Rachel Roddy, the author, shares a primer on pasta and other vital lessons from almost two decades of living in Rome. She also gives her recipe for a simple and highly soothing soup.
COOKBOOK AUTOR Rachel Roddy, a food blogger and columnist had just returned from a visit to a pecorino plant when we met up in her kitchen in Rome. She admitted to eating a lot of cheese, then going home and eating even more. It was in her spaghetti cacio e pede lunch, which she prepared using the same method that she describes in her new book, “A to Z of Pasta”: Recipes for Shapes, Sauces, from Alfabeto, Ziti and Everything In Between (Mar. 28, Alfred A. Knopf. This version of the dish requires cold water. She says it keeps the temperature low since too much heat can cause clumps. “I also mix away the heat in a large bowl.” The result is a creamy and wavy cacio epee “that curls around a fork and makes my heart skip.”
This British ex-pat, who is now a resident of Testaccio in the southwestern city, has lived there for 18 years. She shares an apartment with Vincenzo Caristia (a Sicilian drummer) and their son, Luca. She said that she believes she retaught how to cook in Italy. She shares some of these lessons, emphasizing her current obsession, pasta, and a recipe you will use on repeat.
What people most notice about my kitchen is the gas-fired stove. I purchased it from a secondhand store. It was the same gas fire Sophia Loren used in her book “In the Kitchen With Love.” Vincenzo did the research.
My kitchen has always had butter, flour, pasta, oil, and milk, always cheese. Always have ketchup: tomato sauce, rice, and bread. If I had to choose three types of pasta, spaghetti, mezze maniche, or rigatoni would be my choices. A tiny ditalini would also work. While some may prefer patinas, the tiny ones you use in soup, I like ditalini, which are the smaller tubes.
I usually cook on weeknights: pasta and maybe some other dishes afterward. I will likely make it fresh once per week. I love stuffed shapes like ravioli and tortellini. They bring me immense joy. Or lasagna. Lasagna still kills me.
I could happily eat eggs every day of my entire life. If we don’t have eggs, it makes me very upset. This is my favorite fast food. My favorite is a three-egg omelet topped with cheese and cheese because it’s so filling. I need more than two-egg omelets.
This is the most inspiring cookbook I have ever read. I read short stories by Katherine Mansfield, and there is lots of delicious food. I return to books with food often. Jane Grigson’s cookbooks are the ones I return to often. Jane Grigson’s vegetable and fruit books. They’re scholarly. Ten years ago, I would have said Elizabeth David. Jane Grigson felt a little too much like my grandma. The idea of Elizabeth David lighting [a cigarette] in her risotto was a nice thought. Elizabeth David is still my favorite. I love [Grigson]’s warm, profoundly scholarly, and lovely writing.
A second pasta principle I discovered was from the north of Italy. Pizzoccheri is pasta made from buckwheat flour. Pizzoccheri is made with potatoes and cabbage. All of the ingredients go in the pan together. Whether you have fresh or dry pizzoccheri or how old your potatoes are, you can arrange them in a different order. The potato will begin to collapse, creating a starch that makes the cabbage soft and lovely. After draining all three, combine them with butter and a lot of cheese. There are many ways to bake it in the oven. I like the idea of just putting potatoes, pasta, and green in a pan, draining it, and mixing it with butter and cheese.
Pasta e Ceci Pasta and Chickpea Soup
This dense and toffee-colored pasta e ce is made by blending half of the soup until it becomes creamy enough to coat the pasta. It makes a generous and easy meal that can be served to a large group. You can also double the amount and make it throughout the day. Then, heat the soup and then add the pasta to the oven. Serve by zigzagging with the best olive oil.
TOTAL TIME1 hour, 30 minutes
Ingredients
Two cans (15 ounces) of chickpeas
Six tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, plus additional to be served
One onion, finely diced
One stalk of celery, finely chopped
One small potato, chopped and peeled (optional).
One sprig of fresh rosemary
One tablespoon of tomato paste
Optional: Small amounts of red pepper flakes
5 1/2 cups water
Freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt
Parmesan rind (optional).
7 ounces fresh pasta lagane or dried broken Tagliatelle
Directions
Rinse chickpeas—warm olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Add celery and onions. Cook gently for 5 minutes.
Stir in potato, red pepper flakes, tomato paste, and rosemary. Cook for one minute, then add chickpeas. If using, add water, salt, and Parmesan cheese rind. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 25 minutes.
Take half of the soup out of the pan. Blend it or put it through a food processor. The blended soup should be returned to the pan.
Discard the Parmesan rind. Adjust salt to taste. Place the soup in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, but not too fast. Stir in the pasta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it is tender. If necessary, add a bit of water. Season with black pepper and taste the pasta. Add a bit more olive oil to the top.
