An A to Z of Pasta by Rachel Roddy Cookbook Review
An A to Z of Pasta by Rachel Roddy Cookbook Review
50 shapes and 50 stories in An A to Z of Pasta by Rachel Roddy
The best cookbook to be released this year had to be about pasta, didn’t it? It’s just the sort of thing you need after months of Covid. And An A to Z of Pasta by Rachel Roddy delivers with heaps of comforting pasta recipes that are accessible, easy and friendly.
My love affair with pasta started young. One of my earliest memories is trying it for the first time. We were at home and my sister and I had had our dinner, and my parents were sitting down to a plate of pasta. Grown-up food. It was farfalle – bow ties. I tasted a forkful, and the rest is history.
That being the case, I was always going to like this cookbook. So what’s it about? An A to Z of Pasta tells a story of pasta in 50 different pasta shapes, from Aneli to Ziti, and lots more shapes in between. And there are a few Italian recipes that go along with each pasta shape.
It’s a story told by Rachel Roddy, a food journalist who writes for the Guardian. Over the last 10 years she’s lived in Italy, and spent much of that time eating and researching pasta. And she’s put together everything she knows in one nifty cookbook.
Also, how gorgeous is the cover?!
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What are the recipes like in An A to Z of Pasta by Rachel Roddy?
An A to Z of Pasta is laid out alphabetically by pasta shape. So, A is for Aneli (a ring-shaped pasta), B for Bucatini (a pasta which is like spaghetti but with a hollow centre), and C is for Conchiglie (shells).
There are often multiple shapes of pasta for each letter of the alphabet, and each pasta shape has a couple of different recipes.
But what I like most is that this cookbook isn’t prescriptive. Roddy doesn’t try to say that only one sauce/recipe works with one specific kind of pasta. And in each recipe, she gives you three of four other shapes which would work just as well.
That becomes more useful for some of less known, hard-to-find pasta shapes. Like G, for Garganelli (ridged tubes that originate in the Romagna part of Emilia Romagna in Italy). Although, if you’re so inclined, Roddy also includes instructions on how to make each pasta shape,.
And finally, there’re also a couple of useful pages that gives quick sauce suggestions for the most common shapes of pasta. This section also has ideas for spring/summer and winter dishes, and for when you need to feed a crowd, or make a very quick meal.
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Cavatelli with sausage, mint and tomato
According to Roddy, Cavatelli is a great place to start if you want to teach yourself to make flour and water pasta. It’s something to do with the rolling motion. But as much as I love eating pasta, I’m not the kind of person to make it fresh.
With that in mind, I start the hunt for pre-made Cavatelli pasta. I visit Italian delis and search online, but I can’t find it anywhere.
And even though Roddy gives a couple of useful substitutions for pasta shapes, I’m keen to try something different.
So, I pick the closest shape I can find to Cavatelli, which is Malloredus (also known as Sardinian gnocchi). It has the same curled shape and ridged texture – and is readily available online.
I also use beef mince instead of sausages, because I don’t eat pork. In an effort to mimic the spicy/herby element of a sausage, I end up adding smoked paprika, a few chilli flakes and oregano.
The resulting pasta dish is scrumptious, even though I’ve made a few alterations. And what I like most, apart from the richness of flavor, is the way the meaty sauce clings to the pasta and collects perfectly in the hollow of its shell. It makes me appreciate how well some pasta shapes go with a sauce.
Conchiglie and beans
In a similar way to Cavetelli, Conchiglie (shells) are shaped to hold things. Only this time, what they hold is a bit larger than minced meat. So, Roddy suggests a recipe that uses borlotti beans, big enough to snuggle into a shell.
The best part of the recipe is the way the pasta and beans are cooked together. Some of the beans break down and emulsify with olive oil and starchy pasta water, forming a sauce.
The other half find their way into the Conchiglie shells. Both together make for a delicious pasta dish. I also like how creamy the dish is, without needing to use any cream.
Farfalle with salmon and mascarpone
Ah farfalle – it’s one of my favourite pasta shapes ever. I just love those crinkle-edged bows!
In An A to Z of Pasta, Roddy entertains us with a letter written to the resident pasta agony Uncle, Vincenzo.
The writer asks how it’s possible to cook farfalle. He calls them ‘butterflies’ and says that with too little cooking time, the pinched middle section is too hard while the wings are perfectly al dente. And with too much time, and the middle section is perfectly al dente and the wings fall apart.
Uncle Vincenzo’s answer is to accept that cooking is never going to be even with a shape like farfalle, and to aim for as even a cook as you can. Which sounds like sage advice to me.
With that in mind, I cook my ‘butterflies’ for an even 10 minutes. They turn out alright. Then I whirl them through mascarpone cream, lemon zest and smoked salmon. And the recipe is that easy. It’s also delicious.
Pappardelle with duck
Roddy says pappardelle with duck is the perfect Italian recipe for a celebration, and I can see why. The duck is jointed and seared on a hot pan until golden, then slow cooked in tomato sauce and herbs.
After a few hours, you pull the duck out of the pot, pull the flesh from the bone, and toss it back in the now-reduced sauce.
In go the cooked pappardelle, and voila! The result is a rich and totally joyous pasta dish.
Trofie with pesto
This is my second time cooking with Trofie pasta, so I already have a pack in my cupboard. Love when that happens!
Trofie has a rolled shape, playfully described as a piglet tail! And pesto is the traditional sauce used with it because it’s slick enough to fit between the rolls.
So far, so good. After reading through the recipe, I start by making a basil pesto, and fill the house with its gorgeous smell. It’s so good that people start salivating, and visit the kitchen to investigate. Then the Trofie pasta, potatoes and green beans go in a pot to cook.
Now I know what you’re thinking – it sounds strange having pasta and potatoes in the same dish. Double carbs. But the potatoes are cut small enough to partially break down, and they end up lending a thickness to the pesto sauce. Having tried it, I’m not sure I’m in love with the concept, but I can see how it works.
Overall thoughts on An A to Z of Pasta by Rachel Roddy
As far as cookbooks go, An A to Z of Pasta by Rachel Roddy is pretty good. I love the mixture of stories, the history behind the shapes, and the flexibility of the recipes.
Rachel writes for the Guardian as her day job, but she’s a brilliant cookbook author too. And I’ll be trying out plenty more of her Italian pasta dishes.
Buy An A to Z of Pasta by Rachel Roddy.
Have you tried An A to Z of Pasta by Rachel Roddy? Do you have any favourite recipes? Let us know :)
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