Everyday Pasta by Giada Laurentiis (summer beach reads TXT) 📕

where you’ll find the recipe. You’ll also find some great pointers on choosing an Italian wine to complement your meal and a few menu ideas to help you round out everything. Enjoy!

makes 1½ pounds

For a richer yet more delicate flavor, nothing beats freshly made pasta. It takes a bit of time—and a pasta-rolling machine—but the results are worth the effort.

It is certainly possible to buy good-quality fresh pasta, either in sheets or cut into noodles. But like making your own bread, making fresh pasta is a very satisfying way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I especially enjoy preparing fresh pasta at the holidays or when I have family over and everyone can get involved.

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Place the flour in the bowl of a food processor. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the salt and olive oil to the eggs and stir to combine. Add the egg mixture to the food processor with the flour and pulse to combine the ingredients, scraping down the sides once or twice. Continue, with the machine running, until the liquid is evenly distributed, about 1 minute. The dough should stick together if pinched between your fingers and be cornmeal yellow in color. Some of the dough will be clumping together, but it will not form a ball.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gather the dough into a ball and knead gently until the dough is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes before rolling and shaping as desired.

makes about 2 quarts

Every cook should have a good marinara sauce in his or her repertoire, and I think this one is just about perfect. Though not as quick to throw together as some of the other tomato sauces I depend on (see this recipe for a really quick, basic sugo), the time you invest in making it will be repaid with a full-flavored, robust sauce that can be used in dozens of different ways. The sauce freezes very well, so why not make a double batch to freeze (after cooling completely) in 2-cup portions? Frozen sauce may be stored for up to 3 months.

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 small onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

½ teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

2 dried bay leaves

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Sauté until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)

makes about 4 cups

This basic white sauce is what gives many pasta dishes, like lasagna, a rich creamy texture. It’s not hard to make and you’ll find lots of uses for it.

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup all-purpose flour

4 cups warm whole milk

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the warm milk, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thick, smooth, and creamy, about 10 minutes (do not allow the béchamel sauce to boil). Remove from the heat and stir in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. (The sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate.)

makes about 5 cups

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 ounces sliced pancetta, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

2 garlic cloves, minced

5 cups marinara sauce (store-bought or homemade)

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and sauté until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and garlic and sauté until tender, about 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce and bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat and let cool until ready to use.

Chili Oil

makes ½ cup

This simple recipe is not only great for bread-dipping, but can also be used to liven up the flavors in other dishes—as your cooking oil, or in salad dressing, or as a pasta topping, or just drizzled over grilled fish or meat.

½ cup olive oil

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

In a small, heavy saucepan, heat the oil and red pepper flakes over low heat, stirring occasionally, until a thermometer inserted into the oil registers 180°F, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Transfer the oil and pepper flakes to a 4-ounce bottle or other small container and seal the lid. Refrigerate up to 1 month.

makes about ½ cup

½ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh orange juice or tangerine juice

Place all of the ingredients in a tight-lidded jar and shake to combine. Refrigerate for up to 1 month.

makes ½ cup

This is a robust dressing that is good with strongly flavored greens like escarole or spinach. It’s also very good on grilled foods and vegetables like potatoes, or as a dressing for chicken and pasta salad. Because the garlic thickens the dressing and gives it body, less oil is needed than for a conventional vinaigrette.

1 whole head of garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch of sugar

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Cut the head of garlic in half cross-wise and place it cut side up on a sheet of foil. Drizzle it with olive