M'tucci's Fresh Pasta
/Two things prompted todays topic: the first is the addition of another pasta machine at M’tucci’s Provisions that makes ravioli. In the past, the dough was rolled, filled and cut by hand - 10 ravioli at a time. A slow, laborious process that limited how often we could offer house made ravioli on the menu. The second was the discovery of the YouTube Channel and the cookbook called “Pasta Grannies”.
With hand made pasta becoming a lost art in Italy, the series and the cookbook shows how home cooks shouldn’t consider making pasta by hand a chore. The Italian grandmothers (nonne) show you that’s it just a matter of practice, something they have been doing daily for most of their lives. Making pasta is relatively simple, using only two ingredients for Northern and Southern Italian pasta; flour & egg for pasta such as tagliatelle or pappardelle and flour and water for shapes common to Southern Italy, like orecchiette or tonnarelli.
Pastas made with egg use an extra-finely milled, soft wheat flour called “00”. We use Italian and American “00” flour. It generally has a 9-11% gluten content. Eggless pastas are made from a distinct species of hard wheat called durum or semolina. The pastas of Southern Italy use this flour for their eggless pastas, since that is where most of this wheat is grown.
When Shawn and John took the pasta making class in Rome, they made pasta with eggs, which produced ravioli and fettuccine. Both were mixed by hand, then worked by hand on a floured board (avoid plastic cutting boards). A pasta machine (get an Italian machine by Imperia) will make the thickness of your pasta more uniform.
At M’tucci’s we make most of our pasta, then it is lightly dried. While it is not rolled and cut by hand, we use Italian-made machines with bronze-cut dies that ensure the pasta is rough, which allows a sauce to coat the pasta, just like you would find in Italy. Currently, we make our own rigatoni, pappardelle, campanelle, spaghettini, linguine, fettucine and ravioli.
“From the start of M’tucci's our philosophy has always been to provide the best service, atmosphere and artisanal food. Naturally when we had a chance to make our own pasta we jumped on board,” said Company Chef Shawn Cronin.
“We didn't realize that it would end up with having to make 3,000 lbs. a week in addition to 5,000 raviolis. Even with that production, we do it because we know that the taste and texture are incredible and we know where the ingredients come from. From the linguine in the Carbonara, to the rigatoni in the Bolognese, the spaghettini in the Cacio e Pepe, or the different raviolis we have across the board, I know they are great dishes because our people are making the pasta fresh daily.“
This is the episode of Pasta Grannies that hooked me on making fresh pasta:
If you aren’t interested in making your own pasta, no worries, at M’tucci’s we’ve got you covered!
M’tucci’s 30-Minute Lunch Menu
When you want to sit down to a great meal but have limited time at lunch, each M’tucci’s has combined a smaller portion of a Soup or Salad and and an Entree with a Lemon Ricotta Cookie for only $16 and we’ll get it to you in 30 minutes. Of course, we welcome you to sit for a traditional 2-hour Italian lunch.
Locations offer unique items, but all have Eggplant parmesan and a house salad,
M’tucci’s Bar Roma
M’tucci’s Moderno
M’tucci’s Twenty-Five
M’tucci’s Italian
Explora Science of Wine
M'tucci's will be at Science of Wine at Explora on February 24! Join us for charcuterie bites at this 21+ only event complete with tastings, cash bars, hands-on wine-themed activities, and all of Explora at your fingertips! Tickets are pre-sale only and can be purchased at:
Weekend Specials
M’tucci’s Italian
Ravioli - Raspberry Shrub Jam/Ricotta filled Ravioli, Elk Chops, Sun-Dried Tomatoes Tea Butter Sauce, Goat Cheese Crème Fraiche, Pecorino & Micro Greens $27
Bone-In Hand-Cut Veal Chop: Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Grilled Lemon, Balsamic Reduction $36
Pan-Seared Norwegian Ocean Trout - Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Grilled Artichokes, Lemon Caper Sauce $33
Braise - Mirepoix Herb-Braised Sackett Farm Pork Cheeks: Au Gratin Potatoes, Sautéed Broccolini $27
Weekend Cocktail -
Absolute Cosmopolitan - Absolute Vodka, Grand Marnier, Cranberry Juice, Lime Juice
M’tucci’s Moderno
6 oz. Black Angus Filet - Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Salsa Verde $36
Pan-Seared Yellowtail - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Broccolini, Roasted Artichoke, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $31
Beef Tips Tortellini - Cajun Spiced Beef Tips, Grape Tomates, Rosa Sauce, Gorgonzola Cheese $21
Weekend Cocktail
Desert Rose - Vara Rum, Hibiscus-Infused Hollow Spirits Triple Sec, Blackberry Lemon Thyme Shrub, Lemon Juice, Strawberry Demarara Syrup
M’tucci’s Twenty-Five
14 oz. Ribeye - Grilled Broccolini, Whipped Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Smoked Blackberry bone Marrow Butter $43
Pan-Seared California Halibut - Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Braised Greens, Stem on Artichoke Hearts, Lemon Butter Caper Sauce $37
Chicken Marsala - Grilled Chicken, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Herbed Marsala Sauce $22
Weekend Cocktail
Pink Panther - Diplomatico Rum, Liquid Alchemist Coconut, Pomegranate Juice, Lime Juice, Simple Syrup & Cinnamon
M’tucci’s Bar Roma
Pork Shank Ragù - Red Wine & Roasted Tomato Braised Pork Shanks, Caramelized Onions, Linguine, Prosciutto Crudo $27
Pan-Seared Yellowtail - Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Braised Arugula with Garlic, Seared Stem-on Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $31
Weekend Cocktail
Devil’s Doubloon - Mount Gay Rum, Montenegro Amaro, Lemon Juice, Honey Simple Syrup & Maple Bitters
Live Music for February & March
M’tucci’s Bar Roma - Wed 6:30-8:30. Sunday noon-2pm
2/19 Lani Nash
2/22 Eryn Bent
2/26 Shane Wallin
3/1 Alex Maryol
3/5 Oscar Butler
3/8 Shane Wallin
3/12 Alex Long
3/15 RJ Perez
3/19 Shane Wallin
3/22 Cali Shaw
3/26 Lani Nash
3/29 Gilbert Uribe
M’tucci’s Twenty-Five - Thursday 6:30-8:30 * Friday 7:30-9:30
2/17 Matt Jones
2/23 Shane Wallin
2/24 Justin Nuñez
3/2 Marisa
3/3 Lani Nash
3/9 RJ Perez
3/10 Eryn Bent
3/16 Nathan Fox
3/17 Cali Shaw
3/23 Lani Nash
3/24 Matt Jones
3/30 Shane Wallin
3/31 Alex Long
M’tucci’s Moderno - Thursday 6:30-830 *Friday 7:30-9:30
2/17 Eryn Bent
2/23 Alex Maryol
2/24 Javier Ortega
3/2 Nathan Fox
3/3 Alex Long
3/9 Shane Wallin
3/10 Lani Nash
3/16 Matt Jones
3/17 RJ Perez
3/23 Marisa
3/24 Oscar Butler
3/30 Cali Shaw
3/31 Matt Jones
Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!
