Taste of Tribeca Tip #4: Fresh Pasta Shouldn't Be Too Fresh

This article first appeared in Tribeca Citizen on March 26, 2010. We appreciate being allowed to reprint this article.

"In anticipation of Taste of Tribeca*, the benefit for P.S. 234 and P.S. 150 on May 15, I’m asking the participating chefs for cooking tips. Roc’s Giovanni Tenace—pictured above right, with restaurateur Rocco Cadolini—says that if you’re going to go to the trouble of making fresh pasta, take the time to do it right.

When you make fresh pasta, you have to let the dough rest an hour. Don’t refrigerate it. Let it sit outside, under a wet cloth. That way, it will become firmer—easier to work with and less likely to fall apart. And it tastes better, too. This is true for any kind of pasta—squid ink, spinach, whatever. But don’t use regular wheat flour. You should use durum or semolina. It’s much better."

*Tickets are on sale now at tasteoftribeca.org. Buy before May 1 and they’re only $35. Also, join the Taste of Tribeca Facebook group and you might win a T-shirt.

Taste As If It Were The First Time...

Sometimes genius is not is inventing something new- but in re-discovering something that has always been there:

"I love how Roc can surprise you by elevating something mundane and, often, unloved: Brussels Sprouts. Who knew they could be so good, shaved thin, served raw with a lemony dressing and pecorino cheese? It was a revelation and I could have easily finished another plateful."