The Italians are longtime masters of zero-waste cooking, and many of their most classic dishes are naturally thrifty and waste-averse. They have numerous bread-saving recipes, for instance, including the classic bread salad panzanella, pappa al pomodoro (Tuscan bread and tomato soup) and passatelli, a northern Italian pasta made with breadcrumbs, egg and cheese that’s usually served in broth, or brodo, which is another thrifty recipe that uses up bones and veg scraps.
Passatelli in brodo (bread and cheese pasta in broth)
This is pure comfort food: cheesy breadcrumb noodles in a nourishing bone broth. It’s usually made with white bread, but wholemeal sourdough is more flavourful and nutritious, so by all means use that instead (I had the end of some rye bread, so used that). Passatelli is usually made in a special machine that’s similar to a potato ricer with large holes. I don’t have either, so I simply rolled out the dough, then cut it and rolled it into little worms. Like so much comfort food, this dish is ugly and delicious in equal measure, with bright, lemon-flavoured pasta worms floating around in an umami-rich, beige broth.
120g hard bread
80g parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve
2 eggs
1 pinch ground nutmeg
Zest of ½ lemon
Plain flour, for dusting
1 litre chicken stock, or meat stock
Sea salt and black pepper
Grate or blend the bread into fine breadcrumbs, then put them in a bowl with the parmesan, eggs, nutmeg and lemon zest. Mix and knead until combined into a dough, then roll into a ball, cover with a plate, and chill in the fridge for at least half an hour.
When you’re ready to eat, bring the stock to a gentle simmer, and season to taste. If you own a potato ricer (or even a bespoke passatelli machine), divide the dough into three pieces and pass them one at a time through the machine and on to a floured plate. If you don’t have a potato ricer, just roll out the dough, cut into short lengths, then roll into thin, roughly 3cm-long worms.
Drop the pasta into the simmering stock, thenbring to a boil. The passatelli will rise to the surface when they are ready, which should take a couple of minutes or so. Ladle into bowls and serve with more grated parmesan.
