At first glance, Flour + Water: Pasta, the new cookbook by Thomas McNaughton with Paolo Lucchesi is not for beginners. While it's encyclopedic in its approach to pasta-making — by showing this reader just how many pasta shapes she had never heard of — it can also come off as a bit intimidating. Once I got past the gorgeous photos by Eric Wolfinger, I had to ask myself: Is this a book worth getting for the pasta lover who doesn't own a pasta machine?
After all, fresh pasta can now be found in every grocery store. It's one of those things like bread; sure, it's better when you bake it yourself, but with such good stuff available in stores now, most people don't need to bother.
But if you want to take the equivalent of a master class in pasta-making, this is your book. Of course it tells how the beloved Mission restaurant came to be, but more importantly, it has step-by-step instructions and photographs detailing the entire pasta-making process, from making the dough to rolling it and shaping it.
There's also a lot in it for those who don't own their own pasta machine. For every new shape, there is a sauce to go with it: luscious recipes like tomato farfalle with chicken polpettine, prosciutto, roasted peppers, and basil; cocoa tajarin with brown butter-braised giblets, butternut squash, and sage; and squid ink chitarra with sea urchin, tomatoes, and chiles.
After all, learning how to make pasta is not only about how to make a perfect dough and shape, but also about how to complete the final product by finishing it in its sauce.
Granted, most of these dishes are more suited for dinner parties than weeknights. But I scoured the book looking for a recipe that could be easily tested with no fancy ingredients, and I found several.
As the book is divided by seasons, I chose a tomato-based dish from the summer section. While the recipe gave an option to make your own tuna confit, it also noted that a can of good-quality tuna packed in oil would suffice, so I chose that option. I also used dried spaghetti, another suggested substitution. And my spaghetti with albacore confit, pole beans, and chile came out beautifully, and with a beautiful sense of accomplishment.
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