginning on this page).

IF MAKING TONNARELLI: With a knife, cut off a 150-gram (5-ounce) piece of dough, transfer it to a work surface lightly dusted with bench flour, and work it into a rough rectangle with a rolling pin: Working from the center to the edges, push forward and roll it out to about ¹⁄₁₆ inch of thickness. If necessary, turn the dough 180 degrees and repeat the forward pushing motion. (The sheet should measure about 8 × 20 inches.) Repeat with the remaining dough.

Dust each sheet of dough with bench flour (see the tip on this page), placing one layer over another. With one short edge facing you, fold about 2 inches of the far end of the dough over itself. Continue folding the dough over itself to form a loose, rectangular tube. Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into ¹⁄₁₆-inch-thick strands. Pick up the dough strands and toss gently to separate them. Dust the tonnarelli with semolina and set them aside on a plate. Wrapped in plastic wrap, the pasta will keep for up to 1 week in the freezer. Do not refrigerate it.

To cook the tonnarelli, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt the water. When the salt has dissolved, add the tonnarelli and cook until al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain and serve with your choice of sauce (beginning on this page).

When you dust a work surface to make pasta or to shape bread, use a bench scraper to gather any excess flour and store it in a sealed container in a cool, dry place. Use the recycled flour in recipes calling for “bench flour.” This is a practical way to incorporate unused flour, reducing waste.

ITALIAN FLOUR GRADES

Italian and American mills do not categorize flours the same way. In Italy flours milled from soft wheat are labeled “grano tenero,” which is the most common grade, and are used to make bread, pasta, pizza, and pastry. Flours milled from hard wheats are labeled “semola” or “grano duro.” The American analogue is semolina, which in both countries is rather granular compared with other flour grades and has a yellowish tint. Semolina is used to make pasta and bread.

Flours in Italy are milled to various fineness and bran inclusions. Tipo 00, also known as “Doppio 0” flour, is white and powdery with the lowest bran inclusion and can be milled from either soft or hard wheats. Its protein content, therefore, ranges significantly, from 7% to 11%. Tipo 0 has a bit more bran inclusion than 00 and is similar in strength to American all-purpose flour. Tipo 1 is less fine and has more bran (around 80% bran inclusion) than Tipo 0, while Tipo 2 is less fine than Tipo 0 and has only around 10% of its bran removed. “Farina integrale” is whole wheat flour.

FLOUR-AND-WATER DOUGH FOR ORECCHIETTE AND CAVATELLI

MAKES ABOUT 1,000 GRAMS (2¼ POUNDS) PASTA

The orecchiette and cavatelli shapes come from Italy’s deep south, the area that straddles the regions of Puglia and Basilicata where the Murgia Plateau rises up from the Adriatic Sea. There, durum wheat fields supply local mills with grain for bread and pasta. When it comes to hand-shaped durum wheat pasta, tradition calls for a coarse grind called semolina (see this page). Semolina is one of those words that gets a bit mixed up in translation. It’s not a grain, but rather the term that describes coarsely ground durum wheat, per the Italian tradition. When milling, a coarser grind gives a bigger yield, which is likely why it is so ubiquitous in southern Italy, where frugal practices reign. Locals there listened to their pasta doughs and developed forms best adapted to durum’s high gluten potential but low extensibility. The result was short, thick pasta shapes like orecchiette and cavatelli.

500 grams durum wheat semolina (I like Blue Beard), plus more for dusting

125 grams soft spring wheat flour (I like Sonora)

9 grams sea salt

385 grams water, warmed to 65°F

In a large bowl, whisk together the durum and soft spring wheat flours and the salt. Pour the mixture onto a work surface and make a well in the middle. Add half of the water and mix by hand, working from the edges of the well into the center. Add the remaining water a little at a time, gradually incorporating the flour to form a shaggy dough. The dough should feel tacky but not sticky. If the dough sticks to your fingers, add 2 tablespoons more flour. If the dough feels too dry, add water, a teaspoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. Knead the dough energetically with both hands until it is a smooth, compact mass, 10 to 12 minutes. Wrap the dough in a semolina-dusted kitchen towel or plastic wrap and set it aside to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

IF MAKING ORECCHIETTE: Flatten the dough into a disk about ½ inch thick on a work surface lightly dusted with semolina. Cut off a strip of dough about ½ inch wide. Pressing down on the dough with your fingertips, roll the dough back and forth to form a long strand about ¼ inch thick (1). Cut the strand into ½-inch pieces (2). With a knife pressed into the edge of one piece, drag the dough across the work surface, forming a roughly circular curled-up pasta shape (3). Invert the pasta shape so the rough part faces outward (4). Dust it with semolina and set it aside on a plate. Repeat with the remaining dough. Wrapped in plastic wrap, the pasta will keep for up to 1 week in the freezer. Do not refrigerate it.

To cook the orecchiette, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt the water. When the salt has dissolved, add the orecchiette and cook until al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain and serve with your choice of sauce (beginning on this page).

IF MAKING CAVATELLI: Flatten the dough into a disk about ½ inch thick on a work surface lightly dusted with semolina. Cut off a strip of dough about ½ inch wide. Pressing down on the dough with your fingertips, roll the dough back and forth to form a long strand about ½ inch thick. Cut the strand into ½-inch pieces. With your thumb, press each pasta piece into the tines of an inverted fork to form a ridged and curled pasta shape (5, 6). Dust them with semolina and set them aside on a plate. Repeat with the remaining dough. Wrapped in plastic wrap, the pasta will keep for up to 1 week in the freezer. Do not refrigerate it.

To cook the cavatelli, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt the water. When the salt has dissolved, add the cavatelli and cook until al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain and serve with your choice of sauce (beginning on this page).

POTATO GNOCCHI DOUGH

SERVES 6 TO 8

Potato gnocchi are a central Italian pasta and they are especially typical of Rome, where they are served at trattorias and homes on Thursdays in order to fill up bellies before the lean Friday meals prescribed by the Catholic calendar. I make my gnocchi the way I make biscuits: with a bench scraper to cut all the ingredients together. Doing so makes the texture light and fluffy, which achieves that pillowy consistency ideal in potato gnocchi. The rye flour gives the dough flavor but has very little gluten, which also guarantees the dough’s lightness. This is one of the few recipes in which I include US cups for measuring flour because you don’t need metric precision here and the amount of flour you need will actually vary somewhat depending on your potatoes. Through trial and error, I have found that using half waxy and half starchy potatoes creates gnocchi with a delightful mouthfeel. Choose potatoes that are all about the same size so they cook evenly in the same amount of time.

900 grams (about 2 pounds) potatoes (I use half Idaho and half Yukon Gold)

250 grams (2½ cups) rye flour, plus more for dusting

3 eggs, beaten

175 g (1½ cups) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

25 grams (1½ tablespoons) sea salt

Semolina (see this page), for dusting

Place the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water. Salt the water and bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, 40 minutes to 1 hour.

Drain the potatoes and peel them while they are still hot. Pass the potatoes through a ricer, and then press them directly onto a work surface. Distribute 2 cups of the flour, eggs and cheese (1, 2, 3) evenly over the potatoes and season with the salt. With a bench scraper, cut the ingredients just until they come together (4). If the dough seems too wet, add the remaining flour, 2 tablespoons at a time. (You may not need all the flour.) Knead the dough with your hands until the flour and egg are incorporated, about 15 seconds (5).

With a bench scraper, cut off a 150-gram (5-ounce) piece of dough (6), keeping the remaining dough covered with a clean kitchen towel. Working from the center outward on a surface lightly dusted with rye flour, roll the dough to form a 1½-inch-thick cord (7); then cut the cord into equal bite-size pieces (8). Dust them with semolina and set them aside on a platter. Repeat with the remaining dough. The gnocchi will keep, uncovered, for 2 days in the refrigerator or, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to a month in the freezer.

To cook the gnocchi, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt the water. When the salt has dissolved, add the gnocchi in batches and cook until they float, about 3 minutes. Drain and set them aside on a plate. Serve with your choice of sauce (beginning on this page).

CANEDERLI

SERVES 4 TO 6

Although many people are familiar with bread dumplings by way of German and Austrian cuisine, I first encountered them in northern Italy, where they are called canederli and are the signature dish of the northeastern region of Südtirol (Alto Adige). Dishes from this German-speaking part of Italy share more with those of neighboring Austria than with their Italian counterparts to the south. There are as many canederli recipes as there are cooks and they might contain liver, speck, or even dried fruits. Their purpose, aside from being delicious and sustaining, is to give stale bread a second life. I used to soak the bread in stock, milk, or even beet juice, but now I just use water because my recipe has plenty of its own flavor from the freshly milled flour. To make this a heartier meal, I like to wilt some Swiss chard in the broth and top the whole dish with a poached egg.

500 grams week-old bread (I like the Yeasted Loaf, this page), crusts separated and torn, crumb cut into 1-inch cubes

150 grams unsalted butter, softened

120 grams spelt flour

5 large eggs, beaten

75 grams finely grated Grana Padano

1 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

Sea salt

2,000 grams (about 2 quarts) chicken stock

Place the cubed bread in a colander, rinse it lightly with warm water, and set aside. The bread should be moistened but not sopping wet. Squeeze out any excess liquid.

Pulse the bread crusts in a food processor until ground to the size of coarse coffee grounds.

In a large bowl, combine the moistened bread cubes, the ground bread crusts, the butter, flour, eggs, Grana Padano, parsley, nutmeg, and salt to taste. Mix thoroughly by hand. Form the mixture into balls roughly the size of golf balls.

In a 4-quart pot, bring the stock to a boil over high heat. Salt the stock. When the salt has dissolved, add the canederli and simmer until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Serve immediately with the cooking stock.

If the canederli mixture is sticky, wet your hands with warm water before rolling it.

PASSATELLI

SERVES 6 TO 8

In Italy there are two main types of pasta: fresh and dried. Fresh pasta, like lasagna or pici, is cooked while the dough is still tacky. Dried pasta, like rigatoni or ziti, is extruded and then essentially dehydrated for future use. As with all things Italian, there are exceptions to the rule. Passatelli is a fresh pasta that is also extruded: the dough for these bread-based noodles is forced through a potato ricer directly into boiling stock. I use sourdough bread here to bring some acidity as a foil to the rich, cheese-laden dough, and I prefer to use bread made from a flour with high gluten potential and high protein content so the pasta comes out like a compact noodle and not a soft, loose string.

250 grams sourdough bread (or ¼ Sourdough Loaf, this page), crusts removed and discarded, crumb cut into 1-inch cubes

350 grams finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

300 grams hard wheat flour (I like Red Fife)

12 large eggs, beaten

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

Sea salt

1,000 grams (1 quart) chicken stock

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped parsley

Spread the bread cubes out on a rimmed baking sheet and set it aside, uncovered, overnight.

Transfer the bread cubes to a food processor and pulse until ground to the size of coarse coffee grounds. In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs with the Parmigiano-Reggiano, flour, eggs, nutmeg, and salt to taste. Mix thoroughly by hand until the dough becomes creamy. Set it aside.

In a 2-quart pot, bring the stock to a boil over high heat. Salt the broth. When the salt has dissolved, working in batches, pass the dough through a potato ricer directly into the boiling stock. Cook until the passatelli float, about 3 minutes. Serve immediately with the cooking stock and chopped parsley sprinkled on top.

To expedite the bread drying process, preheat the oven to 250°F. Spread the bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crispy and completely dried out, 15 to 20 minutes.

RAVIOLI FILLINGS

RICOTTA AND NUTMEG

SERVES 4 TO 6

400 grams (15 ounces) ricotta (I like sheep’s milk)

2 large eggs

Generous grating fresh nutmeg

Sea salt

In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, eggs, nutmeg, and salt to taste.

RICOTTA AND LEMON ZEST

SERVES 4 TO 6

400 grams (15 ounces) ricotta (I like sheep’s milk)

2 large eggs

Grated zest of 2 lemons

Sea salt

In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, eggs, lemon zest, and salt to taste.

PASTA SAUCES

BEET BUTTER

SERVES 4 TO 6

Best with ravioli, tagliatelle, maltagliati, pappardelle, tagliolini, pici, tonnarelli, and gnocchi.

2 medium beets

500 grams (about 1 pound) unsalted butter

20 sprigs fresh thyme

1 cup boiling water

Put the beets in a small saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, then cook until tender, about 1½ hours. Drain and set aside to cool.

Peel the beets, discarding the skins. In a medium bowl, mash the beets to a pulp with a fork.

In a large saucepan set over medium heat, combine the beets, butter, thyme, and the boiling water. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the liquid has reduced to the consistency of heavy cream, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the drained cooked pasta to the pan and mix gently to coat. Serve immediately.

Before you drain cooked pasta, always reserve a cup or more of the cooking water. The starchy water helps bind a sauce so it clings well to the pasta.

CHICKEN LIVER AND SAFFRON RAGÙ

SERVES 4 TO 6

Best with tagliatelle, maltagliati, and pappardelle.

Sea salt

7 chicken livers, halved

150 grams (½ cup plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter

¼ small white onion, sliced

Generous pinch saffron threads

½ cup boiling water

Salt the chicken livers as you would a steak and set aside. Heat 15 grams (1 tablespoon) of the butter and the onions in a large saucepan over medium heat. Salt the onions and cook until they are browned, about 10 minutes. Add the saffron and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the boiling water and the remaining butter, and stir until melted.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta for 30 seconds, then add it to the pan with a few tablespoons of pasta cooking water. Stir gently, and then after about a minute, add the chicken livers. Swirl the pan and cook until the livers are just cooked through, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

BROWN BUTTER

SERVES 4 TO 6

Best with gnocchi.

120 grams (8½ tablespoons) unsalted butter

Sea salt

30 grams (¼ cup) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat until it has browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the drained cooked pasta to the skillet, and swirl gently to coat. Season with salt to taste.

Serve immediately, sprinkling each portion with some Parmigiano-Reggiano.

PANCETTA RAGÙ

SERVES 4 TO 6

Best with ravioli, tagliatelle, tagliolini, pici, and tonnarelli.

15 grams (1 tablespoon) extra-virgin olive oil

1 small white onion, minced

Sea salt

85 grams (3 ounces) pancetta, cut into ¼-inch cubes

140 grams (5 ounces) sweet pork sausage, casings removed, chopped

90 grams (¾ cup) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over low heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the onion, season with salt, and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the pancetta and sausage and cook, stirring, until the sausage is cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Add the drained cooked pasta to the sauce in the skillet. Stir to coat. Remove the skillet from the heat, add ½ cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and mix well. Season with salt to taste.

Serve immediately, sprinkling each portion with some of the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano.

RAGÙ BOLOGNESE

SERVES 4 TO 6

Best with lasagna, tagliatelle, maltagliati, pappardelle, and tagliolini.

90 grams (¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil

200 grams (7 ounces) ground beef

200 grams (7 ounces) ground pork

200 grams (7 ounces) ground veal

200 grams (7 ounces) ground pancetta

2 cups minced red onion

2 cups minced carrot

2 cups minced celery

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup red wine

2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, drained and crushed by hand

1 cup whole milk

340 grams (12 ounces) Parmigiano-Reggiano, rind and cheese separated, cheese grated, rind reserved

Pinch grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the beef, pork, veal, and pancetta. Stir constantly until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onion, carrot, and celery. Season with salt and black pepper to taste and cook, stirring constantly and scraping up any browned bits that stick to the bottom, until the vegetables caramelize, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until soft, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the red wine, scraping up any browned bits. Cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, milk, and reserved Parmigiano-Reggiano rind.

Bring the sauce to a simmer and then transfer the pot to the oven. Cook, covered, for 45 minutes. Raise the heat to 375°F, uncover the pot, and cook for 10 minutes more.

Stir in the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and the nutmeg. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste, and serve the ragù spooned over your choice of pasta.

RED PEPPER RAGÙ

SERVES 4 TO 6

Best with orecchiette and cavatelli.

90 grams (¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, smashed

Florets from 1 bunch broccoli rabe

4 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, and cut into ½-inch pieces

Ladle of boiling water

Sea salt

2 tablespoons chopped chives

25 grams (¼ cup) fine dried bread crumbs

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over low heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the garlic and cook until it turns golden, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli rabe, red peppers, the boiling water, and salt to taste. Raise the heat to high and simmer for 3 minutes.

Add the drained cooked pasta to the pan, stir to coat, and serve immediately with the chives and bread crumbs sprinkled on top.

CACIO E PEPE

SERVES 4 TO 6

Best with pappardelle, tonnarelli, and gnocchi.

180 grams (1½ cups) finely grated Pecorino Romano

60 grams (½ cup) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

Ladle of boiling water

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the Pecorino Romano, the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the pepper. Stir in the boiling water, and using the back of a large wooden spoon, mix vigorously and quickly to form a paste.

When the pasta is cooked, use a large strainer to remove it from the cooking water and quickly add it to the sauce in the bowl, keeping the cooking water boiling on the stove. Toss vigorously, adding more hot cooking water, a tablespoon or two at a time, as necessary to melt the cheese and to create a juicy sauce that completely coats the pasta.

Serve immediately, sprinkling each portion with the remaining Pecorino Romano and pepper to taste.

GARLIC, OIL, AND CHILE

SERVES 4 TO 6

Goes best with pici and tonnarelli.

70 grams (⅓ cup) extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 fresh whole Thai bird chile or 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup boiling water, or more as needed

1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Juice of ¼ lemon

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over low heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the garlic and cook until it turns golden, about 5 minutes. Add the chile and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the boiling water to the skillet, raise the heat to medium, and bring to a simmer, adding more water if the pan looks dry.

Add the drained cooked pasta to the skillet and stir well to coat. If the sauce is too dry, add a bit of cooking water and toss well. Remove from the heat, and stir in the parsley and lemon juice. Serve immediately.