JOIN USDate night? Or is it just a regular weeknight? Don’t feel like cooking dinner after a long day’s work? You are not alone. Why not get hooked on to one of the most simple yet beautiful cuisines you could find anywhere in the world! Simple, healthy one-pot Italian regional dishes are such a joy to put together that you will look forward to cooking weekday dinners again. Italy has many vibrant and diverse regional cuisines showcasing unique produce and methods of cooking that have been perfected over generations. Seasonal vegetables are used fresh and excess produce is preserved for the colder months. The preservation methods vary from sun-drying tomatoes to pickling peppers and even fermentation. Whether it’s the abundant seafood from the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, the highly-priced Chianina cattle and Cinta Senese pigs from Tuscany, or fresh buffalo mozzarella from Campania, regional Italy offers up the most balanced diet known to humans, the “Mediterranean diet”. Much has been written about the effectiveness of this diet which balances healthy fats, and carbohydrates with nuts, seafood, and dairy for a healthy life. Northern Italian regional dishes are very rich and wholesome and best for slow cooking during the colder months, whereas coastal regions offer up a plentiful bounty of seafood stews and lighter pasta dishes. The central regions are known for their meat and game dishes as well as cured and dried produce. Let’s start with Piedmont. This region is located at the foot of the Italian Alps and shares borders with France and Switzerland. Some of the best-known cheese, pasta and rice produced in Italy comes from Piedmont. The rolling hills of Piedmont are home to Barolo and Barbaresco, two of the great red wines of Italy. Alba in Piedmont is known for its luxurious white truffles, priced in gourmet kitchens all over the world. Piedmont also boasts of a very unique pasta, Tajarin, traditionally served with white truffles.
Tajarin with
mushroom ragu
Tajarin (tie-yah-reen) is a hand-cut pasta made with a higher proportion of egg yolks, which gives it a distinctive golden colour and rich silky texture. Traditional recipes use up to 40 egg yolks per kilo of flour! This dough is very easy to make and roll using a rolling pin into thin sheets. These sheets are simply rolled up and cut into thin strips using a sharp knife.
Pasta (Serves 4)
l 500 gm Tipo 00 pasta flour or substitute with plain flour
l→16 egg yolks
l→50 ml cold water
l→Flour for dusting & rolling pasta
Separate egg yolks and white and reserve yolks for the pasta dough. You may use the whites for a nice healthy breakfast omelette. Combine flour, yolks and water in a mixing bowl with a dough hook attachment or mix by hand if you want to do your gym workout at home. You should get a fairly smooth tight dough. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. Roll the dough in a pasta roller or use a rolling pin on a floured workbench. Roll into 2 mm thick sheets about 15 cm long and 6 cm wide. Fold the sheets into themselves, starting from one edge to finish with a roll. Using a sharp knife, cut these rolls into 2 mm thick strips. Sprinkle with flour and set aside on a wooden board. Traditionally Tajarin is paired with butter, parmesan cheese and white truffles from Alba. Since truffles are expensive and hard to source, we will use a good quality mushroom.
For the sauce
l→1 small onion diced
l→1 clove garlic
l→500 gm sliced mushrooms
l→150 gm butter
l→50 gm fresh grated parmesan cheese
l→Salt
l→Black pepper
l→1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley (optional)
Heat up a pan with 50 gm of butter, sauté onions till translucent, add garlic, and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes till mushrooms take on some colour. Add some water and cook till they are tender. Stir in the rest of the butter, and season with salt and pepper. Boil water in a pot and cook the Tajarin till al dente. It should only take 2-3 minutes and the pasta should have a bite.
Drain well and add to the mushroom sauce. Toss well, add 50 gm grated parmesan cheese, 50 gm of butter and chopped parsley. Serve with more grated parmesan cheese. Perfect with a glass of white wine to unwind.
(The author is a chef based in Brisbane, Australia. An exponent of regional Italian cuisine, he’s from the class of ‘94 IHM Kovalam and loves playing with fire. He’s an avid permaculture gardener and Border Collie whisperer.)