The amazing thing about Chef Shea Gallante is that—though he’s used to working with the Ferrari of pasta makers—he’s offered us recipes that are just as easily made at home on civilian equipment. “At Ciano, I use a Pastabiz machine,” he says. “I can’t remember, but I think it might have cost about $5,500.”
The good news is that the recipes below (which, if you’re lucky, you’ll find on the menu of his Ardsley sensation, Italian Kitchen) may just as easily be made at home with a machine that retails for about six hundred bucks. Which one? “You know, the Imperia [also made by Pastabiz] with the blue dial on the side. It retails for about 625 dollars. It’s great for rolling out the dough, and comes with a bunch of dies and a roll-out extruder.”
For the more budget conscious, Gallante says the KitchenAid Pasta Roller and Cutter Set retails for about $80, plus the cost of the mixer. NB: if you’re still unwilling to plunk down cash for an Imperia—Williams-Sonoma also carries a compact version for around $60 that clamps onto your counter—or a KitchenAid, you could also simply roll out these pastas by hand like his great-grandmother did. “I’ve kept the shapes pretty generic. You could just roll the dough out on the table and then cut it.”
Julia Sexton is a New York-based restaurant critic, food writer, and CRMA Award-winning blogger. She herself owns an ancient Atlas pasta machine (last aired in the early aughts).
