Mastering Pasta: The Art and Practice of Handmade Pasta, Gnocchi, and Risotto

by Marc Vetri, David Joachim

Overview

Award-winning chef Marc Vetri wanted to write his first book about pasta. Instead, he wrote two other acclaimed cookbooks and continued researching pasta for ten more years. Now, the respected master of Italian cuisine finally shares his vast knowledge of pasta, gnocchi, and risotto in this inspiring, informative primer featuring expert tips and techniques, and more than 100 recipes.

Vetri’s personal stories of travel and culinary discovery in Italy appear alongside his easy-to-follow, detailed explanations of how to make and enjoy fresh handmade pasta. Whether you’re a home cook or a professional, you’ll learn how to make more than thirty different types of pasta dough, from versatile egg yolk dough, to extruded semolina dough, to a variety of flavored pastas—and form them into shapes both familiar and unique. In dishes ranging from classic to innovative, Vetri shares his coveted recipes for stuffed pastas, baked pastas, and pasta sauces. He also shows you how to make light-as-air gnocchi and the perfect dish of risotto. 

Loaded with useful information, including the best way to cook and sauce pasta, suggestions for substituting pasta shapes, and advance preparation and storage notes, Mastering Pasta offers you all of the wisdom of a pro. For cooks who want to take their knowledge to the next level, Vetri delves deep into the science of various types of flour to explain pasta’s uniquely satisfying texture and how to craft the very best pasta by hand or with a machine. Mastering Pasta is the definitive work on the subject and the only book you will ever need to serve outstanding pasta dishes in your own kitchen.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607746072
Publisher:	Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony
Publication date:	03/17/2015
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	44,331
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 9.60(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Marc Vetri is the chef and founder of Philadelphia’s Vetri Family of Restaurants, which operates a collection of the country’s most critically acclaimed Italian restaurants: Vetri, Osteria (Philadelphia and Moorestown, NJ), Amis, Alla Spina, Pizzeria Vetri, and Lo Spiedo. Classically trained in Bergamo, Italy, Vetri is known the world over for bringing a bold, contemporary sensibility to classic Italian cooking. He is a member of Food & Wine magazine’s 1999 “Best New Chefs” class and the 2005 winner of the James Beard Award for “Best Chef Mid-Atlantic.” He is also the author of two cookbooks, Il Viaggio di Vetri and Rustic Italian Food. Outside the kitchen, Vetri is the driving force behind the Vetri Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to help kids experience the connection between healthy eating and healthy living. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Megan, and their three children. 

David Joachim has authored, edited, or collaborated on more than forty cookbooks, including the multi-award-winner The Science of Good Food and million-copy bestselling series A Man, A Can, A Plan. He writes a column for Fine Cooking magazine called “The Science Of . . .” and his writing and recipes have appeared in numerous magazines such as USA Today, Men’s Health, Better Homes & Gardens, Cooking Light, Women’s Health, Cook’s Illustrated, Fine Cooking, and Bicycling. He is also the co-founder of Chef Salt, a line of artisanal salt seasonings. Joachim lives in Center Valley, PA, and his favorite cooking tool is a leaf blower.

Read an Excerpt

Mastering Pasta

The Art and Practice of Handmade Pasta, Gnocchi, and Risotto

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By Marc Vetri, David Joachim

Random House LLC

Copyright © 2015 Marc Vetri with David Joachim
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-60774-607-2

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CHAPTER 1

Pappardelle with Rabbit Ragù and Peaches

I've always been fascinated by the way fruits play so well in savory cooking. Porcini and peaches. Oxtail with Italian mustard fruits. Duck with grapes. When we started making this rabbit ragù, it needed a little pop, but adding vinegar or lemon juice wasn't enough. Fruit gave it so much more—acid, sugar, aroma, and something to bite into. Pappardelle are traditionally cooked with a ragù made from game meats, and in Tuscany, the game is often wild hare or rabbit.

Pasta Swap For a ragù like this, I prefer a thicker noodle. That's why I went with pappardelle. But square fazzoletti make a great substitute. They will wrap around the meat and sauce nicely and give you a big bite of pasta.

1 rabbit (about 3 lb/1.4 kg)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons (45 ml) grapeseed or canola oil
1/3 cup (41 g) peeled and chopped carrot
1/3 cup (34 g) chopped celery
1/3 cup (56 g) chopped red onion
1/3 cup (79 ml) dry white wine
¾ cup (135 g) cherry tomatoes, halved
8 ounces (227 g) Egg Yolk Dough (page 26), rolled into sheets about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick
¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter
¼ cup (25 g) grated Parmesan cheese, plus some for garnish
2 ripe peaches, halved, pitted, and thinly sliced

Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Rinse the rabbit and remove the innards and excess fat deposits. Reserve the innards for another use. Remove the hind legs and forelegs by driving your knife straight through the hip and shoulder joints. Cut each leg in half through the center joint. Snip through the breastbone with kitchen shears, and then cut the rabbit crosswise into 6 to 8 pieces. Season the rabbit pieces all over with salt and pepper.

Heat the grapeseed oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the rabbit pieces, in batches if necessary to prevent crowding, and sear them, turning them once, until they are golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the pieces to a platter as they are done.

Add the carrot, celery, and onion to the same pan and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Pour in the wine and simmer, scraping up any browned bits on the pan bottom, until the liquid evaporates, 2 to 3 minutes. Return the rabbit to the pan along with the tomatoes. Pour in enough water to come three-fourths of the way up the sides of the ingredients. Cover the pan and braise the rabbit in the oven until it is tender and the meat pulls easily away from the bone, 1 to 1½ hours.

Let the rabbit cool slightly in the pan, then shred the meat and discard the skin and bones. Pass the vegetables and braising liquid through a food mill fitted with the medium die, or pulse them briefly in a food processor just until the vegetables are finely chopped but not pureed. Return the ragù to the pan. If it is thin and watery, boil it over medium heat until it has reduced to a thick consistency similar to that of tomato sauce.

Return the shredded meat to the ragù. Taste it, adding salt and pepper until it tastes good to you. You should have about 2 cups (473 ml) ragù. Use it immediately, or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to 2 months. Reheat the ragù before proceeding with the recipe.

Lay a pasta sheet on a lightly floured work surface and trim the edges square. Cut the sheet crosswise into strips a little less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, preferably with a fluted cutter. Repeat with the second sheet. Dust the strips with flour, cover them, and use them within 1 hour or refrigerate them for up to 4 hours. You can also freeze them in a single layer, transfer them to a zipper-lock bag, and freeze them for up to 1 month. Take the pasta straight from the freezer to the boiling pasta water.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the pappardelle and cover the pot to quickly return the water to a boil. Cook the pasta until it is tender but still a little chewy when bitten, about 2 minutes. Using a spider strainer or tongs, drain the pasta by transferring it to the pan of ragù. Reserve the pasta water.

Add the oil and butter to the pan and cook over medium-high heat, tossing and stirring vigorously, until the sauce reduces slightly, becomes creamy, and coats the pasta, about 1 minute. Add a little pasta water if necessary to create a creamy sauce. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan. Keep the pasta moving until pasta and sauce become one thing in the pan. Taste it, adding salt and pepper until it tastes good to you. Stir in the peaches.

Dish out the pasta onto warmed plates and garnish each serving with some Parmesan.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Mastering Pasta by Marc Vetri, David Joachim. Copyright © 2015 Marc Vetri with David Joachim. Excerpted by permission of Random House LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

recipe list
Introduction: Pasta Sensibility 

1 | Tradition and Innovation 
2 | Wheat Flour 
3 | Fresh Pasta 
4 | Baked Sheet Pasta 
5 | Ravioli and Stuffed Pasta 
6 | Extruded and dried Pasta 
7 | Playing with Flavor 
8 | Hand-Formed Pasta
9 | Gnocchi
10 | Risotto

Stocks, Sauces, and Other Basics 
Sources 
Acknowledgments 
Selected Bibliography 
Index

Editorial Reviews

12/01/2014
“Pasta has always been one of the most difficult things to teach young cooks,” writes restaurateur and author Marc Vetri (Rustic Italian Food, Il Viaggio De Vetri) in the introduction to this master course on pasta production, “but it shouldn’t be.” Over the course of the book’s 200-plus pages, Vetri and coauthor David Joachim explain the particulars of pasta and how to get it right. Beginning with a technical explanation of how different flours affect the end result, the duo move on to basic pasta dough (including pictures), which acts as a foundation for the dishes that follow. Readers may be surprised at the simplicity of both the dough and the dishes themselves. Despite elaborate names—corzetti with red bell pepper crema, fazzoletti with crab and burrata—they’re quite easy to make. Even more advanced techniques, such as making ravioli, flavored pastas, and gnocchi, are patiently explained in detail. If it all seems a bit complicated (stuffed pappardelle with foie gras terrine and onion marmalade), readers will be relieved to see how simple risotto can be. Vetri demystifies risotto in particular, noting that constant stirring isn’t necessary (particularly when using the right rice) to produce a winner like the saffon-tinged risotto alla Milanese. This might not be the best book for beginners, but home cooks that are serious about their Italian dishes will want to give this a look. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Marc Vetri is the smartest Italian cook in the United States right now, and this excellent tome is exactly what every cook needs to codify and catalog classic pasta-making techniques along with some delicious, progressive, and thoughtful innovations. Mastering Pasta is nothing short of the single most important book on handmade pasta I have ever read and I am maybe just a little jealous about it... In any case, you will be a better cook and live a much happier life just by holding this book in your hands, let alone learning these simple and delicious recipes."
—Mario Batali, chef, restaurateur, and author

“In my mind, Marc Vetri is one of the best pasta chefs on the planet. This is the pasta bible, written in the most beautiful way. Everyone needs a copy of this book on their shelf.”
—Jamie Oliver, chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and media personality

“Marc Vetri is not your Nonna, but he’s the next best thing, marrying Old World technique with New World flavors. A thoroughly modern and mouthwatering pasta master class.”
—Dan Barber, chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns

“Mastering Pasta is a true ode to one of the most beloved foods in the world. This is a cookbook that captures Marc Vetri’s passion for his craft and talent as a chef.”
—Nathan Myhrvold, author of Modernist Cuisine

“When it comes to pasta I have never had any better than those that come from the hands of Marc Vetri—and that includes dozens of trips to Italy.  I have said it for years that if there is one chef that could cook my last meal it would be Marc, and although I adore all his food, I think I would ask for ten courses of pasta because it is just that transcendent.  This book will become the bible of all things pasta and help all of us continue to understand the perfect marriage between different flours that help create its magic.  I'm sure Marc is not only proud of this masterpiece but also happy that chefs from around the globe will stop calling, texting, and emailing him for his fantastic recipes, techniques, and insight on all things pasta, since he put all the secrets right in this book!”
—Michael Symon, chef, restaurateur, television personality, and author

“I love Italian food but I am kind of a bozo in the kitchen. Marc’s cookbooks have been great guides for me and I know this book will help me step up my pasta-making skills. Alright, that’s enough. Quit reading this and go eat pasta!”
—Aziz Ansari, actor and comedian

“Early on in Mastering Pasta, Chef Vetri tells us that recipes need cooks. True, but as cooks we need chefs like Marc to push us in an uncompromising pursuit to fully understand, and ultimately find, the beauty in our food. He does that page after page.”
—Dr. Stephen Jones, director of the Bread Lab, Washington State University

From the Publisher

02/15/2015
Vetri (Rustic Italian Food) is a James Beard Award-winning chef whose eponymous Philadelphia restaurant is acclaimed for exceptional Italian cuisine. In his latest cookbook, he urges readers to forego the convenience of premade pasta and instead make it at home, a process he insists need not be complicated. In fact, Vetri includes just one recipe for fresh pasta dough, with nine variations that tweak quantities of flours, egg, oil, and water. With the help of stand mixers, pasta extruders, ravioli stamps, and other tools, these doughs assume shapes that, when combined with sauces, become elegant dishes such as mint pappardelle with morels and lardo cappelletti with fava crema and pecorino. Eight gnocchis and seven risottos, equally gourmet, follow the pastas. VERDICT This lavish pasta cookbook has lots of science-based information and an overview of 15 types of wheat flours. Perfect for dedicated pasta lovers looking to hone their skills.

Library Journal