Miss Macchiato

At the time, I had no idea who James Beard was. I just liked pasta and cheap cookbooks, and his was on a closeout shelf at a bookstore. I bought the book for just a few bucks and stuck it in my stack of cookbooks, and promptly forgot all about it.

Years later, I came to know who he was: The Godfather of American Cooking. By then I had forgotten I had even bought the book, and didn’t realize until about a year ago when I was putting my kitchen through a hefty re-org.

The book, Beard On Pasta, is now very expensive, though you can probably find most of his recipes in his consolidated, complete tomes, or on ebay. In my opinion, if you love pasta, it’s a book worth having. He’s come up with some incredibly creative dishes that play with flavor and texture, and are absolutely fantastic. My favorite thus far is an interesting dish that combines the technique of souffle and jelly roll — but as a pasta dish. By using really tiny pasta (like pastini), whipped egg whites, and grated mozzarella, he creates a light and fluffy pasta dish with a texture that’s just fun to eat.

This is a light and fluffy pasta-y, cheesy, egg-y goodness topped with a simple and delicious tomato sauce. I’m really excited to share this recipe with you. It’s so good.

Pasta & Cheese Roll in Tomato Sauce
4 – 6 servings
Adapted from James Beard’s Beard on Pasta

3/4 cup acini di pepe (or pastina, orzo, or star-shaped stellini – whatever you use, make sure it’s light enough so they don’t drag down the souffle mixture)
6 eggs, separated
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
salt and freshly ground pepper
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3 cups light tomato sauce (below)

Butter the four corners of a 15×11-inch jelly roll pan (it keeps the parchment in place during the baking process.) Line the pan with parchment, leaving an overhang of about 2 inches at each end.

Cook and drain the pasta. (Note: I did not salt my pasta water. Enough salt goes into the egg mixture later, and Parmesan/Romano also adds salt.)


I used Acini de Pepe, which look like little peppercorns when cooked. Very fun to eat.

Beat the egg yolks until they are light and lemon-colored, then gradually stir in the pasta, butter, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft, unwavering peaks. Fold the whites into the yolk mixture quite thoroughly.

Be gentle when folding. You don’t want to pound out the egg whites and undo all the work you put into whipping them.

Spread the mixture in the prepared pan, smoothing it with a knife or rubber spatula so that it is the same thickness overall. Sprinkle it evenly with mozzarella and bake it in a 375-degree oven for 15 minutes, until it is firm and puffy.

Take it out of the oven and turn the oven temperature down to 325-degrees.

With most souffle-roll mixtures, you would now quickly invert the pan onto a towel and peel off the paper. But you want to keep the mozzarella on the inside of the roll; so, instead, you grasp the extended ends of the parchment paper or foil, lift it out of the pan, and lay it on a large cooling rack.

Let it cool for 10 minutes, and then use the paper to help roll it up, starting with one long side. As you roll, peel off the paper. You may have to use a small, sharp knife to help you along.

Slice the roll into 10 rounds.

Arrange them in an overlapping row in a buttered baking dish. Cover them with tomato sauce, sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and heat at 325-degrees for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Light Tomato Sauce
Makes 3 cups, enough for about 1 pound pasta

28-ounce can Redpack whole tomatoes in puree
2 small onions, sliced
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried basil (optional – I use 1 tbsp. fresh sage, but whatever you have handy works just fine)
4 tablespoons butter

Cook the tomatoes, onions, salt, pepper and basil over medium-high heat for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. If you want a smooth sauce, strain it or puree it in the food processor. Then add the butter and continue to cook while it melts.

Variation
Instead of the basil, substitute 1 teaspoon dried oregano or tarragon or any other herb that you fancy. If using fresh herbs, increase to 1 tablespoon.