Odette Williams had to postpone a trip to Italy because of the pandemic. So instead, she spent her lockdown time teaching herself how to make pasta at home. A long-time lover of Italian food, she realized that she had made it to the age of 40 without once making pasta herself. She set about to change that. And then she chose to teach us all how we can make homemade pasta too, even on a weeknight.
To me, Simple Pasta feels like it’s been written in two parts. The first part is all about the homemade pasta—the techniques, the recipes, the shapes, and the simple sauces and crunchy toppings that home cooks can use to make new dishes, to develop new skills, to open up new possibilities. Then the second half of the book is seasonal recipes for those new pastas you’ve learned to make alongside ideas for appetizers, salads, mains, sides, cocktails, and desserts. The first part of the book is the isolation of lockdown; the second is the enjoyment of reconnecting with family and friends. As the subtitle says, “Pasta made easy. Life made better.”
So Williams starts with her pasta recipes, and she makes them pretty accessible to a beginner. She only has three basic pasta recipes—egg, gnocchi, and semolina. The egg dough is a lighter, more delicate pasta that works well rolled into sheets and then cut into lengths like fettucine or pappardelle. The semolina dough is good for shapes like farfalle (bowties) or orecchiette, and it works well with heavier, meatier sauces. There are recipes for a ricotta and a potato gnocchi, so you can make a lighter one for warmer months and a starchier one for colder nights. These pages have lots of photos to go with the detailed instructions, so beginner and intermediate pasta makers can see the process, from the dough coming together to rolling it out and shaping and filling it.
But despite all of the intricate instruction of the hand-crafted pasta, Williams throws no shade to those who aren’t interested. If you want to use dried pasta, there is no shame. If you use jarred sauce, she’s okay with that. But if you want to make your own, she includes recipes for several tomato-based sauces, from quick ones you can throw together to Nonna’s Homemade Passata, which you can can and use as a base for your heartier sauces all winter long. There are also a selection of pestos with herbs, nuts, cheese, and even one with Tuscan kale. The she talks about cooked, flavored bread crumbs that will add a layer of flavor and texture to your pasta dish and includes her ultimate garlic bread recipe.
If that were the entire cookbook, that would be enough to keep pasta cooks busy for weeks with new skills to test and dishes to serve. But then Williams offers a collection of recipes for each season which read like a party menu. Some of these recipes are for the pastas you just learned, like summer’s Lobster Ravioli or winter’s Creamy Wild Mushroom & Potato Gnocchi or spring’s Artichoke, Pea & French Feta Farfalle. But there are other dishes to round that out. So with autumn’s Garganelli with Vodka Sauce, there are also recipes for a Marinated Peppers, Gruyere & Hazelnut Dip for a starter, Sanpelligrino 75, a citrusy cocktail with Prosecco, an arugula salad, Superior Schnitzel, Midnight Fettucine with Seared Scallops, “Yum, You’re Lovely” Classic Bolognese Lasagna, and a Sesame & Honey Panna Cotta to finish. Reading these seasonal recipes feels like seeing a menu for an amazing dinner party that I would love to attend.
There is a lot to love about Simple Pasta, but it does feel a little disjointed at times. The first part, teaching fresh pasta neophytes to whip up a fresh egg dough for a Tuesday night dinner is encouraging and instructive. The second half feels more aspirational, creating feasts of Italian food that include lots of the fresh pasta along with beautiful dishes that may pair well with the pasta or may overshadow the pasta. I do understand the journey that Williams is taking us on in this book, but I can see how some readers could be thrown by the transition and be put off the cookbook for that. I hope not, because this book is genuinely lovely, with lots of gorgeous photography, delicious dishes that feel like small celebrations, warmth and understanding in the directions, and the hospitality that Italian food evokes.
I’ve received a free copy of Simple Pasta from Ten Speed Press in exchange for a free and unbiased review, with many thanks.
