Quadrucci Pasta in Broth (Quadrucci in Brodo)

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Imagine having the opportunity to take a course in Italian cooking—then imagine not just one, but a score of chefs to teach you the art and techniques. Now Maxine Clark has assembled 20 leading chefs and food experts in a Masterclass in Italian Cooking. Each cook offers you three of their favorite dishes, one of which is selected to be a step–by–step masterclass to guide the cook through a recipe step-by-step, from choosing the perfect ingredients to presentation of the finished dish. Beautifully illustrated, MasterClass in Italian Cooking is a satisfying introduction to the fundamentals of the Italian kitchen.

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Masterclass In Italian Cooking

Authors: Maxine Clark, Photographs by Gus Filgate

Date: January 2005

ISBN: 1552856194

Publisher: Whitecap Books

Paperback

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Quadrucci Pasta in Broth
(Quadrucci in Brodo)
Recipe from: Masterclass In Italian Cooking
by Maxine Clark, Photographs by Gus Filgate
Cookbook Heaven at Recipelink.com

GIULIANO BUGIALLI is a renowned master of pasta-making, and he also demonstrates here the importance of a good quality broth in Italian cuisine. Soups come in many forms, the purest being a good clear broth with a few additions such as pasta. The pasta here is home-made and it reveals beautiful green parsley leaves that are used inside the parcels through the golden depths of the soup.

A few herbs as well as spices may be added to pasta dough. Pasta containing whole fresh parsley leaves is a representative dish from Puglia. Other herbs are chopped very finely before they are added to the dough, but with parsley it is traditional to add the whole leaves, probably because the chopping would discolour them. Besides, the attractive pattern they produce is reason enough to use the leaves whole. This dough has another special feature: the grated cheese is mixed into the dough itself rather than sprinkled on the cooked pasta. Most pasta in this region is eaten without the addition of grated cheese. The parsley pasta is usually cut into the square-shaped quadri or quadrucci, of varying size. They are usually eaten in turkey broth, with a lamb sauce or with melted butter and sage leaves. The shape of quadrucci and the use of broth rather than sauce accentuate the beauty of the whole-leaf pattern of the pasta, which almost resembles embroidery. GB

Servings: 8

FOR THE BROTH:
900g/2lbs dark turkey meat, with bones
1 medium-sized red onion, peeled
1 stick celery
1 medium-sized carrot, scraped
1 medium-sized clove garlic, peeled but left whole
1 cherry tomato
4 sprigs Italian parsley
3 extra large egg whites
coarse-grained salt
FOR THE PASTA:
40g (1 1/2 oz) (1/2 cup) freshly grated Parmesan
5 eggs
pinch of salt
6 twists black pepper
450g (1 lb) (3 1/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
30 sprigs Italian flat-leaf parsley, leaves only

Prepare the broth: put the turkey, coarse-grained salt to taste, the whole onion, celery, carrot, garlic, tomato, and parsley sprigs in a large stockpot. Cover with cold water and put the pot over medium heat, uncovered. Simmer for 2 hours, skimming off foam from the top.
Remove the meat from the pot and reserve it for another dish. Pass the rest of the contents of the pot through a fine strainer into a large bowl, to remove the vegetables and impurities. Let the broth cool, then place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight to allow the fat to rise to the top and solidify.
Use a metal spatula to remove the solidified fat then clarify the broth. Pour 4 tablespoons of the broth into a small bowl and mix it with the egg whites. Pour the broth and egg white mixture into the rest of the cold broth and whisk very well. Transfer the broth to a pot and place it on the edge of a burner. Bring to the simmering stage, half covered, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the egg whites rise to the top with the impurities, and the broth becomes transparent.
Meanwhile, place a clean, wet cotton tea towel in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then stretch the tea towel over a colander and strain the broth through it to clarify it completely. The broth should be absolutely clear.
Prepare the pasta with the ingredients listed, placing the grated Parmesan, salt, pepper, and eggs in the well in the flour. With much care and patience, gradually work the eggs into the flour until you have a slab of dough. Shape this into a ball and leave under a towel or in cling film (plastic wrap) to rest.
Stretch the pasta as thinly as possible by hand or with the pasta machine. Place the whole parsley leaves on top of half the length of the layer of pasta. Fold the other half of the layer of pasta over the parsley, and press the layers together. Continue to roll out the layer of pasta until it is very thin. Using a scalloped pastry cutter, cut the pasta into squares of about Scm/2in. 7 Bring the broth to a boil and add the pasta. Cook for 1-3 minutes, depending on how dry the pasta is. Serve hot, without adding cheese, which would spoil its purity.

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