The Classic Pasta Cookbook by Giuliano Hazan

160 pages; Color Photography

D K Publishing London and New York, 1993; distributed in USA by Houghton-Mifflin

Reviewed by Adi Richter for Good Cooking, 8/02

From pappardelle to penne and from primavera to pesto, The Classic Pasta Cookbook is a comprehensive guide to the glorious world of pasta. The Classic Pasta Cookbook contains more than 100 recipes. As promised on the cover, the book contains a large variety of classic pasta recipes, most of them accompanied by pictures of the ingredients needed for the preparation of the recipe and the whole dish.
The book begins with a colorful catalog of pasta, which describes all shapes of different pasta accompanied by pictures. The next chapter in the book describes the process of pasta making, from equipment, making the dough, rolling the pasta to cutting, stuffing, cooking and serving it. As suggested in this chapter I bought the pasta machine and prepared fresh pasta. Sounds complicated? With the illustrated instructions the task was very simple and the results were excellent. The pasta dough recipe contains only two Ingredients: 3 large eggs and 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour. The magic is in rolling the dough very thin with the help of the pasta machine.

The next step after preparing the pasta is choosing the matching sauce and making it. The pasta shape I made was fettuccine and the sauce I chose to accompany the pasta with was the classic Primavera sauce, page 60. 

In conclusion, The Classic Pasta Cookbook is an easy to follow visual style for making pasta dishes, which are simple and straightforward. Whether you are an advanced cook or a beginner, The Classic Pasta Cookbook will be an indispensable resource in your kitchen. I enjoyed cooking with this book and I highly recommend it.

Good Cooking believes this book may be out of print, so if you want a copy try searching any of the online web stores. You may also try the DK publishing website at http://www.dk.com 

Chef John Vyhnanek says, "Bravo Giuliano!"

Other pasta recipes that are in the book are pictured above.

Pasta Primavera (pg. 60)

Ingredients:

4 oz asparagus 

4 Tbsp. butter

1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion 

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1 /2 cup finely diced carrots 

3/4 cup finely diced zucchini 

1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper 

salt and freshly ground black pepper 

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 

2 Tbsp. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Trim and peel the lower green portions of the asparagus. Cook whole in salted boiling water in a skillet until tender. Cut into 3/4 in lengths.

2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté to a rich golden color. Add the celery and carrot and sauté for another 5 minutes.

3. Add the zucchini and red bell pepper to the skillet and continue to sauté over a medium-high heat until all the vegetables are tender and lightly colored (approximately 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of the skillet). Add salt and black pepper to taste.

4. Add the asparagus to the skillet and sauté for about 1 minute. Add the cream and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cream has reduced by half, then remove from the heat and set aside.

5. While the cream is cooking, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan or pot. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta to the boiling water in the saucepan, stirring.

6. When the pasta is cooked al dente, return the skillet with the sauce to a medium heat, drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce, adding the grated cheese and parsley. Serve at once.