A friend of mine recently wrote a blog post asking food writers from Rome what their favorite pasta shape was, and which one they didn’t like. As someone who writes about Italian food, you can imagine that I get this kind of question a lot. And I hate it. I really don’t think talking about ‘favorite’ things helps anyone. People have personal tastes, and just because I say I like penne (it reminds me of the first plates of pasta that I had as a child in Rome) or that I don’t like buccatini (it’s too messy and difficult to eat) doesn’t mean anything for anyone else other than me. It’s just not useful or (I think) interesting information to have.
What I did find extremely amusing, and surprising, though was in the discussions on Facebook that occurred when I posted the link. First of all? People REALLY wanted to share their favorite pasta shapes. But even more than that, people couldn’t wait to say which shapes they hated. Hated? Seriously? How can you hate a pasta shape?! The world is in bad enough shape (yes, that was a pun) these days to save your strong negative emotions for something more worthy.
But the most surprising thing of all was the shape that people seemed to hate the most. Bowtie pasta. For real. People really hate this defenseless little shape. The reason most gave is that when they cook it, the little pinched part in the middle remains hard, while the wings are over-cooked and floppy.
Ok then. Haters gotta hate, I guess. Me? I’m going to go on eating, and making, bowties. Yes, making them. While working on my last two books (Eating My Way Through Italy and The Italian Table) I had the chance to hang out in several kitchens in and around Parma. During one visit to the kitchen of Elisa I learned how to make ‘galani.’ Which are bowties, or – as more commonly called in Italy ‘farfalle’ or butterflies.
How can you hate something called ‘butterfly’?!
If there is a funner shape of pasta to make, especially with kids helping you, I don’t know it. And for you haters out there? If you make your own (and avoid the industrially made packs) I think you’ll find that little center part cooks up just fine (in case you were worried).
The pasta recipe is just a straightforward flour and egg dough that you can everywhere, including here and in both of my books mentioned above.Â
Unfortunately the recipe for the wonderful mushroom sauce Elisa made didn’t make it into either book. So along with this video of the adorable Elisa and her husband, making equally adorable butterflies, I’m leaving you with the recipe for the mushroom ragu. Which I am giving you permission to use on the pasta shape of your choice.
Dried Porcini Mushroom Sauce
Enough for 1/2 kilo / 1 pound of pasta
Ingredients
- 100 grams of dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 medium sized red onion, or 2 shallots
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Place the dried mushrooms in a large bowl of warm water to soak for about 40 minutes.
In the meantime chop the onion finely. Pour the olive oil into a medium saute pan and turn heat to medium. Add the onions, salt and sugar and cook until the onions are beginning to turn golden.
Drain the mushrooms (reserving the soaking water). and squeeze them dry. Separate the heads of the mushrooms from the stems. Since the stems are usually a bit tough, chop them up into smaller pieces. Add both the heads and the chopped stems to the pan with the onions and let them cook for about 15 minutes.
Add the white wine and once it has evaporated, add the tomato paste, along with half a cup of the mushroom soaking water, stirring well. Cook over low heat for another 15 minutes. If it seems to dry out, add some more of the mushroom cooking water.
To serve, place some of the sauce onto a serving platter, and place the drained pasta on top. Spoon more of the sauce on top of the pasta, along with a handful of grated parmigiano reggiano. Stir gently, adding more sauce and more parmigiano, until the pasta is well and evenly coated.
More pasta recipes and other information about following your stomach through Italy is in my most recent book Eating My Way Through Italy.
For more on where to eat in Italy, please download my app Eat Italy, available for both iPhone and Android.
And if you’d like to host your own Italian meal at home, make sure you buy my next book, The Italian Table: Creating Festive Meals for Family and Friends (March 2019), available for preorder.
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