The Silver Spoon Book of Pasta is pretty much the only pasta cookbook you will ever need. If you are looking for delicious, authentic Italian pasta dishes, this is the book for you! It includes 350 mouth watering recipes. You can find very simple, basic recipes, along with more advanced, gourmet dishes. The book is filled with gorgeous color photos of the recipes, a feature I really enjoy in a cookbook. The recipes are easy to understand, so even a beginning cook could easily use this book. I've made three recipes from the book so far and all were meals I would be proud to serve to company. You can pick up your own copy of The Silver Spoon Book of Pasta online or at retailers nationwide.
Check out these great recipes!
Three-Color Ricotta Lasagna
Lasagne Tricolori alla Ricotta
Lasagne Tricolori alla Ricotta
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves 6
1 quantity Lasagna (see below recipe)
5 tablespoons butter, plus extra for greasing
Salt
For the filling
2 cups ricotta cheese
3 ounces cooked spinach, drained and pureed
1 cup bottled strained tomatoes
1 cup grated pecorino cheese
Salt and pepper
To make the filling, rub the ricotta through a strainer into a bowl and beat well with a pinch of salt and pepper. Put one-third of the ricotta into another bowl and beat in the spinach puree. Put half the remaining ricotta into another bowl and beat in the tomatoes. Leave the remaining ricotta plain. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an ovenproof dish with butter. Make a layer of lasagna in the base of the prepared dish, spread the spinach and ricotta mixture on top, and sprinkle with grated pecorino. Make another layer of lasagna, spread the white ricotta on top and sprinkle with pecorino. Make a final layer of lasagna, spread the ricotta and tomato mixture on top, and sprinkle with the remaining pecorino. Dot with butter and bake for 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Lasagna
Lasagne
Lasagne
Preparation time: 40 minutes, plus 15 minutes resting
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 6
Makes about 12 lasagna sheets
2 ¾ cups all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
3 eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
Sift the flour into a mound on a counter and make a well in the center. Break the eggs into the well and add a pinch of salt. Knead for about 10 minutes, adding a little flour if it is too soft or a little water if it is too firm. Shape into a ball, cover with a clean dish towel, and let rest for 15 minutes. Roll out into a fairly thick sheet on a lightly floured counter, then cut into 4 x 8-inch wide rectangles. Cook, a few at a time, in plenty of salted boiling water to which the oil has been added, until al dente, then remove, and spread out to dry on clean dish towels
The Silver Spoon Pasta p. 281 and p. 270
Orecchiette con Broccoli
Preparation time: 12 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4
1 ¾ pounds broccoli, cut into florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 fresh chile, seeded and chopped
10 ounces Orecchiette
grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese, to serve
salt
Cook the broccoli in salted boiling water for 8 minutes, then drain. Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and chile, and cook for 3 minutes, then add the broccoli, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until tender. Meanwhile, cook the orecchiette in a large pan of salted boiling water until al dente, then drain, and toss with the broccoli. Serve with Parmesan or pecorino.
Tip: Alternatively, the broccoli may be cooked with the orecchiette. In this case, drain everything, then drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with the grated pecorino. This recipe works well with other types of short dried pasta, such as rigatoni.
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