Pasta is a delicious and versatile dish that can be enjoyed on its own or as part of a larger meal. However, making homemade pasta can be a challenge for even the most experienced cooks. Luckily, there are plenty of resources available that can help novices become noodle virtuosos. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of 8 books that will elevate your pasta-making skills to master level. From basic techniques to advanced recipes, these books cover everything you need to know to create authentic and delicious homemade pasta. So, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced cook, read on to discover the best resources to help you become a pasta-making master.
♦Our Top Picks
1.
Pasta Grannies is a book that highlights the traditional Italian pasta recipes from nonnas or grandmothers who have mastered the art of pasta making through years of experience and passion for cooking. This book is the winner of the James Beard Award for Single Subject and is inspired by the famous Pasta Grannies YouTube channel.
The book features easy-to-follow recipes from all across Italy, ranging from simple hand-rolled spaghetti to more complex cinnamon-scented tube pasta. Each nonna featured in the book has their own unique and treasured recipe. Pasta Grannies offers a diverse collection of authentic Italian dishes, showcasing the skill, expertise, and stories of the amazing women who have dedicated their lives to cooking. Through this book, readers will be transported into the heart of an Italian home and learn to make delicious and great-tasting Italian food, just like nonnas do.
2.
Mastering Pasta is the ultimate guide to pasta-making, authored by award-winning chef Marc Vetri. After years of research and exploration in Italy, Vetri shares his vast knowledge of pasta, gnocchi, and risotto in this informative and inspiring primer. The book features more than 100 recipes, along with expert tips and techniques on how to make and enjoy fresh handmade pasta.
Whether you’re a professional chef or a home cook, Vetri’s personal stories and detailed explanations will guide you through making more than 30 different types of pasta dough, from classic egg yolk dough to unique flavored pastas. In addition to step-by-step instructions on shaping and cooking pasta, Vetri also shares his coveted recipes for stuffed pastas, baked pastas, and pasta sauces, as well as the science behind the perfect texture of pasta using various types of flour. With suggestions for substituting pasta shapes and tips on advance preparation and storage, Mastering Pasta is the only book you’ll ever need to serve up outstanding pasta dishes in your own kitchen.
3.
Pasta is a comprehensive and informative guide to pasta-making from award-winning chef Marc Vetri. The result of years of research and dedication to the craft, this book features over 100 recipes and expert tips and techniques on how to make and enjoy fresh handmade pasta, gnocchi, and risotto.
With easy-to-follow instructions, Vetri shows readers how to make a variety of pasta doughs, including egg yolk dough, extruded semolina dough, and various flavored pastas. Whether you’re a home cook or a professional chef, Vetri’s personal stories and detailed explanations will guide you through shaping pasta into both familiar and unique shapes, and creating classic and innovative dishes using stuffed pastas, baked pastas, and pasta sauces. He even shares his renowned recipes for light-as-air gnocchi and the perfect dish of risotto.
Packed with valuable knowledge, including the science behind the texture of various types of flour, the best ways to cook and sauce pasta, and suggestions for substituting pasta shapes, this book is the ultimate guide to crafting outstanding pasta dishes in your own kitchen. Mastering Pasta is a testament to Vetri’s expertise and passion for Italian cuisine, and is an essential addition to any culinary library.
4.
Pasta Every Day is a must-have guide to making homemade pasta doughs, shapes, fillings, and sauces, written by celebrated pasta instructor and professional pasta maker Meryl Feinstein. Winner of the 2024 James Beard Award and named one of the best cookbooks of the year by The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Vice, and The LA Times, this book is filled with clever techniques and spectacularly delicious results.
Featuring step-by-step photos and videos accessible via QR code, Feinstein’s guide makes pasta-making easy and approachable for cooks of all levels. From simple four-ingredient pici in butter to incredibly special agnolotti stuffed with braised shallots and Grana Padano, the book offers a wide range of pasta shapes and fillings, as well as dozens of sauces to take your pasta to the next level. With modern takes on Italian classics and options for gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan diets, Pasta Every Day brings the joy of fresh pasta to your kitchen every day.
Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a beginner, Pasta Every Day is the ultimate guide to creating homemade pasta dishes that are endlessly reinventable and comforting. With Meryl Feinstein’s expert guidance, you’ll be making spectacular pasta meals with ease, and discovering just how satisfying it can be to make something so delicious and special from scratch.
5.
Anything’s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People is a fun and inventive cookbook by James Beard Award-winning podcaster Dan Pashman. With a foreword from bestselling author J. Kenji López-Alt, this charmingly obsessive cookbook is the perfect guide for anyone looking to break out of their pasta sauce rut and try something new.
Pashman, who created the viral sensation cascatelli pasta shape designed to hold tons of sauce, now turns his attention to reinventing pasta sauces themselves. In this book, Pashman showcases an incredible array of recipes inspired by a range of ingredients and cuisines and includes lesser-known Italian pasta dishes with a twist. From kimchi carbonara to spinach artichoke dip lasagna pinwheels, this book will inspire readers to get creative with their pasta dishes and try something new. With Anything’s Pastable, Dan Pashman proves that the possibilities for pasta are truly endless when you know how to use your noodle.
6.
The Ultimate Pasta Machine Cookbook is a comprehensive guide to making homemade pasta with all kinds of pasta machines. Written by chef, cooking teacher, and food blogger Lucy Vaserfirer, this book is filled with foolproof recipes and step-by-step instructions that will turn anyone into a noodle-making expert in no time.
With over 100 recipes, The Ultimate Pasta Machine Cookbook shows readers how easy and fun pasta-making can be. Vaserfirer covers all the main types of pasta machines—the sheeter, the extruder, and the cavatelli maker—and provides tips and tricks for making every type of pasta shape imaginable, from durum and semolina pastas to buckwheat and ancient-grain pastas. Readers will also learn how to make Asian noodles like udon, soba, and ramen, and will discover a feast of sauces and fillings for ravioli, tortellini, and other stuffed pastas.
Whether you are a first-time owner of a pasta machine or a seasoned pro looking for exciting new ideas, The Ultimate Pasta Machine Cookbook is the perfect guide to pasta-making. Filled with deliciously inventive recipes and expert advice, this book will inspire readers to get creative in the kitchen and make homemade pastas that are sure to impress.
7.
Making Artisan Pasta is a beautifully illustrated cookbook that introduces readers to the deeply rewarding art of pasta-making. Written by James Beard Award-winning author Aliza Green, this comprehensive guide simplifies the pasta-making process with easy-to-follow instructions and helpful tips from Green’s years of experience.
With hundreds of gorgeous photos from acclaimed food photographer Steve Legato, readers will be inspired to try their hand at a range of classic and creative shapes and flavors. Green covers every step of the process, from selecting ingredients to mastering different types of doughs. Along the way, she also includes bits of history on pasta traditions in Italy and around the world, making this book not just a functional guide but also a delightful exploration into the world of pasta.
Named one of the Top 100 Cookbooks of the Last 25 Years for Best Technique and Equipment by Cooking Light, Making Artisan Pasta is a must-have for any home cook looking to elevate their pasta-making game. With this comprehensive guide, readers will be able to create fresh and delicious pasta dishes that are sure to impress.
8.
At My Italian Table is a cookbook filled with 100 classic and incredibly delicious Italian family favorites. Written by Laura Vitale, star of the cooking show Laura in the Kitchen, this book brings the joy of Italian cooking to kitchens around the world.
After moving to the United States as a teenager, Vitale found herself homesick for her beloved Nonna’s cooking. This inspired her quest to re-create Nonna’s recipes in her own New Jersey kitchen, spending countless hours on the phone with Nonna to learn her secrets. The result is a cookbook filled with slow-cooked Sunday sauces, quick pan-fried breaded chicken cutlets, decadent four-cheese baked ziti, and semolina cake, topped with heaps of limoncello-soaked strawberries.
Decades of Sunday suppers, holiday meals, and get-it-done-fast weeknight dinners have perfected the flavors and techniques that represent the essence of Laura’s Italy. With At My Italian Table, readers can bring the comfort and warmth of traditional Italian cuisine to their own tables with ease and joy.
In conclusion, making homemade pasta is a fun and rewarding skill to have in your culinary repertoire. Our selection of top 8 books offers a comprehensive guide to elevate your pasta-making skills from novice to virtuoso level. With these resources, you’ll learn everything from basic techniques to advanced recipes, enabling you to create delicious and authentic pasta dishes that will impress your friends and family. So, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced cook, these books are an essential tool for anyone who loves pasta.
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What techniques and tips can readers learn from these 8 books to master pasta-making?
The books cover essential techniques like dough preparation, shaping and troubleshooting common pasta-making challenges.
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How do these books cater to different skill levels?
The books offer support to both novice and advanced pasta-makers with basic introductions and advanced techniques.
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Can these books help readers explore new pasta-making flavors and styles?
Yes, the books offer a variety of pasta recipes from classic Italian to global-inspired creations, providing new and interesting flavors to explore.
