Peperini Pastina -- O, waddle I do?



M

Melba's Jammin

Guest
Well? It was on sale at Brianno's and I couldn't pass it up. DeCecco brand. What do I do with it?
Looks like bird cage grit.
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> updated 2-19-04 -- Dufus picture posted!
 
On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:07:05 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Well? It was on sale at Brianno's and I couldn't pass it up. DeCecco brand. What do I do with it?
>Looks like bird cage grit.
>--

Find a baby or make soup.

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
 
Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> Well? It was on sale at Brianno's and I couldn't pass it up. DeCecco brand. What do I do with it?
> Looks like bird cage grit.

I did a search and couldn't find pasta called 'peperini'. But I suspect it's like tiny pasta
dumplings. I'd add some to soup :)

Jill
 
Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> Well? It was on sale at Brianno's and I couldn't pass it up. DeCecco brand. What do I do with it?
> Looks like bird cage grit.

There are in Italy a great deal of small pasta shaped in numerous different ways and with very fancy
names like

peperini - little grains smaller then pepper corns stelline - small stars avemarie - small pointed
grains anellini - very small rings conchigliette - very small shells ditalini - very small elbow
shaped tubes farfalline - very small butterflies

Generally they are boiled in home made broth and topped with parmigiano cheese (I like to add some
grated nutmeg) to make a very light soup. However they are not very suitable to be added to chunkier
Italian soups.

Ciao, Anna Maria

http://www.annamariavolpi.com/page28.html
 
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Curly Sue) wrote:

> On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:07:05 -0600, Melba's Jammin' <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Well? It was on sale at Brianno's and I couldn't pass it up. DeCecco brand. What do I do with it?
> >Looks like bird cage grit.
> >--
>
> Find a baby or make soup.
>
> Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Right. :) I'm familiar with acini de pepe; this stuff isn't round. What strikes me as really odd is
that Hormel (local mfgr. of Spam) has a rather extensive page about pastas!
<http://tinyurl.com/3df3w> I would never have connected Hormel with pasta. Go figure.

All the info I've found about peperini says soup pasta, in a light broth. I wonder how it would be
in a thicker soup; I might use it instead of barley in my next batch of vegetable soup. Thanks for
the reply, Sue.
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> updated 2-19-04 -- Dufus picture posted!
 
Melba's Jammin' <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Well? It was on sale at Brianno's and I couldn't pass it up. DeCecco brand. What do I do with it?
> Looks like bird cage grit.

Use it to make "Farfel". Farfel in Yiddish means "little bits". (or something like that). There is
pasta called "farfel" and there is matzo farfel. Matzo farfel is little bits of matzo that is
floated in soup during passover, it's also used to make stuffing.

Pasta farfel is little bits, cooked into a side dish not unlike rice pilaf.

Here's how Mom taught me to make Farfel (also known as "egg barley and mushrooms"):

1 onion (small or medium, to taste) 5-6 ounces of sliced mushrooms (half the package) 1 clove of
garlic, minced

Dice the onion and saute in a small amount of fat. (Butter, oil, chicken fat, whatever you have or
desire. Oil adds litle flavor, butter and chicken fat add lots of flavor. You get the idea). When
the onion becomes soft and transparent, add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms are
soft and give off liquid.

Stir in:

Half a pound of peperini (could also use orzo or any other tiny pasta)

Coat the pasta with the liquid in the pan and cook until the pasta grains start to toast and turn a
pale golden brown.

Add 2 cups of chicken stock. (Canned is ok.)

Add black pepper and taste and adjust salt if necessary.

Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat and simmer until pasta is tender and all the liquid is absorbed,
about 5-8 minutes.

Makes quite a bit...it's a very nice side dish to baked chicken or really anything. Leftovers are
nice for lunch the next day.

This is how my mom (and lots of other Jewish Mommas) made it. I have been known to add diced carrot
and celery, and sometimes frozen peas, just because I always figure if you add something green to a
starch, it becomes more like a meal, and peas are my favorite vegetable.

I made this with some tiny pasta 6 pointed stars that someone...Ginny? Gloria P? sent me months
ago. Yummy.
 
Melba's Jammin' <[email protected]> deliciously posted in
news:[email protected]:

> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Curly
> Sue) wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:07:05 -0600, Melba's Jammin' <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> >Well? It was on sale at Brianno's and I couldn't pass it up. DeCecco brand. What do I do with
>> >it? Looks like bird cage grit.
>> >--
>>
>> Find a baby or make soup.
>>
>> Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
>
> Right. :) I'm familiar with acini de pepe; this stuff isn't round. What strikes me as really odd
> is that Hormel (local mfgr. of Spam) has a rather extensive page about pastas!
> <http://tinyurl.com/3df3w> I would never have connected Hormel with pasta. Go figure.
>
> All the info I've found about peperini says soup pasta, in a light broth. I wonder how it would be
> in a thicker soup; I might use it instead of barley in my next batch of vegetable soup. Thanks for
> the reply, Sue.

I have a secret passion for acini de pepe as a breakfast food. Sometimes I like it in place of
grits. Dripping in butter, S&P. No wonder I have to eat low fat these days.

Michael
--
Deathbed statement...

"Codeine . . . bourbon." ~~Tallulah Bankhead, actress, d. December 12, 1968
 
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Sheryl) wrote:

> Melba's Jammin' <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<barbschaller-
> [email protected]>...
> > Well? It was on sale at Brianno's and I couldn't pass it up. DeCecco brand. What do I do with
> > it? Looks like bird cage grit.
>
> Use it to make "Farfel". Farfel in Yiddish means "little bits". (or something like that). There is
> pasta called "farfel" and there is matzo farfel. Matzo farfel is little bits of matzo that is
> floated in soup during passover, it's also used to make stuffing.
>
> Pasta farfel is little bits, cooked into a side dish not unlike rice pilaf.
>
> Here's how Mom taught me to make Farfel (also known as "egg barley and mushrooms"):
(snip)

I'm there. Just came back from Cub with mushrooms for 98 cents/8 oz. And I love pilaf. Thanks.
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> updated 2-19-04 -- Dufus picture posted!
 
in article [email protected], Melba's
Jammin' at [email protected] wrote on 3/1/04 3:19 PM:

>> Here's how Mom taught me to make Farfel (also known as "egg barley and mushrooms"):
> (snip)
>
> I'm there. Just came back from Cub with mushrooms for 98 cents/8 oz. And I love pilaf. Thanks.

Barb, that's a great price for mushrooms! Now I'm craving farfel!

I make it with Orzo when I can't find the "egg barley" (Manischewitz or Rokeach makes it, usually
found in the Jewish food section). Only difference is one is egg pasta and one is just water pasta.
If you use the chicken fat, better to use non-egg pasta...why compound cholesterol on top of
cholesterol? Except for the shape, there really is no noticeable difference between using egg pasta
vs. non-egg pasta.

Let me know how you like it!