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The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles: A Cookbook Paperback – Illustrated, September 17, 2002

4.5 out of 5 stars 174

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How do you boil pasta? How much water and salt do you need? Should you add oil to the water? How well should you drain it? (Turn to page viii for the answers.)

One part cooking course, one part kitchen reference, and one part foolproof recipes,
The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles tells the story of flour and water like no other book on the market. Extensively covering the basics of pasta and noodles, this thoroughly researched and taste-tested guide is dedicated to the home cook who needs practical advice on everything from penne to pad thai. The experts at Cook's Illustrated present their knowledge and techniques in a hands-on way so that each and every step of the cooking process can be understood and easily executed. The authors leave room for interpretation and taste, of course, but you will not walk away from this book without knowing which olive oil to buy, why egg pastas tend to complement cream sauces, or how to mince garlic.

The book is arranged in four sections, exploring first dried semolina pasta, then fresh Italian-style pasta, Mediterranean pasta and European dumplings, and finally, Asian noodles. There are thirteen chapters devoted to sauces alone, and recipes are included with the type of pasta with which they work best -- from the simplest to the complex, but all within reach of the home cook. As a bonus, the book includes excellent photographs of the various pasta and noodle shapes, and impeccable illustrations clearly depict each step of key techniques. Special sections are devoted to such specific topics as "Are Electric Pasta Machines Worth the Money?" and "A Guide to Popular Cheeses."

"Cook's has always been the definitive word on any subject it tackles," says The Post and Courier, and
The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles will serve as the definitive reference volume for pasta lovers.

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About the Author

Cook's Illustrated is one of today's most respected culinary magazines. It is based in Boston, Massachusetts.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Penne with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Pancetta
The pancetta can make this sauce a bit salty, so add salt lightly. This sauce is hearty enough to stand up to some grated pecorino cheese. serves 4.

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, finely chopped
1 medium onion, minced
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded, and cut into ½-inch dice
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
Salt
1 pound penne or other short, tubular pasta
½ cup grated pecorino cheese

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil, the pancetta, and the onion in a medium sauté pan over medium heat until the onion is softened and the pancetta is crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes; simmer until somewhat thickened, about 20 minutes. Stir in the basil and salt to taste.

2. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta. Cook until al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta and transfer it back to the cooking pot. Mix in the reserved cooking water, sauce, remaining tablespoon of oil, and cheese. Divide among 4 pasta bowls and serve immediately.

----------------------------

Pasta Salad with Vinaigrette
serves 6 to 8
broccoli and olives are used in this basic pasta salad. If you prefer, increase the hot red pepper flakes or replace them
with a few grindings of black pepper.

3 pounds broccoli (about 2 small bunches), florets cut into bite-size pieces

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
¼ cup lemon juice
Salt
1 medium garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound short, bite-size pasta, such as fusilli, farfalle, or orecchiette
20 large black olives, such as Kalamata or other brine-cured variety, pitted and chopped
15 large fresh basil leaves, shredded

1. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Cook the broccoli until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool for 20 minutes. Don't drain the water.

2. Whisk the lemon zest and juice, ¾ teaspoon salt, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl; whisk in the oil in a slow, steady stream until smooth.

3. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta to the boiling water. Cook until the pasta is al dente and drain. Whisk the dressing again to blend; add the hot pasta, cooled broccoli, olives, and basil; toss to mix thoroughly. Cool to room temperature, adjust the seasonings, and serve. (Can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for 1 day; return to room temperature before serving.)

----------------------------------

Stir-Fried Chinese Noodles with Pork, Bok Choy, Mushrooms, and Sprouts

Bok choy stalks take much longer to soften than the tender greens, so separate them while slicing the bok choy (see illustrations 1-3) and add each part to the pan at the appropriate time. The dried mushrooms will need to soak for about 20 minutes, so plan accordingly. serves 4.

¾ pound pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat and shredded
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon dry sherry
12 ounces dried Chinese wheat or fresh egg noodles (the width of spaghetti)
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
½ cup chicken stock or low-sodium canned broth
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons very finely minced garlic
2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
1 pound bok choy, stalks and greens separated and sliced thin
5 dried Chinese black mushrooms or dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in 2 cups hot water until softened, strained, and finely chopped
2 cups mung bean sprouts
2 tablespoons minced scallions, white parts only
1 tablespoon minced fresh gingerroot (see illustrations 1-3, page 43)

1. Toss the pork with 1 tablespoon soy sauce and  tablespoon sherry in a medium bowl; set aside and toss once or twice as you work on the rest of the recipe.

2. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the noodles and salt and boil until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes for fresh noodles and 7 to 9 minutes for dried. Drain thoroughly and toss with ½ teaspoon sesame oil.

3. Combine the remaining 2 teaspoons soy sauce,
remaining 4 teaspoons sherry, remaining ½ teaspoon sesame oil, the light soy sauce, stock, sugar, red pepper flakes, and 1 tablespoon garlic in a small bowl; set aside.

4. Heat a 12- or 14-inch nonstick skillet over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. (The pan should be so hot you can hold an outstretched hand 1 inch over the pan for only 3 seconds; see illustration, page 388.) Add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl the oil so that it evenly coats the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil until it just starts to shimmer and smoke.

5. Drain the pork and add to the pan. Stir-fry until seared, about 2 minutes. Scrape the cooked pork and all the liquid into a clean bowl. Cover and keep warm.

6. Let the pan come back up to temperature, 1 to 2 minutes. When hot, drizzle in 2 teaspoons oil. When the oil just starts to smoke, add the bok choy stalks. Stir-fry until just tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the bok choy greens, mushrooms, and bean sprouts and stir-fry an additional 30 seconds.

7. Clear the center of the pan and add the scallions, remaining tablespoon garlic, and ginger. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon oil. Mash into the pan with the back of a spatula. Cook until fragrant but not colored, about 10 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the scallions, garlic, and ginger into the vegetables for 20 seconds.

8. Return the pan to the heat and add the cooked pork and noodles. Stir in the sauce and stir-fry until the ingredients are well coated with sauce and sizzling hot, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Clarkson Potter; Illustrated edition (September 17, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 060980930X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0609809303
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.88 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.3 x 1.3 x 9.07 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 174

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
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174 global ratings
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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2012
I do not understand all the reviewers who call this text incomplete. Obviously they scanned it and did not actually READ this book. The authors included copious information about each pasta recipe, what kinds of sauces those particular pasta's go best with, and then filled the chapter with lots of recipes to go with those sauces. For example, chapter 15 (I opened the book to a random spot for this) discusses sauces with meat. The chapter introduces itself with a two page write up about meat sauces, which pastas go best with them AND WHY, along with what types of meats should go with those sauces. They then included tips on cooking the sauces properly. Following that very thorough introduction, the remainder of the chapter is recipes. 4 bolognese recipes, 5 rigatoni recipes,5 sausage sauce recipes, then a thorough column on how to make meatballs along with what appears to be a very good meatball recipe. Then there is another thorough column on ribs/chops, along with 5 appropriate recipes. Oh, and the book literally has HUNDREDS of recipes. How is that incomplete? Who needs more than that for pasta?

The whole book is thorough like that. The introductory chapters are thorough with the basics, including pasta recipes, the best way to prepare garlic, a nice write up regarding olive oil, things you can skip and things you should never cheat on. They cover cheeses, which ones are best with which pastas, meats and sauces and even fully explains butter in a way I've never seen. I grew up on a farm where we made butter almost every day. Trust me when I say, I know a lot about butter. My mother was a pastry chef and a professional cook for years. So I already knew a LOT of the stuff in this book, yet I learn something new every time I pick it up. We now eat pasta about 3 times a week in my house and my children are thrilled with everything we've tried so far from this book. I highly recommend the recipe for the Fettuccine with Prosciutto and Cream but my family loves Pecorino Romano so we subbed that for the Parmesan the recipe calls for. Very delicious dish. My children loved it.

I don't know how many different flavors of pasta are available at your stores, but there are less than 5 at any store local to me. The book has 12 different recipes for pasta. That is just the noodles themselves. How many different ways could you think of assembling flour and a liquid to make noodles? Now that has nothing to do with how you shape the noodles. That's just the pasta recipes. There's an entire chapter dedicated to types of noodles (not flavors, not recipes, just the different kinds of noodles, like gnocci, spaetzle, fettuccine, rigatoni, etc. LOTS.) It then tells you how to shape many of these (the ones that can be done without an extruder.) Someone posted in their review that this text only talks about using dried noodles. I can't fathom where that idea came from. They thoroughly discuss using dried vs. fresh and adamantly prefer fresh for MOST of the recipes in the book. The also discuss egg noodles vs egg-less noodles. My family prefers the body of a homemade egg noodle so we only use those kind for all the recipes but they tell you when to use each. They don't tell you at each individual recipe. They do assume that you can read and remember from one page to the next that at the beginning of the chapter, they told you which noodles to use for what. When in doubt, READ. I think many people treat this book like an ordinary cookbook instead of the valuable tool it really is. If you ONLY want a book full of recipes, this is not the book for you. If you really want a complete book on noodles and pasta, this is definitely the book for you. If there is any flavor combination not included here as a specific recipe, you will be well armed to create it yourself after reading this book. You will KNOW what to assemble together and what NOT to assemble. You will be able to make the best pasta ever, every single night if you wish and never eat the same dish twice. If you feel comfortable in the kitchen, start playing with the recipes. You will quickly find, if you follow the advice in the text, you will never go wrong. Don't combine things they say not to combine, blend flavors they say go together and you can make ANY pasta dish you like and they will always taste wonderful. This text is outstanding!

If you must force me to give it a "con" then it would be the same as any other paperback cookbook. Every time I opened it to cook from it, the book kept wanting to close. I wish all cookbooks came in a spiral binding or a 3-5 ring option. Standard hard cover and standard paperback cookbooks are not really "cook friendly." I might eventually take it to kinko's or somewhere for a giant hole punch! I'm willing to take it apart to make it easier to work with. Trust me, it will be your new best friend in the kitchen. If you don't have a pasta roller, get one. You will never look back. They are not that expensive. I bought the Atlas. You can buy what you want and spend anywhere from $25 to $300 on a simple pasta roller. I'm pleased as punch with a sturdy Atlas. Combined with this book, it is always out in my kitchen!!!
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Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2007
`The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles' by the Editors of `Cooks Illustrated' Magazine is one of those books whose outstanding value is obvious almost immediately upon opening to the Table of Contents. This was surprising to me, as this is not the case with most other `Cooks Illustrated' books. There is just something about the meeting of this subject with the classic `Cooks Illustrated' approach to things which comes up a winner.

The first positive impression is the excellent organization of the chapters into different types of pastas, noodles, and sauces for same. While there are many excellent books about on pasta dishes, most especially `The Top100 Best Pasta Sauces' by Diane Seed and just about any book by Marcella Hazan, Lidia Bastianich, or Ruth Rodgers and Rose Gray of London's River Café, this `Cooks Illustrated' volume organizes our thinking about the sauces to make us all much better at improvising our own pasta sauces. It divides pasta sauces into:

Olive Oil based sauces, both cooked and uncooked.

Pesto and other pureed sauces.

Butter and Cheese sauces, such as spaghetti alla Carbonara

Cream Sauces, such as Fettuccine Alfredo

Sauces with Bread Crumbs

Cooked Sauces with Fresh Tomatoes

Canned Tomato Sauces, such as Pasta Puttanesca and Vodka Cream sauce

Sauces with Vegetables, such as `cabbage and noodles' and `pasta Primavera'

Sauces with Beans and Lentils

Sauces with Meat, such as the classic Bolognese sauce

Sauces with Seafood, such as clam and other shellfish sauces.

Like Seed's book and virtually any other book on pasta and noodles, the subject really is pasta and noodle dishes, although this volume, true to its title, gives as much about actually making a wide variety of pastas. It also covers just about every conceivable form of noodle, including the German spatzle, the North African couscous, gnocchis (the bridge between the Italian and the German forms of dumpling), Japanese noodles (soba, somen, ramen, and udon) and Chinese noodles, especially rice and cellophane noodles.

The book can easily be forgiven for spending more time on the Italian noodle than on any other subject, as this is the primary interest of most English speaking readers. To this end, the book includes excellently detailed tutorials on making fresh pastas, with and without egg, with vegetable and herb additions, spatzle, and several varieties of gnocchi. It does not, however, teach us how to make couscous or any of the oriental noodle types, which is fine with me, as I believe they are techniques which require far more practice and patience than the classic Italian or German noodle.

I love a cookbook that sheds new light on a dish I've made a dozen times and consider `my own'. This is what happens here when I read the material on combining cabbage and noodles in a dish. It reminds me of how to best cut the cabbage, but it significantly adds to my knowledge of how to braise the cabbage and combine it with the noodles at just the right time.

`Cooks Illustrated' tends to squeeze a lot of the `joie de vivre' out of cooking in their articles by starting off with a clean slate, as if no one had ever made the dish they are discussing in an article. Cooking is one of those crafts where centuries of practice have pretty much arrived at the best way to do most things without loading us up with all the paraphernalia of experimental science. But, with this subject, proper respect is given to tradition, and to the recommendations of such culinary sages as Paula Wolfert on couscous and Marcella Hazan on pasta.

Their finest contributions are the sidebarred tutorials on everything from preparing artichokes to opening clams. This makes the book superb for the novices who happen to enjoy experimenting with their own variations of pasta dishes.

I must also mention that as a trade paperback, this manual of riches lists for less than $20, about half the cost of a book of recipes from an A-List culinary writer.
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Top reviews from other countries

S. Miles
5.0 out of 5 stars Friend's recommendation paid off
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 27, 2012
Great book - ordered at same time as buying a pasta machine, so I could get creative right away. This is like my pasta bible now...
G. Bisaillon
3.0 out of 5 stars Make the sauces but not the pasta
Reviewed in Canada on February 5, 2008
I thought everyone knew that pasta should be made with the hardest (least starchy) flour, or, better yet, with durum semolina. That's why Italy imports zillions of tons of durum wheat from us.

Yet, this book tells you to use all-purpose flour!

The pasta is not merely the carrier for the sauce, and properly-made pasta is a real treat, but you will never experience this if you pair your lovingly-made sauce with pasta made with flour that was never meant to be used for that purpose.

So, buy this book for the sauce recipes, but to make pasta, use the directions that come with your Italian pasta maker. Or buy fresh pasta.
8 people found this helpful
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B. Cavener
2.0 out of 5 stars Meh
Reviewed in Canada on August 25, 2016
I am very disappointed in this book. Forget any pictures,there are none. A giant book of the same thing just with different pasta. You're better off to search the internet for better authentic pasta recipes.