You may consider yourself pretty well educated in the dozens upon dozens of varieties of pasta — dried and fresh — that originate in Italy, but the chances are pretty good that you haven’t heard of or eaten corzetti. But corzetti, a fresh pasta made with flour, water, white wine and a pinch of salt, should be on your radar. Corzetti are flat, round pasta coins that originated in medieval days in Liguria. It’s said that they were originally pressed with a coin or medallion. Later pasta makers would have round stamps carved with a decorative design or family coat of arms. While visually striking, the embossing also helps the sauce adhere to the pasta. Chef Francesca Penoncelli, who with her husband, chef Mario Cassineri, owns Ciccia Osteria in Barrio Logan, grew up in a town near Turin in Piedmont — just northwest of Liguria. She decided to offer corzetti at the restaurant as a way of paying tribute to her heritage. “Why not do something that’s part of my culture?” she said. “People are more adventurous and want to try a new pasta.” Penoncelli had a traditional two-piece stamp made with the Ciccia (a nickname for Francesca) logo. I discovered that there are merchants on Etsy.com who make the stamps. But Penoncelli pointed out that you could press a coin in the pasta or, since making the pasta requires rolling it out, you could purchase an embossed rolling pin and roll it over the sheet of dough and then cut out the circles. I own a couple of embossed rolling pins for pie crusts and cookies — also purchased on Etsy. With Mother’s Day and Father’s Day on the horizon, a personalized stamp or embossed rolling pin could be a fun, and certainly original, gift.
No stamps? No problem. Use fork tines to make a design or gently press miniature cookie cutters into the coins.
The traditional way of serving corzetti — also called “crosets” in Piedmont — is with a pesto made with marjoram, pine nuts, walnuts, pecorino, Parmesan and olive oil. But Penoncelli also likes to keep her dishes seasonal, so for spring she’s added fava beans. And, she’s added large shrimp for some protein.
Her second version is an explosion of color. She adds beet puree and leaves out the wine, creating a reddish pink corzetti that she pairs with spring vegetables, a bread crumble flavored with and colored by tomato paste, and a luscious gorgonzola sauce. There are lots of ingredients, but each component itself is easy to prepare.
This pasta is very forgiving. Penoncelli explained that during times of war or hard economic times, there were shortages of food products like eggs. Italy being Italy, of course, wine was always available, so it was used instead of eggs to make the dough.
“Wine gives the pasta dough great flavor and also elasticity,” she noted. “Wine is also used in making focaccia. It’s worked for centuries so why change it?”
The basic corzetti can be made by hand or in a stand mixer. By hand, you’ll mound the flour on your work surface and make a hole in the middle. After you mix together the liquids, pour them into that crater and beat it with some of the flour with a fork. Add the salt and then gently pull the flour into the liquid by digging into the sides of the crater you’ve made. The dough will gradually come together. Alternately, you can place the flour, the liquids and the salt into the bowl of a stand mixer and, starting at a low speed to keep the flour from exploding out, mix the ingredients until the dough just comes together.
At that point, it’s time to knead the dough. Penoncelli has a great tip for dealing with a dough that is too dry. Instead of adding a tablespoon or so of water that could make the dough too wet, just wet your palms and knead some more. Repeat if it’s needed until the dough is soft and elastic. Penoncelli said that the best way to check that is if you put a finger into the dough and quickly remove it. If the dough returns to its previous shape and the hole disappears, it can rest under a tea towel for half an hour.
When it’s ready to be rolled out, you can use either a rolling pin or a pasta machine. Your goal is a thin sheet, perhaps an eighth of an inch — but Penoncelli said that it is a matter of personal preference. Then you’ll either use a floured embossed rolling pin to set the design and then cut into 2 1/2-inch circles (with a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass) or you’ll cut the circles first and then stamp each circle.
At this point, you can boil the corzetti immediately, leave them to air dry and cook them hours later, or you can freeze them. When you’re ready to boil them, Penoncelli says to season the boiling water with salt. Or, you could add white wine to the water, and/or fresh spices like saffron. Because it’s a fresh pasta, it will absorb the flavors in the water, even if it’s only cooked for a minute or two.
The pesto is pretty straightforward, with the mixing happening in a blender. Penoncelli likes to then add the pesto to a skillet to heat it and add both the corzetti and some of the pasta water to create a creamy sauce. The shrimp is quickly seared in a separate skillet with olive oil. Plate the sauced corzetti and top with the shrimp, garnishing with marjoram leaves, fava beans and pine nuts.
For the beet version, you can use precooked beets. Penoncelli said she’s found them at Trader Joe’s. All you need to do is put them in a blender to puree. The beet puree, water and salt are mixed into the flour like the original pasta.
For the sauce, you’ll start by briefly roasting tomatoes and olives that you’ve dusted with a sweet vinegar like rice or balsamic, powdered sugar and salt. Then you’ll make the cheese sauce by combining cream and gorgonzola cheese in a saucepan and melting until creamy.
The bread crumble starts by combining breadcrumbs, tomato pasta, anchovies and olive oil in a food processor and pulsing until you have small crumbs. Then you’ll toast these crumbs in a skillet until golden.
Finally, you’ll make a butter sauce with the vegetables by melting the butter in a large skillet, then adding the vegetables — including the olives and half of the roasted tomatoes. Sauté them but don’t overcook them. You want to keep some crunch.
Finally, add the cooked beet corzetti and about a cup of the cooking liquid to the vegetable-filled pan and toss to combine. Plate the mixture and add the rest of the tomatoes. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs. Top with the cheese sauce and garnish with mint leaves, cracked black pepper and lemon zest.
Penoncelli said that while these pasta recipes call for all-purpose flour or traditional Italian 00 flour, she loves whole wheat and even buckwheat flour for the pasta.
“You can play with different flour, and also spices,” she said. “Have fun with it.”
Golden is a San Diego freelance food writer and blogger.
Makes 6 servings (about 14 pieces per person)
Beet Corzetti Stampati 2 cups all-purpose flour or Italian 00 flour 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup beet purée from precooked beets Salt Spring Vegetable and Gorgonzola Sauce 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes 1/4 cup Italian olives Powdered sugar Sea salt 2 teaspoons sweet vinegar like balsamic or rice 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use 10 ounces heavy cream 1 pound Gorgonzola dolce, crumbled 2 cups breadcrumbs 2 teaspoons tomato paste 4 anchovy fillets in oil 10 ounces unsalted butter 1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted 1/4 cup radicchio, leaves separated 1/4 cup shelling peas 1/4 cup snow peas trimmed 1/4 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed 1/4 cup asparagus, trimmed and sliced into 2-inch pieces Handful of mint leaves Cracked black pepper 2 tablespoons fine lemon zest
To make the corzetti: Place the flour on a work surface and make a hole in the middle like a volcano. Mix together the water and beet puree and add to the center of the crater and beat slightly with a fork. Add a pinch of salt and start mixing the liquids. Then add the flour to the mix by gently digging into the sides of the crater with the fork. Little by little the dough will come together. Alternatively, you can mix the dough ingredients in a stand mixer.
When the dough is well mixed, start kneading it, blending and pressing with the heel of your palm. If it is too dry and seems flaky, add a small quantity of water by just wetting your palms. Repeat if needed until you get a dough that is soft and elastic. You can check if it’s elastic enough putting a finger in the dough and then removing it: If the dough returns to its previous shape and the hole disappears, it’s ready.
Let it rest under a damp tea cloth for half an hour.
On a well-floured surface, roll the dough into a thin sheet with the help of a pasta machine or with a rolling pin and cut several small circles of about 2 1/2 inches in diameter with the help of the opposite end of the corzetti stamp or with the rim of a glass.
Dust the dough and stamp lightly with flour to avoid the stamp sticking to the dough. On one side of each circle imprint the decoration either with the corzetti stamp or with an embossed coin or a medallion.
You can boil the corzetti immediately or leave them to air-dry and cook several hours later. They can also be frozen for cooking later.
To make the sauce: Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place the tomatoes and olives on a large, lightly greased sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle them with powdered sugar, sea salt, vinegar and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Roast for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are just cooked and the skins start to crack and the olives are golden. Set aside.
For the cheese sauce: Combine the cream with the Gorgonzola in a saucepan. Melt over low heat until creamy. Set aside.
For the bread crumble: Place the breadcrumbs, tomato paste, anchovies and remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the bowl of a food processor and process in short bursts until the mixture resembles small crumbs. Heat a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the crumb mixture and cook, stirring, for 4 minutes or until crumbs are golden. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. In the meantime, heat a large nonstick frying pan. Add the butter and pine nuts and cook stirring frequently, until the butter is golden.
Add half of the tomatoes, the olives, all the radiccio leaves, shelling peas, snow peas, sugar snap peas and asparagus. Lightly crush the tomatoes with a fork to release the juice into the sauce. Stir the vegetables and cook until they are still a little bit crunchy and have their nice color.
Cook pasta for just under a minute. Drain and add the pasta and 1 cup of the cooking liquid to the pan with the vegetables and toss to combine.
Divide the pasta between plates and first top with the remaining half of the tomatoes, then sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Top with the cheese fonduta and garnish with the mint leaves, cracked black pepper and lemon zest to serve.
Makes 6 servings (about 14 pieces per person)
3 cups of all-purpose flour 6 tablespoons lukewarm water 6 tablespoons dry white wine Pinch of salt A corzetti stamp or an embossed coin or medallion
1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts, plus a handful to garnish the plate 1/2 cup toasted walnuts 1 ounce fresh marjoram leaves, plus several to garnish the plate 1 cup delicate Italian extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup boiled fava beans, plus several to garnish the plate 1/2 cup pecorino cheese, grated 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated Black pepper Salt to taste 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 dozen large raw shrimp
To make the corzetti: Place the flour on a work surface and make a hole in the middle like a volcano. Add the liquid to the center of the crater and beat slightly with a fork. Add a pinch of salt and start mixing the liquids. Then add the flour to the mix by gently digging into the sides of the crater with the fork. Little by little the dough will come together. Alternatively, you can mix the dough ingredients in a stand mixer.
When the dough is well mixed, start kneading it, blending and pressing with the heel of your palm. If it is too dry and seems flaky, add a small quantity of water by just wetting your palms. Repeat if needed until you get a dough that is soft and elastic. You can check if it’s elastic enough putting a finger in the dough and then removing it: If the dough returns to its previous shape and the hole disappears, it’s ready.
Let it rest under a damp tea cloth for half an hour.
On a well-floured surface, roll the dough into a thin sheet with the help of a pasta machine or with a rolling pin and cut several small circles of about 2 1/2 inches in diameter with the help of the opposite end of the corzetti stamp or with the rim of a glass.
Dust the dough and stamp lightly with flour to avoid the stamp sticking to the dough. On one side of each circle imprint the decoration either with the corzetti stamp or with an embossed coin or a medallion.
You can boil the corzetti immediately or leave them to air-dry and cook several hours later. They can also be frozen for cooking later.
For the Marjoram Pesto: In a blender, mix together the pine nuts, walnuts, marjoram leaves and half of the olive oil until you get a thick and smooth paste. Add the fava beans, the rest of the olive oil and the cheeses. Add salt to taste.
To assemble the dish, boil the corzetti in a large pot of salty water for about 2 minutes (cooking time depends on the thickness of the pasta; taste before draining). Drain the corzetti and set aside 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
Put the corzetti in a skillet with the marjoram pesto and the half cup of cooking water. Stir gently and cook for a couple of minutes at low heat until the sauce is creamy.
In another pan, quickly sear the shrimp in olive oil.
Plate the pasta and sauce and top with shrimp. Garnish with marjoram leaves, fava beans and a handful of pine nuts. Drizzle with the shrimp cooking sauce.
Recipes from chef Francesca Penoncelli of Ciccia Osteria.
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