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Pinch of salt

1 pound penne

½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 tablespoon butter

Prepare meat sauce and set aside until ready to use.

Prepare White Sauce as instructed on page 205, using proportions listed above.

Preheat oven to 400F (205C). Generously butter bottom and sides of a baking dish.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.Add pasta and cook uncovered over high heat until pasta is cooked only halfway through and has a firm consistency. Drain pasta and place in a large bowl.

Add 2½ cups of meat sauce, ⅔ cup of white sauce and about half of Parmigiano. Mix until pasta and sauces are well combined. Put pasta in prepared baking dish, sprinkle top with remaining Parmigiano and dot with butter. Place dish in middle rack of oven and bake until top has a nice golden color, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove dish from oven and let it settle a few minutes. Bring dish to table and serve.

GARGANELLI WITH DRIED PORCINI AND SMOKED HAM

Garganelli con Porcini e Prosciutto Affumicato

This is one of the delicious dishes of Trattoria Gigina in Bologna that departs a bit from tradition because speck, smoked Italian ham from the Alto Adige region, is used instead of prosciutto. Of course prosciutto or pancetta can also be used. And if you can get fresh porcini mushrooms, clean them with a damp cloth, slice them and use them instead of dry porcini, just as instructed below.

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

1½ ounces dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 2 cups lukewarm water 20 minutes

4 tablespoons butter

½ cup very finely minced yellow onion

2 or 3 thick slices (3 ounces) speck or prosciutto, finely diced

1 cup dry white wine

¼ cup heavy cream

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley

1 recipe Pasta Dough (page 40) rolled out and cut for garganelli or 1 pound imported dried garganelli or penne rigate

½ to ¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Drain porcini mushrooms and reserve soaking water. Rinse mushrooms well under cold running water and chop them roughly. Line a strainer with paper towels and strain mushroom water into a bowl to get rid of sandy deposits. Set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until onion is lightly golden and soft, about 5 minutes. Add porcini mushrooms and speck or prosciutto and stir for a minute or two. Add wine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until wine is reduced by about half. Add 1 cup of reserved porcini water and cream. Season lightly with salt. As soon as sauce begins to bubble, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered until it has a medium-thick consistency, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir parsley and remaining butter into sauce and turn heat off under skillet.

Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and pasta. Cook, uncovered, over high heat until pasta is tender but still a bit firm to the bite. Scoop up and reserve about 1 cup of pasta cooking water.

Drain pasta and place in skillet with sauce. Season lightly with salt, and add about ⅓ cup of Parmigiano.Toss everything quickly over medium heat until pasta and sauce are well combined.

If pasta seems dry, add some of reserved pasta water and stir quickly to incorporate.Taste, adjust seasoning and serve with remaining Parmigiano.

Variation

For a tomato-based sauce, stir 2 tablespoons imported double concentrated Italian tomato paste into 2 cups of reserved porcini water and add to mushrooms. Omit cream. Simmer sauce until it has a medium-thick consistency.

TAGLIOLINI WITH SOLE AND LEMON ZEST

I Tagliolini con Sugo di Sogliola e Limone

In this dish fresh sole is cubed and sautéed quickly in oil scented with garlic. Some wine, grated zest of lemon and fresh marjoram complete the sauce. This is a dish that is as light as it is quick to prepare, and relies on the freshness of the fish and marjoram.

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

⅓ cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled

¾ pound (about ½ inch thick) filet of sole, diced

½ cup dry white wine

Grated zest