L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano I t's been a busy spring f o r M i c h e l a T a r t a g l i a , w h o s e popular lunch-only e a t e r y , P a s t a Casalinga, celebrated its fifth anniversary in March. In a t i n y n o o k w i t h c o u n t e r space, Tartaglia and her team serve up delicious pasta dish- es every day based on what's fresh and in season. T h e m e n u c h a n g e s f r e - quently and always includes one dish from the sea, one from the land, and one from the garden. In mid-May, for example, the pasta assort- m e n t f e a t u r e d s u c h l o c a l ingredients as rockfish, rain- bow chard, and heirloom car- rots. In a natural outgrowth of h e r r e s t a u r a n t b u s i n e s s , Tartaglia just released her first cookbook based on some of her most beloved recipes. Called Pasta for All Sea- sons, the book is distinctive for merging the traditional flavors of Italy with the iconic i n g r e d i e n t s f o u n d i n t h e Pacific Northwest. The 50 recipes are divided b y s e a s o n , w i t h a s e c t i o n devoted to recipes that are good "any time." Tartaglia also includes a pasta primer, do's and don'ts for making pasta, and an illustrated guide to nearly two dozen pasta varieties. Food photography was provided by Kyle John- son, and the charming illus- trations sprinkled throughout the pages are the work of Rome-based artist Daniele Simonelli. The publisher is Sasquatch Books. R a i s e d i n T u r i n , I t a l y , Tartaglia has lived in Seattle for some 15 years. She select- ed the Northwest for several r e a s o n s , a s s h e r e c e n t l y told The Seattle Times: "I was inspired by my friends' sto- ries. Seattle was a city, but not overwhelming like a city, w i t h t h e m o s t b e a u t i f u l mountains and the water. After a year, I realized I didn't want to go back to Italy. I w a n t e d t o c o n t i n u e t o explore." She opened Pasta Casalin- ga in 2018 in an atrium space that adjoins the historic Pike Place Market. Many of her ingredients are sourced from vendors who supply the mar- ket. Recently Tartaglia led a cooking demonstration and b o o k s i g n i n g a t t h e B o o k Larder, a community cook- book store in Seattle's Fre- mont neighborhood. As she d e m o n s t r a t e d p a s t a a l Pomodoro, she spoke about her new cookbook and Italian cooking in general. What led you to write a cookbook? The book springs organi- cally from the restaurant. It's a reflection of what we do every day: fresh pasta, fresh ingredients. The fun comes with the seasonality. You want to eat what's in season and what is available locally. In the spring, our Northwest ingredients include aspara- gus, nettles, fiddlehead ferns – these are the protagonists of my cookbook. I was born in the province of Turin, in Piedmont, so learning about Northwest ingredients was an exciting journey for someone like me. Nettles — what are they? I was inspired to cook with new ingredients I had never heard of before. H o w d i d t h e b o o k evolve? The book was two-and- one-half years in the making. I wanted to feature ingredi- ents in season so I would start to create a recipe but before I could finish, the sea- son was over – and now we w e r e i n a n e w s e a s o n . Because of that, it took much longer than I anticipated. The most challenging part was selecting the recipes. I include 50 in the book. At first, I thought: no way, I love them all. I never thought such a small and compact book would be so much work. I'm not the most organized person and in my restaurant, I n e v e r w r i t e d o w n t h e r e c i p e s . N o w m y t e a m i s happy that so many of the recipes we use at the restau- rant have been recorded. W h a t m a k e s I t a l i a n cuisine so distinctive? The pomodoro, or tomato, is the quintessential ingredi- ent of Italian cooking. We Italians could not live without it. I read a report in which Italians were asked to name things they could not live without. The first item was o l i v e o i l , t h e s e c o n d w a s tomatoes. Everyone has their own tomato sauce recipe in Italy. They are all different and they are all good, although some are better than others. In Italy, entire families spend several days in late August or September putting up toma- toes for the winter. Everyone participates, even the men. We can enough for the rest of the year and store them in our basement or pantry. What's your advice on garlic? G a r l i c s h o u l d n e v e r b e overpowering. We seldom chop it in our recipes but mainly use it whole or per- haps halved. And never, ever burn the garlic. In Italy, if you burn the garlic, you might as well throw away the pot. It's the worst thing that can hap- pen in the kitchen. Y o u h a v e s a i d t h a t making pasta is democra- tic. What does that mean? Pasta recipes should never be intimidating. You don't need an advanced degree in culinary arts to make pasta. Everyone can make it, enjoy it, and express themselves with it. There are infinite pos- sibilities. It's not like making bread or pizza dough, which need more attention. I believe it's impossible to make a dis- aster with pasta. Will the recipes in the book remind us of Italy? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. My recipes are a tribute to the Pacific Northwest, but they are infused with my Ital- ian sensibilities, culture, and training. They combine clas- sic flavors with creative twists to showcase our local bounty. I hope they encourage people to let the ingredients be their guide and find new ways to incorporate fresh produce, seafood, and meats into their pasta dishes. Cookbook author and restaurant proprietor Michela Tartaglia holds a cooking demonstration and book-signing event at the Book Larder in Seattle (Photo: Rita Cipalla) New cookbook serves up a year of "pasta-bilities" RITA CIPALLA Pasta Casalinga, a small lunch-only eatery in Pike Place Market opened by Michela Tartaglia, celebrated its fifth anniversary this spring (Photo: Pasta Casalinga) SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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