Food 03 Apr 2006 03:18 pm
bigolaro!
Hooray! Our bigolaro arrived today! I just have to take a file to the handle; there’s a burr or two preventing it from fitting properly. And then I’ll have to drill some holes in our kitchen table so I can bolt it down. How deliciously destructive.
I’ve been making pasta at home for almost fifteen years, off and on, and during all that time I’ve often wanted a good, simple way to make extruded pasta. No stupid fiddly electric machine — just a good solid press. I often thought, jeez, if only those Play-Doh presses were sturdier. Something like that made out of brass, say, would be just perfect.
Well, no surprise, they do exist! And they’re the traditional pasta-making implement of Venice. I read about them in Paul Bertolli’s Cooking By Hand a few months ago. It took some doing, but Josh tracked down a U.S. source.
This thing is super-hefty. It could double as a home defense weapon. It’s a good eight pounds of shiny pasta-making awesomeness, at least. I can justify the ridiculous cost only because it looks like a wonderful piece of kitchen art. This puppy’s going on the wall when it’s not in use.
Finally we can celebrate the feast of Saint Bigolaro properly.
Well, almost. We seem to be missing the correct die. I hope the guy at Pastabiz.com sends it soon.
on 08 Oct 2006 at 5:45 pm 1.gary maggi said …
hi, just foud your site while searching for a bigolaro,looks like it was made by Bottene in italy was going to try to buy one from them but it would be quiker getting it from san fancisco hope they sent you the right die (pastabiz)did you buy model b? and are you happy with it?thank you for this info i bought cavitappi from italy few years ago and it was a real nightmare!with customs and payment. thankyou again gary maggi
on 09 Oct 2006 at 11:54 am 2.emilio mitidieri said …
We shipped your bigolaro and a die was missing, which one?
Please call me 415 621 1909
on 09 Oct 2006 at 12:13 pm 3.Cam Sculpin said …
Sorry, folks, I could have sworn I’d updated this — there was a little mistake with the die, but Pastabiz corrected it right away. Thanks, Emilio; you rule. The bigolaro is super cool.
Gary, buying the bigolaro from Pastabiz is definitely the way to go.
on 13 May 2008 at 7:31 am 4.Ed Percarpio said …
Fantastic machine. great bigoli. Highly recommend Lidia’s Italy recipe for bigoli dough and her anchovy and onion sauce.
Pastabiz was fine to deal with, no problems for me. It would be nice however if the machine came with some cap to hold the handle on.
One last thing, you’ll find that if you make the dough a bit on the dry side, you’ll have an easier time cleaning the die. It can be a real pain otherwise. If anyone else has a good way to clean the dies please reply.
on 04 Sep 2009 at 9:12 am 5.MikeyLondon said …
Having just come back from Verona in the Veneto region, I suggest that you try making the local speciality – Bigoli con musso.
Bigoli with donkey ragu.
That’s right donkey meat! Fantastic rich taste, very different to horsemeat.
on 30 Mar 2010 at 2:37 pm 6.Michele Girault said …
Have just taken delivery of my “Bigolaro” Fantastic machine…. Have visited Venice many time and have trained as a chef, so of which I did in the Vento Region.
This Machine is going to go in my New deli when it opens.
One good way to clean the Die, is to clean it under pressured water.