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Good homemade pasta is not as chewy as good factory pasta. It has a delicate consistency, and feels light and buoyant in the mouth. It has the capacity of absorbing sauces deeply, particularly the ones based on butter and those containing cream.

BLACK PEPPER

Pepe Nero

If a dish calls for ground or cracked pepper, black peppercorn berries are the only ones to use. White pepper is the same berry, but it is stripped of its skin, where much of the aroma and liveliness that makes pepper desirable resides. Although white pepper is actually feebler, it seems to taste sharper because it lacks the full, round aroma of the black. Once ground, that aroma fades rapidly, so it is imperative to grind pepper only when you need to use it, as the recipes in this book direct throughout. The variety of black pepper I have used is Tellicherry, whose warm, sweetly spiced flavor I find the most appealing.

DRIED PORCINI MUSHROOMS

Funghi Porcini Secchi

Even when fresh porcini—wild boletus edulis mushrooms—are available, the dried version compels consideration on its own terms not as a substitute, but as a separate, valid ingredient. Dehydration concentrates the musky, earthy fragrance of porcini to a degree the fresh mushroom can never equal. In risotto, in lasagne, in sauces for pasta, in stuffings for some vegetables, for birds, or for squid, the intensity of the aroma of dried porcini can be thrilling.

How to buy Dried porcini are usually marketed in small transparent packets, generally weighing slightly less than one ounce, one of which is sufficient for a risotto or a pasta sauce for four to six persons. They keep indefinitely, particularly if kept in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator, so it pays to have a supply at hand that one can turn to on the inspiration of the moment. The dried porcini with the most flavor are the ones whose color is predominantly creamy. Choose the packet containing the largest, palest pieces and—unless you have no alternative—stay away from brown-black, dark mushrooms that appear to be all crumbs or little pieces. Dried morels, chanterelles, or shiitake, while they may be very good on their own terms, do not remotely recall the flavor of porcini, and are not a satisfactory substitute.

Note If you are traveling in Italy, particularly in the fall or spring, there is no more advantageous food purchase you can make than a bag of high-quality dried porcini. It is legal to bring them into the country and, if you refrigerate them in a tightly closed container, you can keep them for as long as you like.

How to prepare for cooking Before you can cook dried mushrooms, they must be reconstituted according to the following procedure:

• For ¾ to 1 ounce dried porcini: 2 cups barely warm water. Soak the mushrooms in the water for at least 30 minutes.

• Lift out the mushrooms by hand, squeezing as much water as possible out of them, letting it flow back into the container in which they had been soaking. Rinse the reconstituted mushrooms in several changes of fresh water. Scrape clean any places where soil may still be embedded. Pat dry with paper towels. Chop them or leave them whole as the recipe may direct.

• Do not throw out the water in which the mushrooms soaked because it is rich with porcini flavor. Filter it through a strainer lined with paper toweling, collecting it in a bowl or beaked pouring cup. Set aside to use as the recipe will subsequently instruct.

PROSCIUTTO

Prosciutto is a hog’s hind thigh or ham that has been salted and air cured. Salt draws off the meat’s excess moisture, a process the Italian word for which is prosciugare, hence the name prosciutto. A true prosciutto is never smoked. Depending on the size of the ham and other factors, the curing process may take from a few weeks to a year or more. Slow, unforced, wholly natural air-curing produces the delicate, complex aromas and sweet flavor that distinguish the finest prosciuttos. Parma ham, by which all others are judged, is aged a minimum of ten months, and particularly large examples may be aged