Nonna's Noodles: News
Liz Crane Article Oct. 30, 2009
Delicate strands bring Italy stateside
In Season: Noodles
By Liz Crain
The Portland Tribune, Feb 22, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009
(news photo)
Courtesy of Nonna’s Noodles
Sarah-Beth Censoni-Johnson uses unbleached wheat flour and local eggs in her Nonna’s Noodles, which are based on her grandmother’s recipe and available at area farmers markets.
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Ever since she can remember, Sarah-Beth Censoni-Johnson has made pasta with her dad’s mom, now 88 years old.
When Censoni-Johnson was a little girl, her father’s parents visited every summer from Florida. During those summers she and her nonna (Italian for grandmother) spent plenty of time in the kitchen mixing, kneading and hand-cutting fresh, tender noodles that they’d hang on racks and cook throughout the day.
Censoni-Johnson, who grew up in Michigan with a Danish mother and an Italian father, moved to Portland five years ago with her husband. She worked as a veterinary technician and as a receptionist before she began making a living selling her Nonna’s Noodles at Portland-area farmers markets.
For the past two years, Censoni-Johnson has prepared lasagna, fettucine, pappardelle, linguine and angel hair noodles based on her Nonna’s recipe. Nonna’s Noodles are sold in 4-, 6- and 8-ounce bags and cost roughly $1 an ounce.
These aren’t your standard dense and starchy noodles. They’re made with unbleached wheat flour, local free-range eggs from Toadstone Farms in Washington, and water.
They are incredibly thin and delicate and cook to al dente in the blink of an eye. Censoni-Johnson says: “The angel hair takes a minute to a minute and a half to cook. In the beginning people wouldn’t listen to me and the noodles would just dissolve. People are used to the 10- to 12-minute box of pasta.”
Noodles take northern route
Her father’s family hails from the sovereign Republic of San Marino in Northeast Italy. According to Censoni-Johnson, Nonna’s Noodles are a typical Northern Italian-type pasta, made with plenty of eggs, as opposed to a denser Southern Italian noodle made solely with semolina flour.
In January, Censoni-Johnson launched three types of flavored noodles in addition to the original recipe – spinach, sage and tomato paste.
Many home cooks are overwhelmed by perfecting the ratio of flour to water in homemade noodles, but Censoni-Johnson says it comes naturally to her since she was taught to judge with her hands.
She adds, “I use a lot of my body weight like massage therapists do, which helps, but with my new kitchen I’ll have a mixer to help me with a lot of that grunt work.”
Censoni-Johnson has advice in terms of cooking pasta – particularly Nonna’s Noodles.
To begin, “Don’t put any oil in the water. A lot of people think that if you put olive oil in the water the noodles won’t stick together, but what that does is it coats the surface of the pasta. And what you’re trying to create when you boil it is a starchy surface that holds the sauce better.
“So get a rapid boil going, put salt in the water if you want to, and make sure to keep a really close eye on your noodles. Don’t overcook them, and then drain and serve them immediately.”
Be on lookout for Nonna
Last May, Censoni-Johnson moved into a commercial kitchen in Tigard and tripled her production level. With local shelf space and regular farmers market patrons who can’t get enough of Nonna’s Noodles, she’s already looking for a larger facility, with enough room for a small retail space.
If you’d like more noodle advice, Censoni-Johnson’s Nonna may visit Portland this summer. If she does, you can bet she’ll share her noodle knowledge at at least one of the five farmers markets Censoni-Johnson regularly attends in the summer – Hillsdale, Lake Oswego and the Portland Farmers Markets at PSU.
In Season: Noodles
By Liz Crain
The Portland Tribune, Feb 22, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009
(news photo)
Courtesy of Nonna’s Noodles
Sarah-Beth Censoni-Johnson uses unbleached wheat flour and local eggs in her Nonna’s Noodles, which are based on her grandmother’s recipe and available at area farmers markets.
ADVERTISEMENTS
Ever since she can remember, Sarah-Beth Censoni-Johnson has made pasta with her dad’s mom, now 88 years old.
When Censoni-Johnson was a little girl, her father’s parents visited every summer from Florida. During those summers she and her nonna (Italian for grandmother) spent plenty of time in the kitchen mixing, kneading and hand-cutting fresh, tender noodles that they’d hang on racks and cook throughout the day.
Censoni-Johnson, who grew up in Michigan with a Danish mother and an Italian father, moved to Portland five years ago with her husband. She worked as a veterinary technician and as a receptionist before she began making a living selling her Nonna’s Noodles at Portland-area farmers markets.
For the past two years, Censoni-Johnson has prepared lasagna, fettucine, pappardelle, linguine and angel hair noodles based on her Nonna’s recipe. Nonna’s Noodles are sold in 4-, 6- and 8-ounce bags and cost roughly $1 an ounce.
These aren’t your standard dense and starchy noodles. They’re made with unbleached wheat flour, local free-range eggs from Toadstone Farms in Washington, and water.
They are incredibly thin and delicate and cook to al dente in the blink of an eye. Censoni-Johnson says: “The angel hair takes a minute to a minute and a half to cook. In the beginning people wouldn’t listen to me and the noodles would just dissolve. People are used to the 10- to 12-minute box of pasta.”
Noodles take northern route
Her father’s family hails from the sovereign Republic of San Marino in Northeast Italy. According to Censoni-Johnson, Nonna’s Noodles are a typical Northern Italian-type pasta, made with plenty of eggs, as opposed to a denser Southern Italian noodle made solely with semolina flour.
In January, Censoni-Johnson launched three types of flavored noodles in addition to the original recipe – spinach, sage and tomato paste.
Many home cooks are overwhelmed by perfecting the ratio of flour to water in homemade noodles, but Censoni-Johnson says it comes naturally to her since she was taught to judge with her hands.
She adds, “I use a lot of my body weight like massage therapists do, which helps, but with my new kitchen I’ll have a mixer to help me with a lot of that grunt work.”
Censoni-Johnson has advice in terms of cooking pasta – particularly Nonna’s Noodles.
To begin, “Don’t put any oil in the water. A lot of people think that if you put olive oil in the water the noodles won’t stick together, but what that does is it coats the surface of the pasta. And what you’re trying to create when you boil it is a starchy surface that holds the sauce better.
“So get a rapid boil going, put salt in the water if you want to, and make sure to keep a really close eye on your noodles. Don’t overcook them, and then drain and serve them immediately.”
Be on lookout for Nonna
Last May, Censoni-Johnson moved into a commercial kitchen in Tigard and tripled her production level. With local shelf space and regular farmers market patrons who can’t get enough of Nonna’s Noodles, she’s already looking for a larger facility, with enough room for a small retail space.
If you’d like more noodle advice, Censoni-Johnson’s Nonna may visit Portland this summer. If she does, you can bet she’ll share her noodle knowledge at at least one of the five farmers markets Censoni-Johnson regularly attends in the summer – Hillsdale, Lake Oswego and the Portland Farmers Markets at PSU.
Article by Sara Perry of the Oregonian 2009
Nonna's homemade noodles star in pasta dishes
Sunday, May 10, 2009
The Oregonian
Sarah-Beth Censoni-Johnson knows a thing or two about pasta.
Make that five to 10. That's the current number of silky, translucent, golden egg noodles she creates each week for Nonna's Noodles, a business she began three years ago using her Italian grandmother's recipes and generations-long techniques.
Now that the seasonal Portland-area farmers markets are up and running, pasta patrons are making a beeline for her stalls to purchase the two-serving bags. (For year-round locations, check the sources at the end of this article.)
With an urge to curl up at home with a bowl of her craveable pasta and a simple, complementary sauce, I spoke to Censoni-Johnson and asked her a few questions about authentic Italian noodles and to share a quick, simple recipe.
Which came first, the pasta or the sauce?
The centerpiece of any pasta dish is the flavor of the noodles, not the sauce. Keep your recipes simple, especially with my noodles or any high-quality, handmade pasta. Dressing them with a good quality, extra-virgin olive oil and some freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese results in a simple, tasty plate that you'll find in any Emilia-Romagna household, the birthplace of the egg-based pasta.
I've always wondered: Why are some Italian pastas made with flour and water and others also use eggs?
Italian cooking is rooted in tradition, and each region has forged its own identity. For example, in the southern area of Abruzzo, the excellent water quality contributed to the use of water in its pasta while in the northern area of Bologna, the large pasture fields and rearing of animals led to the use of eggs in the pasta and wonderful meats for the ravioli and tortellini fillings.
Do you really have to boil pasta in a lot of water?
There are a few steps that need to be followed religiously, and water is one of them. You need to use a large pot full of water. This gives the pasta ample room to roll around and cook evenly without sticking together. Also, remember to salt the boiling water just before adding the pasta but never add olive oil. Pasta will not stick together as long as it's not overcooked and given ample space to move around. When it comes to cooking, closely follow the package directions for time because each type of pasta cooks in a unique way.
Back to the sauces. Could you give us a few pairing ideas for traditional and flavored noodles?
As I mentioned earlier, olive oil or butter and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano is always good. With traditional, light egg noodles, I also like a spicy tomato sauce, creamy tomato sauce, meat ragu or fresh local lightly sauteed or roasted vegetables. With a lemon noodle, olive oil and any type of fish or shellfish makes an excellent pairing. I enjoy a fresh basil pesto with tomato noodles and a light cream sauce or creamy tomato sauce goes really well with a spinach noodle.
And, if I don't have time to make my own sauce, do you have a recommendation for one I could buy at the supermarket?
Even though a simple, homemade is best, I think Rao's pasta sauces, especially the arrabbiata and the marinara, make an excellent alternative. I've bought the jars at Whole Foods and, I believe, some Safeways carry a few varieties. Rao's is a little Neapolitan restaurant located in East Harlem that began its own line of products. (www.raos.com).
For more information, go to www.nonnasnoodles.com.
Sara Perry: sara@ saraperry.com; The Oregonian, 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
Sunday, May 10, 2009
The Oregonian
Sarah-Beth Censoni-Johnson knows a thing or two about pasta.
Make that five to 10. That's the current number of silky, translucent, golden egg noodles she creates each week for Nonna's Noodles, a business she began three years ago using her Italian grandmother's recipes and generations-long techniques.
Now that the seasonal Portland-area farmers markets are up and running, pasta patrons are making a beeline for her stalls to purchase the two-serving bags. (For year-round locations, check the sources at the end of this article.)
With an urge to curl up at home with a bowl of her craveable pasta and a simple, complementary sauce, I spoke to Censoni-Johnson and asked her a few questions about authentic Italian noodles and to share a quick, simple recipe.
Which came first, the pasta or the sauce?
The centerpiece of any pasta dish is the flavor of the noodles, not the sauce. Keep your recipes simple, especially with my noodles or any high-quality, handmade pasta. Dressing them with a good quality, extra-virgin olive oil and some freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese results in a simple, tasty plate that you'll find in any Emilia-Romagna household, the birthplace of the egg-based pasta.
I've always wondered: Why are some Italian pastas made with flour and water and others also use eggs?
Italian cooking is rooted in tradition, and each region has forged its own identity. For example, in the southern area of Abruzzo, the excellent water quality contributed to the use of water in its pasta while in the northern area of Bologna, the large pasture fields and rearing of animals led to the use of eggs in the pasta and wonderful meats for the ravioli and tortellini fillings.
Do you really have to boil pasta in a lot of water?
There are a few steps that need to be followed religiously, and water is one of them. You need to use a large pot full of water. This gives the pasta ample room to roll around and cook evenly without sticking together. Also, remember to salt the boiling water just before adding the pasta but never add olive oil. Pasta will not stick together as long as it's not overcooked and given ample space to move around. When it comes to cooking, closely follow the package directions for time because each type of pasta cooks in a unique way.
Back to the sauces. Could you give us a few pairing ideas for traditional and flavored noodles?
As I mentioned earlier, olive oil or butter and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano is always good. With traditional, light egg noodles, I also like a spicy tomato sauce, creamy tomato sauce, meat ragu or fresh local lightly sauteed or roasted vegetables. With a lemon noodle, olive oil and any type of fish or shellfish makes an excellent pairing. I enjoy a fresh basil pesto with tomato noodles and a light cream sauce or creamy tomato sauce goes really well with a spinach noodle.
And, if I don't have time to make my own sauce, do you have a recommendation for one I could buy at the supermarket?
Even though a simple, homemade is best, I think Rao's pasta sauces, especially the arrabbiata and the marinara, make an excellent alternative. I've bought the jars at Whole Foods and, I believe, some Safeways carry a few varieties. Rao's is a little Neapolitan restaurant located in East Harlem that began its own line of products. (www.raos.com).
For more information, go to www.nonnasnoodles.com.
Sara Perry: sara@ saraperry.com; The Oregonian, 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201