Patsy's Italian Family Cookbook (26 page)

5 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (1¼ pounds)

1½ pounds whole-milk ricotta cheese

2 pounds fresh mozzarella cheese, finely diced

2 large eggs, beaten

About 1 pound
Basic Egg Pasta
, cut into twelve 1-by-5-inch pasta sheets, or use store-bought.

Olive oil, for the baking dish

4 cups
Tomato Sauce

1.
Mix 4¾ cups of the Parmigiano-Reggiano with the ricotta, mozzarella, and eggs in a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low speed until well combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

2.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook (the water does not have to return to a boil) according to the directions until barely tender. (If using the
Basic Egg Pasta
, just cook until barely tender, about 1 minute.) Do not overcook. Drain and transfer to a large bowl of cold water.

3.
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly oil a 10 by 15-inch flameproof baking dish. Spread ½ cup of the tomato sauce in the baking dish. Place a clean kitchen towel in front of you on the work surface. One at a time, lift a pasta rectangle from the water and place it, short side facing you, on the towel to drain briefly. Place about ½ cup of the cheese mixture on the lower third of the pasta and roll it up into a thick cylinder. Place it, seam side down, in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining pasta sheets and cheese mixture. Top with the remaining sauce and drizzle about ¼ cup of water around the inside edges of the dish.

4.
Bake until the sauce is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup Parmigiano.

5.
Position the broiler rack about 8 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler on high. Broil the manicotti until the Parmigiano is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Frittata with Linguine and Meat Sauce

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Americans usually make frittata for breakfast or brunch with vegetables and maybe some sausage or ham. But, in Italy, it is a great way to use up leftover pasta for lunch or supper. Here’s a recipe for starting from scratch, assuming you don’t have leftover pasta. But you can substitute just about 4 cups of any tomato-sauce-based pasta dish for the linguine mixture.

8 ounces linguine

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

½ pound ground veal

2 cups
Tomato Sauce

3 large eggs, beaten

⅓ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese plus more for serving

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the linguine and cook until al dente. Drain well. Transfer the linguine to a large bowl and toss with the butter.

2.
Meanwhile heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the veal and cook, breaking up the veal with the side of a spoon, until it shows no sign of pink, about 5 minutes. Add the veal mixture to the linguine and mix thoroughly. Add the tomato sauce, eggs, ⅓ cup cheese, and mix gently. Remove from the heat.

3.
Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a nonstick 10-inch skillet over medium heat and heat until hot but not smoking. Add the linguine mixture and spread evenly until the underside is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Place a flat pot lid or plate on top of the skillet, hold tight, and invert so the frittata is on the lid. Set the frittata aside. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet and heat. Slide the frittata from the lid into the skillet and cook until the other side is golden brown, about 3 minutes more.

4.
Transfer the skillet with the frittata to the oven and bake until the frittata is puffed, about 10 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Slide the frittata onto a serving plate. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with Parmigiano and parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Fettuccine with Parmigiano, Butter, and Sage

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

You may have noticed that we love red sauce. But here is a fantastic pasta dish that can be made in just a few minutes, with not a tomato in sight. We serve it often to customers who want a vegetarian meal. The key here is fresh sage, and lots of it.

1¼ pounds fresh fettuccine

5 tablespoons (½ stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter

½ cup finely chopped fresh sage leaves

½ cup whole-milk ricotta cheese

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 4 ounces), plus more for serving

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the fettuccine and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Scoop out and reserve 3½ cups of the cooking water. Drain the fettuccine. Toss with 1 tablespoon of the butter and cover to keep warm.

2.
Add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter to the cooking pot and melt over medium heat. Stir in the sage and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 3 cups of the reserved cooking water and bring to a boil over high heat. Return the heat to medium and simmer until the butter and cooking water are emulsified, about 1 minute.

3.
Add the fettuccine to the sage mixture. Add the ricotta and ½ cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano and reduce the heat to very low. Mix gently until the cheeses have melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large serving bowl and sprinkle with the parsley and remaining Parmigiano. Serve hot, with more Parmigiano passed on the side.

Fusilli with Garlic and Anchovies

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

In Naples, where there isn’t a lot of grazing land and therefore, not a lot of cheese, toasted bread crumbs are often used as a pasta topping instead of Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano. Just ask my Sicilian mother-in-law, some of whose best dishes are made this way. On paper, this pasta doesn’t look like much, but each one of its few ingredients has an important role to play.

1 cup
Seasoned Bread Crumbs

1 pound fusilli

⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

8 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and finely chopped

¼ cup fresh basil chiffonade (see
here
)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.

2.
Position a broiler rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler on high. Spread the bread crumbs on a baking sheet. Broil, stirring occasionally, until the crumbs are lightly toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Set the bread crumbs aside.