Southern Italian flavor meets childhood comfort food at Pasta Eater, an Italian eatery that opened its doors last December in Union Square. This new Italian eatery features casual décor in a cozy setting, elegantly underlining Pasta Eater’s mission: to serve only the most authentic, freshly made Italian pasta, focaccia, salads and “earth and sea” appetizers – all made on the spot for dine-in or to-go.
Pasta Eater’s founder Giusto Priola – a successful restaurateur associated with other successful ventures like Cacio e Pepe and Cacio e Vino – developed this concept along with Luigi Cetrullo, who became the head pasta chef of the restaurant. Chef Luigi was born in Foggia (in the Apulia region), and he was immersed in the tradition of pasta-making from a very young age – when he would help his mother Antonietta on Sundays to make his favorite “sauce” that would accompany an all-pasta lunch for the whole family. As he grew older, Cetrullo began work as a chef for some of the best hotels and restaurants in Italy, Switzerland and NYC (where he moved in 2013).
While they may be less popular than orecchiette pasta, troccoli and cavatelli are both typical fresh pasta varieties from Apulia that Cetrullo serves at Pasta Eater. Troccoli, a spaghetti-like pasta, is a variety usually made for Sunday lunch, often paired with a ragù sauce. Chef Luigi nostalgically recalls waking up early on Sunday mornings to help his mother with their family recipe for the ragù.
Chef Luigi Cetrullo
Cavatelli – a shell-shaped pasta variety made from burnt wheat – is another pasta of regional tradition. Chef Luigi tells us that in Apulia, the land owners would burn the wheat during a certain time of year and people would pick up the leftovers to make them into a dark, burnt flour, which they originally used to make the cavatelli. Cetrullo keeps this tradition alive today by toasting the flour he uses in the oven before making the fresh pasta, and he combines the cavatelli with a tomato, arugula and burrata cheese sauce.
If you’re in New York, you can taste Apulian pasta and many other Italian delicacies from Pasta Eater – if you order from their pick-up and delivery menu! Or you could always just attempt to make these very special recipes, that Luigi has so graciously shared with us, at home for an especially delightful dinner.
Troccoli Pasta with Meat Ragù
Troccoli Pasta with Meat Ragù by Chef Luigi Cetrullo
Serves 4-6
Ingredients for the troccoli pasta:
2 cups semolina flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup warm water
Method:
In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. Add warm water and mix until a firm dough forms. Add water if the dough seems too dry. Pat the dough into a ball and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 10-15 minutes. Cover with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
Roll out dough using a rolling pin or a pasta machine. Work with 1/4 of the dough at a time. Keep the rest of the dough covered while you’re working to prevent it from drying out. Roll each section by hand to a thickness of about 1/16 inch. If you’re using a pasta machine, stop at the third to last setting. Cut the pasta into desired shapes.
Cook the freshly made noodles in boiling salted water for 3-5 minutes. Drain.
Ingredients for the ragù sauce:
2 garlic cloves
1 small Spanish onion, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped
1/2 bunch flat-leaf Italian parsley
2 sprigs rosemary, sage or thyme (or a combination of all three)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 lbs mixed ground meat (e.g. 2 lbs beef, 1 lb pork, and 1 lb veal)
6 pork sausages
1 tablespoon Italian double-concentrated tomato paste
1 35-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes
1 pinch salt and pepper, to taste
Method:
Finely chop the garlic, onions, carrots, celery, herbs, and parsley in a food processor.
In a large heavy-bottomed cast-iron pot, sauté the vegetables over low heat in the olive oil with a pinch of salt. Let them “sweat out” their liquid for about 7-8 minutes (or until the onions become translucent, but have not yet taken on a darker color). Add about 3/4 cup water and 1 tablespoon tomato paste. Let the sauce cook down until the liquid is almost completely reduced and evaporated.
Once the sauce has reduced, add the ground meat and sausage, breaking it up continuously and moving it around in the pan so that no lumps or balls form. Once the meat is all broken down and just cooked, add the can of San Marzano tomatoes and let simmer gently, stirring occasionally on the lowest possible heat setting. The longer and slower the ragù cooks, the better it will be. We're talking 3 or 4 hours. You’ll know it's done once all the fat has cooked off the meat and it floats lazily on the surface of the sauce with an orange color (from the tomatoes). Either serve immediately or refrigerate for 3-4 days.
Cavatelli Pasta with Tomato, Arugula and Burrata
Cavatelli Pasta with Tomato, Arugula and Burrata by Chef Luigi Cetrullo
Serves 4-6
Ingredients for the cavatelli pasta:
2 cups semolina flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup burnt wheat
Method:
Measure out the sifted flour onto a wooden board and make a well shape in the center. Add the water and the salt in the center of the well. With a fork, start incorporating the flour and the water until the mixture has the consistency of a thick batter. Pull in the flour from the bottom of the well. Using a dough scraper, incorporate the rest of the flour. (It may seem like there isn't enough water, but you just have to keep kneading. Everything will come together – like magic – we promise!) Knead for about 8-10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. If the dough feels sticky, add a little bit of flour. On the other hand, if the dough feels too dry, sprinkle a few drops of water over the top and continue kneading. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and let rest for about one hour at room temperature. (I usually place a tea towel over the top.)
Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece of dough out to a thickness of approximately ¼ inch. Make sure your board and rolling pin are floured to prevent sticking. Cut these four pieces into ¾ - 1-inch strips. Then cut each strip into 1/4 - 1/2 inch rectangular pieces. Using your index finger, apply gentle pressure on the dough, dragging it toward you. There should be a slight curl that forms. Transfer each piece of cavatelli pasta onto large baking sheets that have been dusted with flour, placing them in a single layer without touching one another. Continue until all the dough has been used to form the rest of the cavatelli pasta. Allow these to air dry for at least 30 minutes.
If you plan to serve them immediately, drop the cavatelli into a large pot of salted boiling water for just a few minutes. You’ll know the cavatelli are done when they float to the top. (Try to shake off as much of the flour as possible before boiling them.) Taste them to make sure they are cooked to your liking.
Ingredients for the tomato, arugula and burrata sauce:
1/3 cup high-quality extra-virgin olive oil
A pinch of red pepper flakes
4 crushed garlic cloves
¾ cup onion, chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 28-ounce cans of whole tomatoes (or two quarts of freshly canned garden tomatoes)
1/4 lb fresh burrata cheese
1/4 lb fresh arugula
Method:
Before you begin, pour the two cans of tomatoes into a bowl and crush them with your hand. (Don’t break them up too much; you’ll want large chunks.) In a large heavy-bottomed cast-iron pot with a lid over a burner with no flame, pour in the olive oil and red pepper flakes, garlic, onion, basil, salt, and pepper. Turn the burner on and slowly bring up to high heat. Once the onions and garlic start to cook, stir and heat for five more minutes.
Remove the pot from the burner and place a heat diffuser over the burner. Place the pot over the heat diffuser and add the tomatoes. Turn the burner down to medium-high and stir until they start to boil. Then reduce to a simmer, partially cover and simmer another 90 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the fresh basil.
In another saucepan, add olive oil, fresh arugula, and onion. Sauté for a couple of minutes. Then add the tomato sauce and let it cook for another 4 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a pot with water to a boil. Once boiling, transfer the one pound of cavatelli and cook for 4-5 minutes. Once the pasta is ready, transfer it to the cooking pan with the prepared sauce and stir all the ingredients together for another 3 minutes. Serve the pasta on plates and top with fresh burrata and arugula.