Pasta aplenty

With the highest per capita consumption of 28.1 kg per year, Italy leads the world of pasta eaters, according to a 2006 survey from the Union of Organizations of Manufacturers of Pasta Products of the EU. Venezuela is second at 13.2 kg, followed by Tunisia at 11.7 kg, Greece at 10 kg, Switzerland 9.5 kg and the United States at 9 kg.

Australia is well down the list at just 4 kg each per year, but pasta is rapidly becoming a favourite, both for eating out and home cooking.

The reasons? Economy, speed, nutrition and flavour.

Cheap, fast and versatile

Pasta is economical and quick to prepare. It’s low in fat and sodium and rich in complex carbohydrates. For diners seeking flavour and substance, partnerships of pasta and protein deliver the goods. For bistro operators, a main-dish pasta meal can be prepared in 20 minutes or less for a few dollars a serving.

BISTRO spoke with two head chefs: Santo C. Manuele from Stella Blue – an example of traditional Italian hospitality in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, and Ben Wrigley from the Provincial Hotel  – an eclectic mix of French and Italian cuisine in Fitzroy, Melbourne, for their take on pasta dishes.

In the Provincial’s kitchen everything is done from scratch. “We make all of our pasta on-site as the advantages of this show on the plate,” says Ben Wrigley. “Good home-style flavours and fresh is best.

“We get the flavours we’re after when making our own sauce. My team of chefs gets to play around with flavours and our customers get to see the results of good work from the Provincial kitchen.”

What about labour costs? What about customers wary of expensive meals in a tight, cash-strapped economy? “Now, more than ever, you need to keep existing customers happy. Economical and creative dishes are a surefire way to keep them coming back,” he says, adding that many in hospitality overlook this very important point.

He agrees that his labour cost is “a touch higher than normal”, but says that a well-trained kitchen team leaves very little or no wastage. “I always look after my staff. To have a good team in the kitchen takes a lot of time in training. We have very little staff rotation. This allows us to use all the produce we buy in very efficient way.”

Fresh produce is put to work straight away. To stretch food dollars further, offcuts of fish, meat and poultry find their way onto the plate in creative combinations as pasta, ravioli, confits, etc. “We make our own broths too,” Ben says. “It’s a very important component of consistency and quality food.”

Stella Blue’s Santo C. Manuele agrees that creative and fast thinking in using fresh produce is a must for a good chef. He emphasises the importance of communication between kitchen and wait staff in promoting the daily specials.

“Working as a chef in a suburban family restaurant, you’re always looking for ways to save money,” he says. “I use my offcuts straight away, while they are still fresh and great quality. If I can work it into some great pasta special and let the waiters know, we will sell maybe ten or fifteen plates. Customers like variety; also this way you are serving the freshest produce too.”

He totally agrees with Ben Wrigley about making sauces on site. “All of my sauces are made in my kitchen from scratch. Preparing sauce is quite personal – for example, a basic tomato sauce will vary from chef to chef.  I like to have a lot of control over my sauces.”

Santo prides himself on his creative approach even to good old, possibly boring, (though not when Santo makes it) Bolognaise Sauce. “My Bolognese is a little more involved than most in the ingredients and the cooking time,” he says, an understatement, as you’ll see in his recipe.

Tips for using pasta

Santo uses a mixture of all the types of pasta, and doesn’t say which is best. “I buy fresh pasta, dried pasta and I also make my own. Being from southern Italian heritage I was brought up on dried pasta, and only saw my grandmother making fresh macaroni around the festive seasons –  Easter, Christmas, Mothers’Day and Fathers’Day. Yes, even on Mother’s day, the mums had to cook!”

He provided some tips to make preparing and serving a pasta selection smoother:

Know your limitations: don’t jump into using all fresh pasta if you have only been using dried pasta. Fresh pasta cooks very quickly, so timing is critical.

Cooling cooked dry pasta before service is very important, to prevent it overcooking.  Drain the pasta to cool it, or it will keep absorbing water and become soft. The best way to cool pasta is to rest it on a cold bench (marble if possible).

Arrange your menu so that some dishes are easy to assemble – e.g. pasta with ragout, or an oven-baked dish such as stuffed pasta with a prepared sauce.

BISTRO asked Santo for his signature pasta dish. “I don’t really have a signature pasta dish, but I do have lots of pasta dishes that I’ve made over the years,” he says.

“For example, my Crespelle con Zucca, Ricotta e Salvio Burro (crepes filled with pumpkin, ricotta with a burnt butter and sage sauce). This dish takes pasta to a new and different level – the ingredients are quite common, but the dish is something very different!”

Santo and Ben agree the optimum number of pasta dishes on the menu is around four to six. Both restaurants have two pasta specials on the menu. This not only helps the kitchen to optimise the use of fresh produce, but also acts as a trial for new pasta dishes coming onto
the menu.

“We will give a dish a good couple of weeks trial on our large specials board and gather feedback from our customers,” Ben says.

“We review our menu at the Provincial three times a year with updated recipes, but many of the recipes that we’ve had for a number of years have been very successful.” One of these favourites is the Wood-fired Slow Roasted Lamb Shank and Red Pepper Ragout tossed with Baby Spinach, House Made Pappardelle Finished with Shaved Parmesan.

“This has been on the tables at the Provincial for a few years now and fits in with the warm ambience of the restaurant throughout the colder months,” Ben says.

“Great comfort food to go alongside good wine and the open fireplace. Very Provincial,”
he adds.

Rather than making an expensive ingredient – fresh spanner crab – the main attraction, Ben integrates it into a pasta recipe, Fresh Spanner Crab, Spring Onion and Fresh Tomato tossed Linguine in a Chervil and Saffron Cream Sauce. While creating a posh and luxurious dish, the recipe stretches the food dollar even further, and at the same time is the fastest pasta dish on the Provincial menu.

Santo at Stella Blue likes to develop a close relationship with his regular customers. “I like to give people an experience, which they cannot get anywhere else, “ he says. “With our regulars, I will get to know their taste. Then, when they are dining again I will offer to cook something for them, not from the menu, but something totally different.”

He suggested that next time the BISTRO team are in Stella Blue, to “give him a yell” and trust his judgment. We’ll be taking him up on this!