Mattarello's Bolognese Pasta - San Francisco
Pasta made just the way the Bolognese do
"I used to think I knew how to make pasta," says John Pauley, owner of Mattarello. "And then I lived in Bologna, and learned I had no clue."
After Pauley left La Folie, where he'd been the longtime chef de cuisine, he trained at the La Salumeria di Bruno e Franco for six months over the course of two years. Now he and his wife, Anna, quietly throw monthly pop-ups selling sensational pastas.
Made with durum wheat and pastured eggs from Sonoma, Pauley's pappardelle ($4.50 for 4 ounces), tagliatelle ($4.50 for 4 ounces) and ridged garganelli ($5 for 5 ounces) are as gossamer as they are golden. Rustic orecchiette ($5 for 5 ounces) bear the imprint of a man's thumb, not a machine.
The most impressive? Mattarello's tortellini en brodo ($12 for 2 portions). Pauley painstakingly shapes hundreds of nickel-size pasta rings, stuffing each with cured and fresh pork seasoned with a hint of nutmeg.
Heat the chicken broth he provides while quickly cooking the pasta in boiling water. Combine the two, shower them in Parmesan shavings, and you'll have the simplest of meals you will never be able to make yourself.
Find Mattarello's pappardelle at 4505 Meats. This Saturday, 4/6, Pauley pops up at Biondivino from 3 to 6 p.m.; check the Facebook page for future appearances.