Wondering what to cook up for New Year? Nonna Ciccina recommends a Pasta Al Forno...

We have an excerpt from the book live and kicking online over at our website so that the lovely people who have pledged to support can dip into our Sicilian series of Nonnas and their recipes.

South of Sicily in the countryside of Licata, we spent a day learning to roll fresh pasta with Nonna Ciccina in her outdoor garden. Cooking up a Taiano is a real process, usually reserved for feasting days like New Year’s Day.

 First Ciccina prepared the pasta dough, returning to knead and roll hundreds of intricate individual pieces of strozzapretti before moving on to the many individual components that make up the layers of a traditional Sicilian, pasta al forno (oven baked pasta).

After five hours of preparation, countless stages and continual poking of the traditional wood fired oven from impatient Ciccina, the Taiano was ready. What we were not counting on was the entire tray being dropped on the floor by her son-in-law before it even reached the table. We saw the funny side, but tensions in the family were at an all-time high. She was not a happy Nonna.

Thankfully, our photographer, Ella, is vegetarian and we’d made a spare veggie tray for her, so no harm done.

Get the recipe here!