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The Story
Opinions are famously and aggressively varied as to what authentic Italian food is, and how it should be cooked. Pasta is no exception. Little Al and I value time-honoured recipes and pairings (it’s the basis of everything that we make), but we don’t believe that the love and joy of food should ever be stifled by tradition.
So while you’ll never find us putting rigatoni in a soup – I shudder even writing that – you will find us occasionally rolling pasta that’s usually extruded. Pasta making is a family event, and extruded pasta is just over so quickly! We like to get out our giant homemade pasta board, and the whole gang gathers around the table (or on it, if you’re little Al) for an afternoon of pasta making. This blog is more about that shared experience of slow, mindful food than the pasta itself, so know that any deviation we make from tradition is made from this place of love!
Yawn. Alright, the pasta. Paccheri is one of those pastas that tastes as good as it sounds. It’s a rough old guy from Campania, with a name derived from the Neapolitan ‘to slap’, and a legend of being used to smuggle garlic into Prussia during the Middle Ages. You don’t have to stuff paccheri, as their large bitey nature is satisfying with just about any sauce, but if you have the time and inclination, they are a great one to pack with ragu. Think of them as the lucky rigatoni that you occasionally happen across perfectly filled with a hearty mouthful of sauce; except they’re huge and every single one is loaded!
The Pasta
We’ve already gone off-piste by rolling it, so why not mix it up by throwing in some eggs? One of the beauties of pasta is that you can decide what you want the end result to be, and then build your recipe accordingly. For these paccheri, we wanted them to be smooth and supple enough to shape by hand, but also firm enough to stuff with a meaty ragu. So we’ve gone with equal numbers of eggs and egg yolks, and also added in a little coarse semolina.
As with all of our dough, start by gently incorporating the wet ingredients into the dry, eventually forming it into a ball that has a nice spring to it without sticking to your hand or the bench. Remember that you may need to add more flour than the recipe calls for – do this only in small tablespoon quantities, incorporating fully before adding more. Likewise, if it’s too dry be careful adding water. I only ever wet a few fingers and work that through the dough, rather than measuring in any more substantial quantities. Do the time, and knead vigorously for 10 minutes, then rest it for 30.
There’s a bit more table work for this one than last week’s fettuccine, so make sure that you’ve got some flour at hand to sprinkle about as needed. You’ll also need some sort of dowel to form the paccheri around. Al and I found an offcut in the garage and just gave it a quick sand. I’m sure that if you hunted around properly you’d find a recommended paccheri diameter, but we just eyeballed things around the house imagining how much ragu you’d be able to stuff in… In this case ours are 20mm in diameter. Remember that the diameter of whatever implement you choose will determine the length of your pre-rolled pasta rectangles.
If you’re using a rolling pin to make your initial sheets, give the dough an extra knead before you begin, otherwise pass it through the machine on the thickest setting a few times, folding it over itself in between. Step it gradually through to your desired thickness, which for us this time was 6 on our Marcato. The weather was kind to us, not too dry, so we actually cut our rectangles in big batches before shaping and sealing them into paccheri. You won’t always have this luxury, so be prepared with cling wrap/plastic bags and tea towels to cover both unused dough and cut rectangles that are awaiting rolling.
Now, a word on cutting precision… We don’t ever use rulers to measure or cut; that’s why a lot of our measurements are given in fingers (important note, these are my fingers, not little Al’s – unless you want tiny, tiny pasta), and why our pasta is not always perfectly neat and uniform. That said, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of ruler work if you can’t abide the odd wonky piece. Do whatever works for you, but try not to take it too seriously!
Using your dowel as a guide, determine how long your rectangles should be. You want them to overlap by a few millimeters to ensure that they seal, but not so much that they bulk up. Make sure that you’ve floured whatever you’re using to form the pasta, and then wrap the rectangles around it one at a time, using a light brushing of water to seal the pasta as it folds back over itself (I just use my finger). You can spray a mist if you prefer, but be careful to not wet the dowel as you’ll never be able to release your beautiful new paccheri!
Stand these guys up on baking paper lined trays as you make them. This will ensure that they don’t collapse as they dry. As always, transfer to the fridge uncovered for up to a week. Yes, they’ll probably fall over and make a nuisance of themselves in the process, so just judge whether they’re firm enough by that point to hold their shape laying down.
This is a satisfying pasta regardless of what you serve it with, but we highly recommend packing it with big chunks of meat and covering it in cheese. Check out our pork shoulder ragu for the ultimate sauce pairing!
As always, make it with love, and enjoy.
– Al & Al.
Equipment
- Pasta roller and cutter (if not using a rolling pin and knife)
- Kitchenaid pasta roller and cutter attachment (optional, instead of manual cutter or rolling pin)
- Air tight container for resting
- Dowel, or similar rolling implement to wrap pasta around, approximately 20mm in diameter
Ingredients
- 250 g 00 flour
- 50 g durum semolina flour
- 1 tsp olive oil extra virgin
- 3 eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix the flours together and form them into a well on a large flat surface, or in a bowl with enough room to knead in.
- Prepare your eggs yolks. I find it easiest to crack each egg in half and then pass the yolk back and forwards between the halves, allowing the white to fall away. Consider keeping the egg whites, either in the fridge or freezer; even if you just turn them into omelettes, you'll prevent a bit of waste. Add the yolks to the centre of the well, with the olive oil.
- Use a fork or your hand to gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet, in the centre of the well. You want to form a ball of dough that's elastic, but doesn't stick to your hands or work surface. If it's too sticky, add flour in very small amounts (no more than a tablespoon at a time).
- Once the dough can be handled without sticking to anything, knead vigorously for 10 minutes. Put your weight down and forwards into the dough using the heel of your hand, and fold it forwards over itself as you go. The motion is down, forwards, and then up at the end of the push.
- After 10 minutes, if you've balanced your moisture correctly you should be left with a smooth, shiny ball of dough that requires no additional flour.
- Store it in a freezer bag or similar to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, keeping it out of direct sunlight or heat to avoid it sweating.
- Cut the dough into four pieces, and begin rolling it out into sheets. We recommend working with just one piece at a time, keeping the others in an airtight container. For our paccheri, we go to a 6 on our Marcato machine. Remember with a machine to pass it through at the lowest setting a few times first, folding over itself in between, then step up incrementally to your desired thickness.
- Using your dowel or other paccheri shaping implement as a guide, determine the required length to cut your paccheri rectangles to. They should be long enough to wrap around and overlap by a few millimetres. Use a sharp knife or pasta cutter to form into rectangles, and cover those not presently being formed into paccheri with a tea towel or cling wrap to avoid drying out.
- Working with one piece at a time, wrap the rectangles of pasta around your dowel, brushing the overlapping section lightly with water to seal. Stand them up on baking paper lined trays as you go.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes to a week, uncovered. This will help them dry out and improve the bite when cooked!
- To cook, boil in plenty of water, and bite or cut across the pasta to check that it's cooked. You want it firm (al dente) without any sign of white uncooked dough. Try serving it with our slow-cooked pork shoulder ragu!
