I. love. pasta. So so much. Especially when said pasta is (*swoon*) handmade. Big fan. There’s absolutely nothing like it. The texture alone makes the effort so completely worth it. It’s soft, it’s chewy, it’s – dare I say – positively pillowy. It’s comforting and satisfying in a way that no other food can match, not to mention it’s a tasty little vehicle for all kinds of sauciness. That’s why when Jenn Louis’ Pasta By Hand ended up in my crosshairs during an otherwise uneventful Williams-Sonoma drop-by, it had not a shot in hell of escaping my clutches.
This cookbook is my absolute favorite kind: a collection of recipes handed down through the generations by people who know their shit in the kitchen. And if those recipes just happen to be Italian, to boot?? Fuggedaboutit!
This book is bomb. Not only does it give you time-tested culinary pearls broken down by region (bonus: now you know what to order the next time you take a jaunt around Italy), it makes executing each and every one of these heritage recipes simple and straightforward through effective, approachable instruction and super helpful step-by-step photos.
This squash gnocchi is one of my faves thus far. It’s got character, both in flavor and wonky charm. The distinctive gnocchi grooves serve a dual purpose: 1) they just look cool, and 2) they soak up that sauce like nobody’s beeswax. I used a gnocchi board to get my groove on, but you could even use the back of the tines of a fork in a pinch.
Someone who doesn’t know any better might judge this book by its deceptively simple cover and ignorantly assume that it may lack in flavor. Well, that person would be tragically mistaken…and we’d really have to endure some intensive therapy to repair our friendship. Anyone who knows me knows that I am 98% sure I was Italian in another life, and I bleed browned butter, so maybe I could be considered “biased”, but this is by far one of the absolute tastiest things I’ve ever laid tongue on. The toasty depth of singed, lightly salted, sage-infused euro-style butter harbored in the greedy little ridges of warm, earthy squash-spiked dumplings is positively orgasmic.
Who needs a vibe when there’s handmade gnocchi??
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