Louis Cohen > wrote:

> I like your ideas. Is that how you serve bigoli?

Bigoli made with any kind of wheat, whole or otherwise, are "false"
bigoli, as the book by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina calls them,
even though they are now very common. They are little different from
spaghetti and aren't worth seeking out just because of a different name.
Real, traditional bigoli, as still produced in Veneto, are made with
buckwheat flour. They *are* worth seeking out. Here is a very well
known and very nice recipe for bigoli in salsa, a traditional Veneto
dish. The recipe is from _The Food of Venice_ by Luigi Veronelli.
Personally, I would dispense with the anchovy garnish, as it would make
the anchovy taste overwhelming. The dish itself is very subtly
flavoured, given good quality anchovies. There are very good ones to be
found here and they are already deboned. Of course the recipe can also
be made with store-bought bigoli. One could also use store-bought
anchovy paste, but it would have to be very good indeed to work well.

Victor

Bigoli in Salsa
Buckwheat Pasta with Anchovies

Bigoli are fresh buckwheat pasta with a wonderful, earthy flavour. They
match well with simple sauces like this one.

Bigoli
1 lb 2 oz (500 g) buckwheat flour
3 tablespoons butter, softened, cut into pieces
2 eggs
Pinch salt
Milk for moistening dough

Sauce
1/3 cup (80 g) extra-virgin olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
8-10 salt-preserved anchovies, rinsed, deboned, and ground with a
little warm water to a paste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Leaves of 1 sprig parsley, minced

Garnish
2 salt-preserved anchovies, rinsed, deboned, and filleted

To prepare the bigoli, on a wooden cutting board or pasta board, shape
the buckwheat flour into a well. Place the butter, eggs, and a pinch of
salt in the centre of the well. Lightly beat the butter, eggs, and salt
with your fingers. Gradually pull in flour from the inside of the well
and mix into the egg mixture. Add as much milk as needed to make a
thoroughly combined dough that is on the firm side. Form the dough into
a ball and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

Clean off your work surface. Return the dough to the work surface and
knead it for a few minutes until malleable. Pass it through a
bigoli-making tool, or use a regular pasta machine. As the bigoli are
made, spread them out on a lightly floured cloth. Allow the pasta to
rest.

In a skillet, heat the oil. Add the onions and sauté very slowly until
golden. Add the anchovy paste and stir to combine, season to taste with
salt and pepper and cook for a further minute or two.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the
bigoli, stir with a long-handled fork, and cook until done. Drain and
transfer to the skillet. Warm gently, toss with the anchovy sauce.
Transfer to a large warm serving bowl, sprinkle on the parsley and
garnish with the reserved anchovy fillets. Serve immediately.
Serves 6.