Page 9 - Gears and Ears August 2014

Recipe of the Month

Pasta con gli Ziti - Pugliese Style

Contributed by Marco Di Tillo (co-author of The
Other Eisenhower and owner of Hotel Modigliani in
Rome)
This is a recipe that comes from the region of my
grandmother—Nunziata, Puglia. The ziti are a type of
hard wheat pasta, elongated, tubular and hollow with a
smooth surface. Although packaged as long pasta, the
culinary tradition of southern Italy wants them broken. A
step in the preparation of any dish of ziti consists
precisely in breaking them manually into the pot. This is
usually done during the preparation of the meat sauce,
before adding them to the boiling water.

The word “ziti” in Puglia refers to the word “spouses” and historically was given to these macaroni because in
the past they were eaten only during a wedding. Broken in half represents the two spouses. I know that the ziti
have become very popular in the United States especially with the television series The Sopranos.

Ingredients: 500g ziti (a pound) Use the shorter US style if you can’t find the long Italian type.
For the sauce: 1/4 large white onion, 2 large sausages de-cased of about 1/3-1/2 pound of sausage meat, 1/2
glass of white wine, 1kg (36 oz) of tomato sauce, salt and pepper, extra virgin olive oil

For the small meatballs: 300g (2/3 lb) of ground beef, 50g (1/3 cup) of breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon grated
parmesan

In addition: Two hard-boiled eggs, chopped parsley, salt and pepper, extra virgin olive oil, 1 large mozzarella,
grated parmesan cheese for layers.

In a saucepan, gently fry the chopped onion in olive oil, add the sausage meat. Deglaze with the white wine (let it
evaporate) and then add the tomato sauce, salt and pepper, cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.

In a bowl, mash the ground beef with a fork, combine the eggs, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt
and pepper and chopped parsley. Mix the ingredients well then form into balls the size of a hazelnut. Fry in hot
olive oil, drain and leave to dry on paper towels.

If you have the long ziti, break it by hand, and cook in boiling, salted water—drain when al dente. In a baking
dish, spread a layer of the tomato sauce, add half of the ziti, half the meatballs, 1 boiled egg sliced, half the
mozzarella (cut into small pieces), a sprinkling of parmesan, and cover with the sauce. Form a second layer and
finish with a generous sprinkling of parmesan. Bake at 200C/400F for 30 minutes.

Suggested Pairing: Galatina Red Wine from the Pugliese Province of Lecce (dry and full bodied).