Gifts for the pasta chef: 9 tools for proper Italian pasta
From a ridged gnocchi board to the Marcato Atlas 150: nine gifts for the friend who makes fresh pasta on Sundays.
In my house, Sunday means fresh pasta. Flour on the table, eggs in the well, and my nonna's voice in my head telling me the dough is too dry. Anyone who has caught this habit will treasure a gift that makes the rolling, cutting and drying easier.
These nine picks run from stocking fillers to a lifetime splurge, with rough prices in kronor. If they are new to it, my fresh egg pasta guide is the place to start. All you really need is flour, eggs and patience, but good tools make the patience much easier.
Guide: fresh egg pasta
The picks
Nine gifts for the pasta maker
- A gnocchi board (about 100 kr): A small ridged wooden paddle that gives gnocchi and garganelli their grooves, so the sauce clings. Tiny, cheap and charming.
- A fluted pastry wheel (about 150 kr): A brass wheel with a crinkled edge for ravioli and pappardelle. The frilly edge looks homemade in the best way.
- Ravioli stamps (about 200 kr): A round and a square stamp with wooden handles that cut and seal in one press. Filled pasta suddenly feels easy.
- A wooden pasta drying rack (about 200 to 300 kr): Long strands hang here for a few minutes before cooking, so they never stick together in a heap.
- Bronze-die pasta and real Parmigiano: A bag of bronze-die pasta from a small Italian maker and a wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano aged at least 24 months. The rough surface holds sauce far better than smooth factory pasta.
- A chitarra (about 400 to 600 kr): A wooden frame strung with wires, from Abruzzo. Roll a sheet over the strings with a pin and square spaghetti falls through.
- A big beechwood board (about 500 to 800 kr): A large board with a lip that hooks over the counter. Wood gives the dough a little grip, so it rolls thin without sliding about.
- A Marcato Atlas 150 (about 800 kr): The classic Italian hand-crank machine. Ten thickness settings, a cutter for fettuccine and tagliolini, and it will outlive the cook.
- Pasta attachments for a stand mixer (from about 2,000 kr): If they own a KitchenAid, the roller and cutter attachments free both hands for guiding the dough. Lasagne sheets for twelve in minutes.
Something homemade
Make a bag of tagliatelle nests. Roll your dough, cut it, twist it into loose nests and dry them on a floured tray in a warm, airy room for a day or two, until they snap cleanly all the way through. Pack them in a paper bag or a glass jar.
Write on the tag: boil in well-salted water for four to five minutes, and eat within a week. Suggest my tagliatelle al limone for the first batch.
Recipe: fresh pasta dough
Recipe: tagliatelle al limone
Bella's tip: Never wash a wooden pasta board or a chitarra with soap. Let the dough dry, brush it off with a dry pastry brush, and the wood stays smooth for decades.
