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Simple Pasta

Pasta Made Easy. Life Made Better. [A Cookbook]

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Hardcover
$28.99 US
7.78"W x 10.09"H x 1.05"D   | 35 oz | 14 per carton
On sale Aug 30, 2022 | 256 Pages | 9781984859921
A gorgeous collection of simple, tasty pasta recipes you’ll return to again and again, any night of the week, from the author of the beloved Simple Cake.

“Pasta deliciously portrayed in all its rustic elegance.”—Stanley Tucci, New York Times bestselling author of Taste: My Life Through Food


ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, Epicurious

In Simple Pasta, Odette Williams makes homemade pasta easy, fun, and delicious. With just three base doughs, there are endless possibilities for creating memorable, transporting meals with friends and family. Of course, if you prefer (or just need the convenience of) store-bought pasta, that’s always an option too. 
 
Discover new favorite and beloved classics, like:

• Beet and Carrot Agnolotti with Sage-Hazelnut Butter
• Creamy Wild Mushroom Gnocchi
• Cacio e Pepe
• Carbonara
• Beef Short Rib Ragù and Pappardelle 
• Zucchini and Basil Casarecce
• Wicked White Bolognese
• Crispy Italian Sausage and Broccolini Orecchiette
 
Peppered throughout the book are recipes for side dishes, drinks, mains, and desserts, helping anyone recreate the laid-back elegance of la dolce vita at home. Seasonal menus showcase produce at its prime, creating pasta dishes that are singular and memorable. In Simple Pasta, Odette welcomes you to experience the everyday joy of pasta with the people you love.
“Finally, Odette Williams gives pasta the Simple Cake treatment! Three base doughs are all you need to embark on a delicious choose-your-own-adventure of sauces and toppings, and yes, store-bought pasta lovers can hang too. Simple Pasta proves that Williams knows the golden rule: that most bad days can be improved with a good bowl of Bolognese.”—Food & Wine

“If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to make every last recipe in this effortlessly elegant celebration of life and the table—and thanks to Odette’s many gifts as a cook, writer, and teacher, you can rest assured that the journey will be a pleasure.”—Ignacio Mattos, chef/owner of Estela, Altro Paradiso, and Lodi

“I really love this book. It’s so thoughtful but also so clever and funny. In Simple Pasta, Odette Williams goes beyond just providing you with a blueprint to making pasta at home. She removes any of the fussiness that one tends to encounter when making pasta from scratch and instead transports you to her charming and exceptionally delicious world. Her collection of recipes is not only strikingly beautiful but dishes such as Wicked White Bolognese and Gnocchi with Luxurious Pomodoro will no doubt become new classics in all of our kitchens.”—Andy Baraghani, author of The Cook You Want to Be

“Pasta deliciously portrayed in all its rustic elegance.”—Stanley Tucci, host of Searching for Italy

“It’s rare to see a guide to all things pasta that makes the process so effortless without dumbing it down. Odette gets to the primal, soulful, dreamy heart of one of the world’s greatest culinary traditions, transporting and teaching from start to finish. You hold in your hands a new essential.”—Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli, coauthors of The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual

“Odette Williams knows la dolce vita. Lucky for us, she has collected all of her wisdom in Simple Pasta. The book will certainly be the gateway to countless evenings with friends and family around a bowl of freshly made pasta. For the novice and the seasoned cook alike, Odette proves with welcoming arms that pasta is an opportunity for creativity and whimsy.”—Pati Jinich, chef, author, and television host

“In this stellar outing, Williams’s chatty anecdotes are just as delightful as the recipes and handy tips. This is a must-have for pasta enthusiasts.”Publishers Weekly

“Recommended for its versatility, humor, and general deliciousness, this title won’t disappoint pasta lovers looking to learn the craft of Italian cooking or just perk up weeknight meals.”—Library Journal
© Nicole Franzen
Odette Williams is an Australian cook and writer with a simple, effortless cooking style. She is the author of Simple Cake, which was named one of the best cookbooks of 2019 by the New York Times. Odette’s eponymous brand of aprons and kitchenware has sold at goop, Anthropologie, J. Crew, ABC Carpet & Home, and Le Bon Marché, among other retailers. Odette writes for the Wall Street Journal, and her work and writing have been featured in Food NetworkRachael RayVogueInStyleMartha StewartReal SimpleParentsSouthern Living, and Saveur. Odette lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children. View titles by Odette Williams
Introduction: Channeling la Dolce Vita

The summer when I started working in earnest on this manuscript, I had planned to take the kids to Italy. The pandemic put an end to that; so instead, my good friend Amy and I hunkered down with our collective five kids and two dogs on Fire Island. We decided we’d manifest our own La Dolce Vita. Each night we rolled a lot of pasta as I jotted down recipe notes and the kids waited patiently for yet another 10:00 p.m. dinner. We filled our days with saltwater and aperitivo. We listened to music, dressed up for each other, and put on lipstick, even though it was going to be slurped off by linguine. After we put the kids to bed, Amy and I would sit down with a bottle of red, google “Italian villas,” and daydream about travel, touch, and socializing again. The next day, we headed back into the kitchen and made pasta, yet again.

This book could have been called Pasta, I Love You So Much It Hurts. It’s been a long-standing affair. My love of homemade pasta can be traced to a specific time and restaurant. I was a young kid growing up in a coastal steel town two hours north of Sydney, Australia. On Friday nights, my parents would take my brother and me to our local Italian restaurant, The Trieste, for dinner. They’d bundle us up in our pajamas (yes, we went in our robes and slippers) because by the end of the night, driving home with our bellies full, my brother and I would fall asleep in the back of the Kombi van and have to be carried to bed. Take me back! As kids, we picked up on our parents’ relief and relaxation that only Friday evenings can bring about.

Going to the Trieste for dinner was an affordable treat that we all loved. It was a family-run restaurant with about ten Formica tables and a carpeted floor. It was BYOB. To get to the bathroom you had to walk through the kitchen, past the cook. There was a Chupa Chups lollipop stand on the bar that loomed over us, keeping children in check. We knew that if we played our cards right and behaved throughout dinner, we’d each get to choose one at the end of the night.

Those Italians knew a thing or two about parenting. My mom always appreciated how welcoming the owners were to children. This was back when there were no iPads and kids weren’t always welcome at restaurants. Kids could be, well, kids: unpredictable, cranky, loving, annoying, curious, and excited all in a hot minute. I might be making this up, but I have memories of the owner allowing my brother and me behind the bar at the end of the night to help ring up the bill on the cash register.

Each week, we ordered the same thing: sizzling garlic prawns that came in a flaming-hot black skillet, spaghetti Bolognese that my brother and I split, and schnitzel for my parents. The laminated dessert menu showcased garish premade gelato that arrived rock-hard and never tasted as good as the pictures looked. Dessert was Trieste’s weakest link, something I’ve remedied in Simple Pasta (and in my previous book, Simple Cake, come to think of it).

Dessert aside, everything in life felt right during those meals. I think such a happy childhood experience is why I adore twirling pasta and eating simple Italian food so much. I will never tire of the feeling it gives me. It’s my comfort food. My escape. My indulgence. My way back to a time when life felt uncomplicated.

Sadly, a restaurant like the Trieste is almost impossible to find these days. But that doesn’t mean you can’t re-create the feeling of contentment (and pasta!) at home. In these pages, Italian is the starting point, but you’ll also see influences from places I have lived in and traveled to. I’ve also been inspired by chefs and cooks who make homemade pasta exceptionally well. Their restaurants are places at which I’d happily eat every night, if I could. They don’t just consistently cook delicious homemade pasta but they also fill my soul in a similar way as the Trieste.

There was Dolomiti’s, the Italian restaurant where I worked in my early twenties, and I loved Old Papa’s Cafe in Fremantle, too many trattorias around Sydney to name, and Frankies in Brooklyn (my local for over a decade). I could happily eat at Ignacio Mattos, Altro Paradiso any night of the week. I’m crazy for Missy Robbins’s Lilia and Misi in Williamsburg. It’s dreamy to sit at the bar at Via Carota in the West Village, and Flour + Water in San Francisco is our new haunt, when we can get a table. Il Corvo Pasta in Seattle was absolutely worth the hour-long wait that I made my kids suffer. Rolf and Daughters blew my mind with their seasonal pasta when we visited Nashville. These favorites have inspired me to imbue Simple Pasta with seasonal creativity and the feeling of making everyone welcome.

But here’s the skinny, and why I had to write this book. How was it that someone who worshipped pasta had never made her own fresh pasta until she was forty? Now, I religiously make it for my family. Yes, it really is that easy! I’m guessing I’m not alone. Well, this is the cookbook that’s going to be your gateway. Yes, you are going to make homemade pasta. And you are going to love it.

As well as giving you the tried-and-true classics that we all crave, I’ve made sure the recipes are focused, with an emphasis on produce that’s either growing in the garden or available at the market. There’s a wonderful improvisational nature to pasta; it’s essentially a blank canvas for seasonal produce. I love that pasta can be a quick meal for one or a feast. Once you get to know these basic doughs, you will really be able to play. And for those nights when you just don’t have the wherewithal for homemade pasta in you, reaching for store-bought dried pasta is just A-OK. In fact, for some recipes, it’s preferred. For convenience, each ingredient list starts with the amount of pasta needed, whether fresh or store-bought.

In the end, I did make it to Italy. My daughter Opal told me, “You can’t make a pasta book and not go.” We photographed half the book on Fire Island, where it all began, and then took off to a villa in Marsala, Sicily, for a week. It was exhilarating to travel again. Opal was right, and so was the gelato. Collaborating and creating something from nothing, both on a barrier island and in a foreign country was magical. I hope Simple Pasta ignites your own wanderlust and that one of my recipes, menus, or personal anecdotes sparks an idea that you can run with and make your own. I’d do anything for a great meal and a belly laugh. It’s pure pleasure and joy. My wish is for you to find this feeling within these pages.

About

A gorgeous collection of simple, tasty pasta recipes you’ll return to again and again, any night of the week, from the author of the beloved Simple Cake.

“Pasta deliciously portrayed in all its rustic elegance.”—Stanley Tucci, New York Times bestselling author of Taste: My Life Through Food


ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, Epicurious

In Simple Pasta, Odette Williams makes homemade pasta easy, fun, and delicious. With just three base doughs, there are endless possibilities for creating memorable, transporting meals with friends and family. Of course, if you prefer (or just need the convenience of) store-bought pasta, that’s always an option too. 
 
Discover new favorite and beloved classics, like:

• Beet and Carrot Agnolotti with Sage-Hazelnut Butter
• Creamy Wild Mushroom Gnocchi
• Cacio e Pepe
• Carbonara
• Beef Short Rib Ragù and Pappardelle 
• Zucchini and Basil Casarecce
• Wicked White Bolognese
• Crispy Italian Sausage and Broccolini Orecchiette
 
Peppered throughout the book are recipes for side dishes, drinks, mains, and desserts, helping anyone recreate the laid-back elegance of la dolce vita at home. Seasonal menus showcase produce at its prime, creating pasta dishes that are singular and memorable. In Simple Pasta, Odette welcomes you to experience the everyday joy of pasta with the people you love.

Praise

“Finally, Odette Williams gives pasta the Simple Cake treatment! Three base doughs are all you need to embark on a delicious choose-your-own-adventure of sauces and toppings, and yes, store-bought pasta lovers can hang too. Simple Pasta proves that Williams knows the golden rule: that most bad days can be improved with a good bowl of Bolognese.”—Food & Wine

“If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to make every last recipe in this effortlessly elegant celebration of life and the table—and thanks to Odette’s many gifts as a cook, writer, and teacher, you can rest assured that the journey will be a pleasure.”—Ignacio Mattos, chef/owner of Estela, Altro Paradiso, and Lodi

“I really love this book. It’s so thoughtful but also so clever and funny. In Simple Pasta, Odette Williams goes beyond just providing you with a blueprint to making pasta at home. She removes any of the fussiness that one tends to encounter when making pasta from scratch and instead transports you to her charming and exceptionally delicious world. Her collection of recipes is not only strikingly beautiful but dishes such as Wicked White Bolognese and Gnocchi with Luxurious Pomodoro will no doubt become new classics in all of our kitchens.”—Andy Baraghani, author of The Cook You Want to Be

“Pasta deliciously portrayed in all its rustic elegance.”—Stanley Tucci, host of Searching for Italy

“It’s rare to see a guide to all things pasta that makes the process so effortless without dumbing it down. Odette gets to the primal, soulful, dreamy heart of one of the world’s greatest culinary traditions, transporting and teaching from start to finish. You hold in your hands a new essential.”—Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli, coauthors of The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual

“Odette Williams knows la dolce vita. Lucky for us, she has collected all of her wisdom in Simple Pasta. The book will certainly be the gateway to countless evenings with friends and family around a bowl of freshly made pasta. For the novice and the seasoned cook alike, Odette proves with welcoming arms that pasta is an opportunity for creativity and whimsy.”—Pati Jinich, chef, author, and television host

“In this stellar outing, Williams’s chatty anecdotes are just as delightful as the recipes and handy tips. This is a must-have for pasta enthusiasts.”Publishers Weekly

“Recommended for its versatility, humor, and general deliciousness, this title won’t disappoint pasta lovers looking to learn the craft of Italian cooking or just perk up weeknight meals.”—Library Journal

Author

© Nicole Franzen
Odette Williams is an Australian cook and writer with a simple, effortless cooking style. She is the author of Simple Cake, which was named one of the best cookbooks of 2019 by the New York Times. Odette’s eponymous brand of aprons and kitchenware has sold at goop, Anthropologie, J. Crew, ABC Carpet & Home, and Le Bon Marché, among other retailers. Odette writes for the Wall Street Journal, and her work and writing have been featured in Food NetworkRachael RayVogueInStyleMartha StewartReal SimpleParentsSouthern Living, and Saveur. Odette lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children. View titles by Odette Williams

Excerpt

Introduction: Channeling la Dolce Vita

The summer when I started working in earnest on this manuscript, I had planned to take the kids to Italy. The pandemic put an end to that; so instead, my good friend Amy and I hunkered down with our collective five kids and two dogs on Fire Island. We decided we’d manifest our own La Dolce Vita. Each night we rolled a lot of pasta as I jotted down recipe notes and the kids waited patiently for yet another 10:00 p.m. dinner. We filled our days with saltwater and aperitivo. We listened to music, dressed up for each other, and put on lipstick, even though it was going to be slurped off by linguine. After we put the kids to bed, Amy and I would sit down with a bottle of red, google “Italian villas,” and daydream about travel, touch, and socializing again. The next day, we headed back into the kitchen and made pasta, yet again.

This book could have been called Pasta, I Love You So Much It Hurts. It’s been a long-standing affair. My love of homemade pasta can be traced to a specific time and restaurant. I was a young kid growing up in a coastal steel town two hours north of Sydney, Australia. On Friday nights, my parents would take my brother and me to our local Italian restaurant, The Trieste, for dinner. They’d bundle us up in our pajamas (yes, we went in our robes and slippers) because by the end of the night, driving home with our bellies full, my brother and I would fall asleep in the back of the Kombi van and have to be carried to bed. Take me back! As kids, we picked up on our parents’ relief and relaxation that only Friday evenings can bring about.

Going to the Trieste for dinner was an affordable treat that we all loved. It was a family-run restaurant with about ten Formica tables and a carpeted floor. It was BYOB. To get to the bathroom you had to walk through the kitchen, past the cook. There was a Chupa Chups lollipop stand on the bar that loomed over us, keeping children in check. We knew that if we played our cards right and behaved throughout dinner, we’d each get to choose one at the end of the night.

Those Italians knew a thing or two about parenting. My mom always appreciated how welcoming the owners were to children. This was back when there were no iPads and kids weren’t always welcome at restaurants. Kids could be, well, kids: unpredictable, cranky, loving, annoying, curious, and excited all in a hot minute. I might be making this up, but I have memories of the owner allowing my brother and me behind the bar at the end of the night to help ring up the bill on the cash register.

Each week, we ordered the same thing: sizzling garlic prawns that came in a flaming-hot black skillet, spaghetti Bolognese that my brother and I split, and schnitzel for my parents. The laminated dessert menu showcased garish premade gelato that arrived rock-hard and never tasted as good as the pictures looked. Dessert was Trieste’s weakest link, something I’ve remedied in Simple Pasta (and in my previous book, Simple Cake, come to think of it).

Dessert aside, everything in life felt right during those meals. I think such a happy childhood experience is why I adore twirling pasta and eating simple Italian food so much. I will never tire of the feeling it gives me. It’s my comfort food. My escape. My indulgence. My way back to a time when life felt uncomplicated.

Sadly, a restaurant like the Trieste is almost impossible to find these days. But that doesn’t mean you can’t re-create the feeling of contentment (and pasta!) at home. In these pages, Italian is the starting point, but you’ll also see influences from places I have lived in and traveled to. I’ve also been inspired by chefs and cooks who make homemade pasta exceptionally well. Their restaurants are places at which I’d happily eat every night, if I could. They don’t just consistently cook delicious homemade pasta but they also fill my soul in a similar way as the Trieste.

There was Dolomiti’s, the Italian restaurant where I worked in my early twenties, and I loved Old Papa’s Cafe in Fremantle, too many trattorias around Sydney to name, and Frankies in Brooklyn (my local for over a decade). I could happily eat at Ignacio Mattos, Altro Paradiso any night of the week. I’m crazy for Missy Robbins’s Lilia and Misi in Williamsburg. It’s dreamy to sit at the bar at Via Carota in the West Village, and Flour + Water in San Francisco is our new haunt, when we can get a table. Il Corvo Pasta in Seattle was absolutely worth the hour-long wait that I made my kids suffer. Rolf and Daughters blew my mind with their seasonal pasta when we visited Nashville. These favorites have inspired me to imbue Simple Pasta with seasonal creativity and the feeling of making everyone welcome.

But here’s the skinny, and why I had to write this book. How was it that someone who worshipped pasta had never made her own fresh pasta until she was forty? Now, I religiously make it for my family. Yes, it really is that easy! I’m guessing I’m not alone. Well, this is the cookbook that’s going to be your gateway. Yes, you are going to make homemade pasta. And you are going to love it.

As well as giving you the tried-and-true classics that we all crave, I’ve made sure the recipes are focused, with an emphasis on produce that’s either growing in the garden or available at the market. There’s a wonderful improvisational nature to pasta; it’s essentially a blank canvas for seasonal produce. I love that pasta can be a quick meal for one or a feast. Once you get to know these basic doughs, you will really be able to play. And for those nights when you just don’t have the wherewithal for homemade pasta in you, reaching for store-bought dried pasta is just A-OK. In fact, for some recipes, it’s preferred. For convenience, each ingredient list starts with the amount of pasta needed, whether fresh or store-bought.

In the end, I did make it to Italy. My daughter Opal told me, “You can’t make a pasta book and not go.” We photographed half the book on Fire Island, where it all began, and then took off to a villa in Marsala, Sicily, for a week. It was exhilarating to travel again. Opal was right, and so was the gelato. Collaborating and creating something from nothing, both on a barrier island and in a foreign country was magical. I hope Simple Pasta ignites your own wanderlust and that one of my recipes, menus, or personal anecdotes sparks an idea that you can run with and make your own. I’d do anything for a great meal and a belly laugh. It’s pure pleasure and joy. My wish is for you to find this feeling within these pages.