Molise
A simple Molisan hand-rolled pasta dressed with a raw walnut sauce — one of Italy's oldest pasta preparations. Walnuts are pounded in a mortar with garlic, stale bread soaked in milk, marjoram and olive oil to form a rough, creamy paste. Tossed hot with freshly cooked maccheroni al ferretto — thick, hollow pasta rolled on a knitting needle — then finished with pecorino.
Rich, nutty and subtly bitter; marjoram adds floral contrast; pecorino gives saline sharpness — a sauce of deep simplicity
{"Use fresh-harvest walnuts: old walnuts turn bitter and the sauce becomes astringent","Soak bread in whole milk to emulsify the walnut paste and create a silkier texture","Pound in a mortar rather than blending — blending generates heat and oxidises the walnuts","Reserve pasta water and toss vigorously off heat to mount the sauce onto the pasta","Serve immediately — the sauce oxidises and greys if left to sit"}
{"Blanch walnuts 30 seconds and peel the papery skin to reduce bitterness before pounding","A few drops of grappa in the walnut paste brightens the sauce and cuts richness","Press the pasta on the ferretto against the board to create a slight groove that holds more sauce"}
{"Using a blender at high speed, which warms and oxidises walnut oils causing bitterness","Adding cold sauce to cold pasta — the paste needs the pasta's residual heat to melt and coat","Over-garlic: a single small clove is traditional — garlic should whisper, not shout"}
Cucina Contadina del Molise