Experience the true taste of Italy with home-made pasta QU DON’T have to be Italian to have a » passion for pasta. And you don’t have to be a gourmet chef to learn how to make it from scratch. Ey Peggy Trendell-Whittaker News Reporter Both of these assertions were proved at a pasta-making ex- travaganza held recently at the home of North Vancouver’s Frank Gigliotti. Gigiiotti guided two novice chefs, News photographer Mike Wakefield and me, through the steps in- volved in making delectable pasta by hand — no machine required. News managing editor and Table Hopping columnist Timothy Renshaw was also in- vited for lunch to test the results. ‘*There is no comparison be- tween homemade pasta and the store-bought stuff,’* Renshaw said later. ‘‘(Gigliotti’s pasta) was great. Soft and chewy. Full of flavor.” Gigliotti ~ whose pasta recipe has, he says, been passed down through his family for genera- tions — topped our creation with a sauce he considers one of his best. “*There was a lot of depth to the sauce,”* Renshaw acknowl- edged. ‘There was a lor going on in there."’ While making homemade pasta certainly takes longer than using packaged commercially- made pasta, News readers can be assured that making pasta from scratch is simplz and can be easi- ly mastered. Frank’s Family Pasta Recipe For four people, mix 2% cups of all-purpose white flour with a pinch of salt. Add five eggs and olive oil. Fold the mixture together with a fork and knead into a dough. Shape the dough into a small round ioaf and let it sit covered with bowl or a tea towel for half an hour. Cut the loaf into slices ap- Inquisitive Cook ANNE GARDINER approximately one tablespoon of UNDER THE watchful eye of North Vancouv News reporter Peggy Trendel!-Whittaker discovers that making NEWS photos Mike Waketield er's Frank Gigliotti, homemade pasta isn't that hard, after all. Virgin zesty but not always best ACCORDING TO North Vancouver's Frank Gigliotti, the best isn’t always better. When deciding which olive oil to use — extra virgin, which is the harvest reaped when the olives are cold-pressed for the first time, or regular olive oil, which results from the hot-pressing of the re- mainders — don’t always assume that extra virgin is the best choice. Because its flavor is stronger, it can be too overwhelming when used in quantity, says Gigliotti. He used regular olive oil in his Tagliatelli sauce, and reserves the extra-virgin for dishes such as salads. proximately one inch wide. Flour each slice and roll it out with a rolling pin, on a floured board, to about 1/16 of an inch in thickness. The thin sheets are then rolled up to form cigar-shaped tubes (see photo 1). Each tube is cut into 1/8-inch slices (photo 2), which, when tossed, unroll into strings of pasta (photo 3). Dry the pasta for about half an hour, then drop into boiling water to which a spoonful of oil has been added. When cooked (after 10 or 15 minutes) strain the pasta with a colander and rinse with hot water to remove excess starch. If desired, toss with... Tagiiatelii alla Villa Gighiotti 1% c. olive ail 6 Spanish onions, sliced thin 2 tsp. anchovy paste 2 tbsp. chopped parsley { tsp. dried oregano 1 green pepper, chopped 1 red pepper, chopped Y2 ¢. oil-cured black olives, pit- fed and cut in half Yc. capers 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 10 oz. prosciutto, chopped 2c. dry white wine 1- 14 oz. can of whole Wednesday, January 23, 1991 - North Shore News ~ 41 WHILE MAKING pasta from scratch can be time con- suming for cooks ac- customed to using store- bought noodles, it's an en- joyable and easy project that doesn't even require a pasta machine. Once the fioured dough is rolled out into sheets, it is rolled up into tubes (phote 1). A sharp knife makes cutting the tubes into 1/8" slices easy, and -— presto! — str- ings of pasta result when you toss the slices in the air. tomatoes, chopped freshiy ground Parmigiane cheese In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add onions and cook over moderate heat untii onions are soft and browned (approximately one hour). Add anchovy paste, parsley. oregano, peppers, olives, capers and black pepper; cook for five minutes. Add prosciutto and wine. Boil over high heat until liquid is almost evaporated, then add tomatoes and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 30 rainutes, then add to well-drain- ed pasta. Add generous amounts of freshly grated Parmigiano cheese (of the Reggiano variety, Gigliotti recommends) and en- joy. Also an avid home winemaker, Gigliotti recom- mends a robust California Cabernet Sauvignon or an Italian Barole to complement the meal. Marmalade’s zip makes it tops for breakfast MARMALADE SPREAD thickly on toast brings a shaft of sunlight to the breakfast table. I’s not just the transparent gold and amber colors that ap- peal, but also the full-bodied tang of citrus that warms a cold winter morning. Marmafades are unusual because the rind and inner mem- branes often discarded in other Preserves are as important as the pulp. The skin of citrus fruits carries carotene compounds that give marmalade its rich color, as well as strong zesty oils that hold the Navors. But the spongy inner white lin- ing cushioning and separating the fruit segments as well as the seeds are crucial, because they contain Pectin to thicken the preserve. The dark red-orange skin of Seville oranges make them the choice for traditional English marmalade. One taste and you know instandy why they're also called sour oranges. Yet their bit- terness mellows in cooking to produce a splendid zesty preserve. Imported from the Mediterra- nean and Caribbean areas, Seville oranges are in season only during January and February. If you're a marmalade fan, look for them now in specialty produce markets. While we think of Sevilles as being used mostly for marmalade, they’re also essential to the aroma and favor of orange liqueurs such as Grand Marnier, Cointreau, and Curacao. In all jams and jellies, sugar, acid and pectin work together to hold the fruit in a delicate suspen- sion. However, citrus fruits are particularly suitable for preserves because they naturally contain the essentials for gelling. The thick spongy white pith of oranges is so high in pectin that it’s used in the manufacture of pectin concentrates. Jn mar- malade, boiling the slivered rind, pith and seeds (often held sepa- rately in a muslin bag) with water dissolves the pectin, leaving it free to act as the gelling agent. As citrus fruits are among our most acidic foods, extra acid is never required. Sugar is essential, especially for those bitter Sevilles. But sugar also enables the pectin molecules ta reach each other by jealously competing for some of the water.