Pasta e Riso

Pasta and rice, along with vegetables, were—and still are—the basis of the Italian Jewish meal. In the past, the Italian Jewish diet was largely vegetarian, with meat and fish playing the role of flavor accents to grain and vegetable dishes. Dried commercial pasta was used, but the making of pasta all’uovo, fresh egg noodles, was part of every cook’s training. Sheets of pasta were cut into tagliarini or fettuccine, into wide strips for pappardelle and lasagne, into squares for cannelloni, and rectangles for rotoli (pasta rolls), or they were formed into ravioli filled with meat, brains, pumpkin, or greens and cheese.