Pasta Tecnica [Paperback]

Jr., Pasquale Bruno (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1982

"Leads chefs through the pasta-making process....It's a must for everyone with a pasta machine." --Columbia (MD) Free Press

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Contemporary Books, , Inc,, Chicago; 1 edition (September 1, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809258943
• ISBN-13: 978-0809258949
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #387,819 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Pasta

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, illustrated, inspiring!, April 22, 2004

By 

Gari L. Strawn "garigirl" (College Station, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pasta Tecnica (Paperback)

Most pasta books seem to spend a chapter on origins, a chapter on equipment and one little page - or less - on "basic" dough (usually with all purpose flour and eggs) and then fill the rest of the tome with sauce recipes. All well and good, but if you're looking for more, this book is one to consider.

While his basic recipe is the all purpose flour, egg and water recipe you will find in most books, he does include a section on making spinach pasta and another on using pasta secche (dried store bought made of semolina flour).

Mr. Bruno takes you step by step through the use of a manual pasta machine, rolling pin technique, several ravioli making methods, gnocchi, cappelleti and tortellini. My book (paperback, 1981) has black and white photos, but good quality such that all critical steps are well illustrated.

There are pasta sauce recipes and thankfully very little filler about the history of pasta, who first started using pasta, blah, blah, that you'll find in some other books. As Mr. Bruno puts it "This is a cookbook, not a history book...". Amen.

If you're in the market for a book on pasta making, I highly recommend this one for a good basic course. Thankfully, it is still in print (as of this writing) and easy to get your hands on.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect basic home-made pasta, May 15, 2007

By 

Patricia Canellas Garcia "chiiiinita" (Mallorca, Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pasta Tecnica (Paperback)

We love eating fresh pasta at home, and we are used to do it ourselfs...that's maybe the reason why I found this book a little bit too basic for us (if we were not so used, I would have rated it as 5 stars).

But in any case, I think it's the perfect book for those people who have never made fresh pasta at home! It has houndreds of pictures (no coloured) that show you the real italian way of making it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have, August 24, 2011

By 

Becky (beckygardens) (new orleans, LA, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Pasta Tecnica (Hardcover)

Pasta Tecnica should be in any home that has a pasta machine, or anyone who wants to roll out and cut pasta without a machine, or just anyone who likes pasta! This book gives a ton of information. Mr. Bruno shows pasta machines, pasta utensils, step by step pictures on making the pasta and how to use the machines (or roll out with a rolling pin).

Since I bought his book my usage of my atlas pasta maker and my bebo cavatelli/gnocchi maker have doubled. His recipes really work for me.

Not only does he talk about hand kneading but gives techniques for kneading in a food processor, which works really well. He explains what the dough should feel like and gives pictures of what the dough should look like at different stages, and even how to fix the dough if you got a little water or flour happy.

Different chapters discuss different types of pasta, techniques, recipes and pictures! I know I dwell on the pictures (black and white but clear and easy to see what's being demonstrated) but it is just so helpful to know I should be putting my ravioli in and the filling should take up this much space and this is how to seal it or use the ravioli maker. If I'm confused, which really is rare since he also explains each step really well, I have a picture to help me make sure I'm doing it right.

The sauce recipes are good, and worthwhile to make, but the true treasure of this book is the pasta recipes and how to use them, drag out that pasta machine and go to town! The end result is delicious and come on, it's really cool to say "I made that pasta from scratch" especially when Pasta Tecnica makes it so doable.