2020 James Beard Award Winner for Photography “Evan Funke’s respect for tradition and detail makes American Sfoglino the perfect introduction to the fresh egg pastas of Emilia-Romagna. It’s bold in its simplicity and focus.” — Missy Robbins, chef/owner of Lilia and MISI 2020 IACP Awards Finalist – Chefs & Restaurants 2020 IACP Awards Finalist – Food Photography & Styling A … Finalist – Food Photography & Styling
A comprehensive guide to making the best pasta in the world: In this debut cookbook from Evan Funke, he shares classic techniques from his Emilia-Romagna training and provides accessible instructions for making his award-winning sfoglia (sheet pasta) at home. With little more than flour, eggs, and a rolling pin, you too can be a sfoglino (a pasta maker) and create traditional Italian noodles that are perfectly paired with the right sauces.
Features recipes for home cooks to recreate 15 classic pasta shapes, spanning simple pappardelle to perfect tortelloni.
Beginning with four foundational doughs, American Sfoglino takes readers step by step through recipes for a variety of generous dishes, from essential sauces and broths, like Passata di Pomodoro (Tomato Sauce) and Brodo di Carne (Meat Broth) to luscious Tagliatelle in Bianco con Prosciutto (Tagliatelle with Bacon and Butter) and Lasagna Verde alla Bolognese (Green Bolognese Lasagna).
Includes stories from Italy and the kitchen at Felix Trattoria that add the finishing touches to this master class in pasta, while sumptuous photographs and a bold package offer a feast for the eyes.
Forget your pasta machine and indulge in the magic of being a sfoglino with the help of the rich imagery and detailed instructions provided by Evan Funke and American Sfoglino.
Evan Funke is a master pasta maker and the chef-owner of Felix Trattoria in Venice, California.
Katie Parla is a food writer and IACP award-winning author whose work has appeared in numerous outlets, including the New York Times, Food & Wine, and Saveur. Eric Wolfinger is a James Beard Award-winning food photographer.
Makes an excellent gift idea for any pasta aficionado or avid Italian cook.
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Beautiful book that has inspired me to learn to make “Pasta Fatto a Mano”.
Even if you use machines for pasta, this book will up your skills.
Good grief! Doesn’t some reviewers know that the standard ragù CAN have up to seven types of protein in it? I was great friends with this American-Italian (or is it the opposite? I don’t care!) family who had a wonderful tiny café that made fabulous sausages by hand, homemade ravioli and lasagna. All of these wonders were held together by a wonderful Sunday Gravy that HAD about seven proteins in it. Why? You fill a pot with your favorite tomato sauce and canned tomatoes and a HUGE glug or two of vino. Then you threw into it whatever leftovers you had. Like the big spicy meatball that fell apart. You can’t sell a broken meatball. Into the POT!! More vino, you say? Put some in the next time you walk passed the vat slowly simmering on the back burner. You dip out what you need, add some more tomatoes and maybe the last two or three Italian sausages that didn’t sell that evening. Wonderful sauce. Well, it’s hard to duplicate that wonderful, slow-simmered flavor without different proteins, so NO COMPLAINING! Remember: A recipe is a SUGGESTION unless otherwise indicated (like in pastries and French macarons).
Good recipes. I like the pictures associated with rolling out the pasta dough on a long wooden dowel. NOW I understand. I like the recipes I haven’t had yet, but now I will. I also like the intro to new pasta shapes I haven’t tried yet.
This is definitely worth the $2.99 I paid for it. Believe me, I’ve flushed down more $$$ down the toilet on less appealing cookbooks. This one was SO WORTH IT!
American Sfoglino: A Master Class in Handmade Pasta
By Evan Funke
Photography by Eric Wolfinger
Having watched my Italian neighbor make pasta by hand when under four while living in Los Angeles I believe I fell in love with her and the pasta she made. I have made pasta with my daughter using a simple mechanical rolling device and found it an interesting experience BUT when I saw this book up for review I couldn’t resist.
This book is indeed a master class in the art of handmade pasta. Evan Funke’s journey to Italy and his study of the craft is fascinating as are the many interesting shapes of pasta he demonstrates making in the book. The four master dough recipes are shared: flour + water, egg, spinach and gnoocchi di ricotta. Many sauces recipes are given along with what pasta to serve them with. The tools and ingredients used to create the pastas are detailed. The photography was exquisite and I felt I could taste the food by reading the recipes and through the beauty of the photographs.
I don’t know that I would ever make pasta from scratch by hand on a regular basis as I do believe it would be labor intensive. That said, It was fascinating to find out how tubes are put into pasta, designs are put onto pasta and how fillings are done for a variety of shapes. There were shapes of pasta I have never seen and that was also a treat.
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I buy this book for myself or a friend? Yes
In the links below there is a YouTube video showing the author making pasta as well as an event one can attend and information about the restaurant where this homemade pasta can be eaten.
Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars