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Buona lettura, your cookery writer
Monica
As any good Italian, I have an unbridled love for pasta.
Fresh, dry, stuffed, short, long.
About condiments, I have no prejudices.
But today, I would like to talk about pasta.
Some time ago, I gave a speech about the history, culture, and anthropology of pasta, from tradition to the role it has assumed today.
My students for a day were men and women of different ages and backgrounds, all involved in the food sector as communicators, restaurateurs, and producers.
On that occasion, I noted that those in that field often do not know the history of a symbol of their national identity (and about gastronomical culture in general). When they realized that lack of knowledge has repercussions in their jobs, they have developed a new interest in the subject (yay!).
In recent years, entrepreneurs, restaurateurs, bloggers, and journalists understood that a story helps to sell better. And even dishes taste different when you serve them with some anecdotes.
There is an illuminating historical example to grasp the importance of this change (better late than never).
French cuisine enjoys more international credit than Italian, even because they have done storytelling and food writing for a few centuries. When France finished its transformation into a unitary nation-state in the 15th century, food became central to the creation of French national identity.
You will soon find that serving your diners a dish with a historical anecdote will make you very popular with friends and family.
Pasta, between fake news and gun anecdotes
Maybe you are also a fan of pasta.
And hence the question: what do you know about it? Who invented it?
When did it become the symbol of Italianità?
The history of pasta is long, full of anecdotes and some fake news.
Among the fake news, there is that about Marco Polo as the importer to Italy of pasta from China in the second half of the 13th Century. I find interesting, among the anecdotes, the use made in 1977 by the German magazine Der Spiegel, which put a plate of spaghetti with a gun on the cover.
How does historical fake news come about? And what did the German magazine mean by that cover? Don't stop reading me, and you'll get the answers!
Pasta has crossed centuries and continents and has seen it through thick and thin.
More importantly, its history is rich in contaminations. Thanks in particular to the role played by Italian immigrants and Italian-Americans.
Take Fettuccine Alfredo. It is an Italian dish that originated in Rome and became famous thanks to Americans. Which then has a similar story to another workhorse of Italian-American cuisine: Macaroni & Cheese. Similar because during the Twentieth century, it was in the U.S. that it consolidated its international fame.
In Europe, the steaming pan of macaroni and cheese has been a familiar dish since the Middle Ages, for the ancient Romans even earlier. Sure, there was no cheddar, but there was already Parmigiano and Pecorino. And macaroni was often a generic term for other pasta shapes.
During the Middle Ages, the condiment was with grated Parmigiano, or mixed cheeses, sugar, and cinnamon. And this has been the case for centuries.
In gastronome Ada Boni's Italian cookbook, The Talisman of Happiness (1929), you find a condiment made with cheese, sugar, and spices.
There are some parts of the Veneto region where, still today, you can taste potato gnocchi seasoned with passata and cinnamon.
Macaroni and Cheese
I am sharing the recipe of Amanda Hesser, former New York Times food critic, founder of Food52, entrepreneur, and writer.
Since I use that version, making baked macaroni is a pleasure.
I season, bake 20 minutes or so, and the pan comes out perfect: the macaroni is crispy on top and soft underneath. The secret? The milk.
The Recipe. Baking Sheet Macaroni and Cheese
2 servings
Ingredients
water and salt
macaroni, 180 g (or other small shape)
olive oil, 1 tablespoon
butter, 30 g
grated Pecorino, 60 g
grated Parmigiano, 50 g
shredded cheddar, 100 g
a pinch of salt
whole milk, 80 g
Method
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.
Heat oven to 200°C (392° F).
Use the olive oil to grease a rimmed baking sheet.
In a large bowl, toss together the pasta and butter. Stir.
Add the grated cheeses and a pinch of salt and combine.
Add in little pieces of cheddar and stir.
Spread the mixture on the baking sheet and evenly pour the milk over the surface.
Bake, uncovered, until golden and crisp, about 20 minutes or until golden on the surface.
Nocciolini cookies
And since I mentioned Ada Boni, an Italian cook, gastronome, and journalist, here is one of her recipes.
The cookies' name derives from their main ingredient, hazelnuts (in Italian, nocciole).
I make Nocciolini often, and I assure you that they deserve a special place in the cookie box (also in the Christmas cookie box).
Kitchen Notes
You can substitute 80g of olive oil for the butter;
Whole-wheat (or all-purpose) flour can also work instead of spelt.
The recipe. Nocciolini cookies
about 50 pieces
Ingredients
shelled and peeled hazelnuts, 130 g
brown sugar, 100 g
potato starch, 125 g
spelt flour, 125 g
a pinch of salt
chilled butter in chunks, 80 g
eggs, 2
grated zest of ½ lemon
powdered sugar, to taste
Method
Toast hazelnuts in a pan for one minute.
Grind sugar and hazelnuts in the food processor to form flour.
In a bowl, combine the spelt flour with the starch, and add the salt, hazelnut flour, eggs, butter chunks, and lemon zest.
Mix in the bowl or the mixer, then wrap the mixture in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 170C degrees (338F).
Discard the plastic wrap and place the dough on a floured cutting board.
Cut off pieces of dough and form them into strands like making Italian gnocchi. Cut each strand into small parts and shape them like a large hazelnut.
Form about 50 small cookies.
Dip them in powdered sugar, wipe off the excess, and arrange them not too close together on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
If the shortcruts pastry is shiny and soft, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for half an hour.
Bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes.
Bake, let cool, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.