The Secret World of Stuffed Pastas

People love to open things and love the unknown, which is why I think the world is in love with stuffed pasta. Even if it is not your birthday, you can find that special wrapped package at a friend’s house for dinner or at your favorite little restaurant. Get a nice steaming plate of those plump gems, and, with great anticipation, break the outer layer to find what is carefully hidden inside.

The first written proof of pasta is from the 5th century A.D. The discovery of these documents in the Middle East disproved the theory that Marco Polo brought pasta back to Italy from China. Rather, scholars now believe that pasta made its way from the Middle East to Sicily when Arabs were in control of the island. The conquerors and the native inhabitants quickly saw that the climate in southern Italy was ideal for growing the most important ingredient of pasta, wheat.

Due to the perfect wheat-growing conditions and the almost indefinite storage capacity of dried pasta, the food product grew rapidly in popularity. Pasta quickly made its way north from Sicily into Calabria, Naples and Rome. It was soon a staple food for the southern reaches of Italy, in the form of macaroni. From Rome, pasta took a huge step when Italian-born Catherine de’ Medici introduced it to France and therefore the tables of the world.

While the culinary masterminds in France and Northern Italy experimented with this newfound wealth, sailors carried pasta around the world in ships as the main part of their diet, mostly eating it boiled plain or with oil. Meanwhile in Italy, the populace would eat pasta plain or with a touch of grated cheese.

Even with such simple beginnings, a passion for pasta was born. People began to experiment with different types of flour and liquids, and thought of ways to make it taste better. History, irreverently, refers to the birth of stuffed pasta merely as a mere means to use up leftovers. There might be some truth to this, but I prefer to believe that someone wanted to surprise a dear friend.

In its travels, pasta touched many different countries and continents, and influenced the food in many of those places. The shape, texture and color vary greatly, depending upon culture. Most Americans believe that pasta in any form is an Italian food, and forget all of the majestic variations that exist in this wonderful world of food and culture.

In Asian cultures, pasta is very important. Noodles are easily found in the diets of all countries in that region. In China, stuffed pasta holds a very special place in everyone’s diet. Dim sum, or, literally translated, “heart’s delight,” can be found as street food or in many teahouses, and consists of a variety of fillings covered in a dough wrapper, rice covering or steamed bun, or many other small dishes.

The pasta varies little. The dough wrapper of wonton is usually very simple in composition, consisting of flour, water and a small amount of egg. The rice coverings are also very simple, made only of rice flour and water cooked in a special steaming basket, or made in the fashion of a crepe, from a batter of rice flour, white flour, oil and egg. In dim sum, the colors are generally subdued, with white and translucent as the norm. The shapes can vary from the moneybag to the half moon to the spring roll. All dim sum are cooked by steaming, baking or frying.

Fillings are the major variant in dim sum. They consist of ground meat, fish, vegetables, starch, eggs and spices, put together with a flair that will mesmerize the palate. Steamed moneybag-shaped wontons filled with a mixture of pork, mushroom, ginger, water chestnut, onion and egg, or pot stickers stuffed with shrimp, celery, peppers and egg, with one side crisp from the pan, are certain to please. This type of pasta is not served in sauce but set to stand out by itself on plates or nestled in steamer baskets, with the sauce served as a contrast to the item. The thin to moderately viscous sauces, consisting of soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar, wine, vegetables and/or fruit, are meant to fill in the empty places in the dim sum’s flavor profile and make it whole. The idea of balance drives the chef.

Pasta has made a great impact on Latin cuisine, but with a different face. The dry noodle still dominates the pasta scene, but it does not control the heart of the people. The empanada causes much more joy, and much more excitement when bitten. Empanada literally means “encased in dough,” like any good stuffed pasta should be. It is thought to have originated in Spain, but took a stronger foothold in South America.

Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil all have their own unique form of the pasta. The dough is made from flour hydrated with egg, water, broth or milk. Fat, in the form of oil or lard, is also incorporated into the dough to add a flakiness to the empanadas, which are usually baked or fried to a pleasing golden brown. The one commonality of all the empanadas is their shape. All are made into a half moon; their size determines whether the treat will be served as an appetizer or a main dish.

The vast range of fillings can hardly be contemplated. They can begin as simple as white cheese with whole corn kernels or become an extravagant mixture of vegetables, meats, cheese, chiles and herbs. Since empanadas are so widespread, the spices and vegetables used will differ greatly with the country of origin. This allows a chef who is studying a particular region to not only make very traditional types of empanadas, but also to surprise diners with a unique filling profile. The other variant that makes empanadas so special is their texture. They might be soft like pizza dough or fried crisp. In my favorite Argentinian empanadas, each bite is a solid crunch that will lead you into a world of flavor like no other. Your first empanada might be creamy and filled with vegetables, while another might be filled with spicy beef and an aged cheese with a cultured note that cannot be beat.

The islands of the Caribbean are home to a variation of the empanada called an alcapurria. The filling of this fried pasta is usually well-spiced ground meat, and the dough is made from yuca or taro root (yautín), and green plantain (platano verde). This unique, fried empanada is usually found in Puerto Rican and Cuban cooking, and is a “don’t miss” item at restaurants specializing in these cuisines.Italian inspiration

By far, the country that has been influenced the most and has created the most varieties of pasta is Italy. Because each region, town or even kitchen loves to create its own type of pasta, there are no standard recipes. Influenced greatly by local agriculture, people mix many different flours with white flour to add flavor and body to their pasta. These flour types, ranging from chickpea, chestnut or corn to buckwheat or wheat, are mixed into white flour, usually not exceeding 40%. Mixed doughs are usually too brittle to fold into tight shapes, and so usually make long goods. Stuffed pasta always uses a fresh egg dough made with white flour, semolina or a mixture of the two.

The ratio of flour to liquids will change as you follow the pasta dishes south through the country. Historically, the north has been more wealthy than the south, and this fact is mirrored in the pastas. Northerners make a very rich dough with egg yolk and white flour. For 1 kg of white flour, you could use four whole eggs and 30 egg yolks with a touch of salt. Salt is always optional in stuffed pasta, because the grains may cause spotting in the dough, which should be as homogenous as possible. Also, you can easily add salt by salting the cooking water well.

Moving farther south, you start to find pastas with ratios of white flour to semolina around 60:40. Here, the hydration gets tricky. Eggs are always used, at a minimum of four per kilogram of flour, with approximately 250 grams of other liquid, such as water, wine, milk, oil or liquor. This can be adjusted to nine whole eggs and one yolk with no added liquid.

During my time in Tuscany, the favorite recipe for stuffing pasta that my chef gave me is 150 grams of semolina, 850 grams of white flour, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of white wine, and 450 grams of whole egg. The addition of vegetable matter in place of liquid is common in Italy. Tomato paste, spinach or squid ink are the most popular colorants, but many different types are used. For many vegetables, the actual flesh is not needed, only the carotenoids. The chef extracts the colors by grinding the colorful stalk or leaf and placing it quickly into boiling water, allowing the colors to foam and collect on the top of the water. This colored foam is then added to the pasta. Italians traditionally would not add artificial colors to pasta, for any reason.

Stuffed pasta has many different popular shapes: the tube, folded (half moon and rectangles), and cut out into custom shapes. Names of pastas differ by the shape and then the size. For example, a 3-in. square of pasta could hold a dollop of filling about the size of a quarter. Moisten three of the edges and fold into a triangle. If you grab the two opposite corners, turn them around your thumb and push the ends together, you will have a tortelli. A smaller version of this same pasta is tortellini and a larger version is tortelloni. This naming variation is common for most stuffed pastas.

Pasta fillings are the most important part. The only required ingredient in fillings for Italian pasta is cheese. Many places in the north of the country do not even add meat to their stuffed pasta, but you will find a lot of spinach and ricotta. Fillings throughout the country also feature huge amounts of Parmesan and mascarpone cheese in a plethora of fillings. The amount of cheese used gives Italian pasta one of its greatest characteristics: the flowability of the filling. In the other types of pasta, the fillings do not flow, but rather are very meaty, or are set with egg and become stiff when cooked. When you split ravioli made with four cheeses (ricotta, Parmesan, mascarpone and pecorino), you can see the insides slowly puddle under the shell and mix slightly with the sauce.

Meat fillings are very important in central Italy. They include well-ground meats and vegetables all browned together. After they finish cooking, the fillings are cooled and mixed with cheese. Most Italian chefs will not mix cheese with fish, so you will be hard pressed to find a fish ravioli in most of Italy.

The filling gives stuffed pastas body and character, so a thick sauce is not desirable. The sauce should bring the plate alive and complement the filling, not overpower or mask the hidden secret held within the pasta walls. Three types of sauce are generally used with stuffed pasta, listed here in no particular order of importance.

The first, a light tomato sauce, is a wonderful accent for cheese-stuffed pasta. It is almost a tomato juice, with sautéed vegetable brunoise and tomato concassé. Béchamel or cream sauces generally top ravioli filled with game or other strongly flavored meats. The brown flavors in the roux bring out the savory goodness of the meats. The third, a butter and wine or broth sauce, is very popular and very simple to make. After placing the pasta — such as spinach and ricotta ravioli — in the water to cook, brown butter in a sauté pan, and then add either wine or broth. When the pasta is done cooking, toss it with the sauce. It’s simple, easy and sooo good.

But, the most important place that stuffed pasta has made its way is into our hearts. You might not agree with the joy I find in stuffed pasta, but next time you’re out for dinner, look for the thin dough stretched lovingly around a wonderful surprise, and you won’t be disappointed.

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