July - 2014

A blog about pasta - made by KATIE LEAIRD

EST. 2014 - Oakland --> Puglia --> Boston --> Martha's Vineyard

Festive Fusilli

These noodles remind me of the bouncy coils that hang from curled ribbon bows. I made this pasta shape by rolling out long, skinny ropes of dough and then carefully wrapping each one around a bamboo skewer. After gently sliding the wrapped dough off the tool, it keeps its spiral shape. Since they are hand-wrapped around the skewer, instead of being rolled between the table and the skewer, the noodles have a thicker, rounder profile than their more stretched out, flattened cou

Roll with it

Ever pursuing my mission to make pasta by hand, I tried out a new tool I picked up in Turin while shopping at Eataly (a gourmet Italian food market sponsored by Slow Food). Truth be told, this spaghetti cutter rolling pin, though new to me, is anything but "cutting edge" technology. It is simply a wooden rolling pin with evenly spaced grooves that gently leave their imprints as you roll it over a sheet of pasta dough. The indentations aren't particularly deep and the cuts mad

Dragged Dough

Strascinati originate from Puglia and Basilicata - southern regions of Italy. In Puglia, they are slightly smaller and rounder, while in Basilicata, they tend to be larger in circumference. Strascinati are always made using the same action - that of dragging pieces of pasta across a large wooden surface stretching them out along the way. In fact, that is how this pasta got its name ("strascinato" means "dragged").

Poor Pici, Fat Spaghetti

Pici find their roots in Italian 'cucina povera,' or 'the cuisine of poverty.' Each strand of this pasta, which looks like fat spaghetti, is rolled by hand into a long, uneven, thick and chewy noodle. It was traditionally considered a 'poor food' because pici were made by the peasants in the countryside surrounding Siena with only 2 ingredients: water + flour. While the South of Italy had grown accustomed to using only these simple ingredients, Tuscan tradition generally reli

Trofie for the birthday girl

A very dear friend of mine turned 31 today. We've known each other for a long time now -- through college, cross-country moves, and 12 years of shared and solo adventures. For fun, let's call this friend... my Pal :) Pal beat me to the punch when it came to Italian travels, living and eating abroad. During our junior year at Brown, Pal left sleepy Rhode Island to study abroad in Bologna. I was fortunate to be able to visit her there and witness a remarkable thing happen in Pa

Making Garganelli

Here's a recipe for how to make your own garganelli from yesterday's post. Also, here's a lovely video made by Trattoria da Martino in Bergamo, Italy that shows the technique for making garganelli rigati (with ridges). Definitely check it out to see the traditional ridged-tool used called a pettine. Recipe for Northern Pasta Dough 400 grams OO flour* (a little more than 3 cups) 4 eggs Swirl of olive oil Pinch of salt Spoon of grated parmesan cheese Pinch of nutmeg Semolina fl

Squares of dough that become tubes of pasta

Garganelli resemble penne in that they are short, cylindrical noodles. The differentiating factor between the two pasta shapes is that garganelli are generally homemade and penne are machine-produced. Since penne are extruded from a pasta machine, they are seamless tubes; because garganelli are generally made by hand, they have a signature folded flap showing where the noodles have been sealed into shape. This pasta is of Northern Italian origin. Because of its birthplace, th

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Questions & Answers

HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT PASTA? STUMPED TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR DOUGH? WONDERING ABOUT THE HISTORY OF A CERTAIN NOODLE?

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Pasta Q&A Board

Pasta-Making FAQs

What is 00 flour?

The "00" primarily refers to the grind size of the flour. Type 00 ("double zero") flour is an extremely finely-ground Italian-style flour that is super white in color because almost all of the wheat's bran and germ have been removed during milling.

Do I really need a pasta machine?

Absolutely not! Get out your rolling pin, or any other cylindrical household item you might have (like a wine bottle, broomstick, or a round glass jar - just be sure to clean it well first) and roll out your dough by hand.

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