Chef Graziella
Agnolotti del Plin
The pinched pasta of Piedmont, each tiny parcel sealed with thumb and forefinger, filled with braised meat that has surrendered to hours of slow cooking. Butter or broth. Nothing more.
Culinary Explorer
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Rigatoni con la Pajata
Created by
The great test of Testaccio: veal intestines braised until the mother's milk inside becomes a sauce of impossible richness. This is Rome's quinto quarto at its most uncompromising.
Main Dishes
Italian, Roman
Special Occasion
Dinner Party
45 min
Active Time
2 hr 30 min cook•3 hr 15 min total
Yield6 servings
There are dishes that separate the curious from the timid. Pajata is one of them. The intestines of milk-fed veal, slow-braised in tomato until the chyme inside transforms into a sauce unlike anything else in cooking. The mother's milk, never digested, becomes something new through heat and time.
This is not a dish for everyone. It is not meant to be. Roman butchers in Testaccio created it from parts the wealthy would not touch, and in doing so, they made something the wealthy now travel to Rome to eat. Poverty creates genius when there is skill and patience behind it.
The pajata must come from unweaned calves. The intestines must contain the chyme. Without it, you have tripe in tomato sauce, which is a different dish entirely. The preparation is straightforward: soffritto, browning, wine, tomatoes, time. What makes it exceptional is the ingredient itself and the courage to use it.
Rigatoni is not negotiable. The thick tubes with their ridged exterior catch the sauce in every groove and hollow. Spaghetti would be absurd. Penne too small. Only rigatoni has the architecture this sauce demands.
Pajata belongs to the quinto quarto tradition of Testaccio, Rome's slaughterhouse district from 1888 to 1975, where workers received offal as partial payment. The dish was banned across Europe from 2001 to 2015 due to BSE concerns. Its return to Roman tables was celebrated as a cultural restoration, not merely a culinary one.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
pajata (milk-fed veal intestines)
Quantity
2 pounds
cleaned and cut into 4-inch segments
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
1/4 cup
yellow onion
Quantity
1 medium
diced fine
carrot
Quantity
1
peeled and diced fine
celery stalk
Quantity
1
diced fine
garlic cloves
Quantity
3
lightly crushed
dry white wine
Quantity
1 cup
San Marzano tomatoes
Quantity
1 can (28 ounces)
crushed by hand
tomato passata
Quantity
1 cup
fresh rosemary
Quantity
1 sprig
fresh sage leaves
Quantity
4
dried peperoncino
Quantity
1 small
crumbled
kosher salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
rigatoni
Quantity
1 pound
Pecorino Romano
Quantity
for serving
freshly grated
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| pajata (milk-fed veal intestines)cleaned and cut into 4-inch segments | 2 pounds |
| extra virgin olive oil | 1/4 cup |
| yellow oniondiced fine | 1 medium |
| carrotpeeled and diced fine | 1 |
| celery stalkdiced fine | 1 |
| garlic cloveslightly crushed | 3 |
| dry white wine | 1 cup |
| San Marzano tomatoescrushed by hand | 1 can (28 ounces) |
| tomato passata | 1 cup |
| fresh rosemary | 1 sprig |
| fresh sage leaves | 4 |
| dried peperoncinocrumbled | 1 small |
| kosher salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
| rigatoni | 1 pound |
| Pecorino Romanofreshly grated | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 6-quart Dutch oven or braising pan with lid
- •Large pot for pasta
- •Wooden spoon
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the pajata
The intestines should arrive cleaned but with the chyme still inside. This is essential. The mother's milk creates the sauce. Rinse the exterior under cold water. Cut into segments roughly four inches long. Some butchers tie them into rings. Either form works. The segments should be plump, not deflated. Set aside.
If your butcher has removed the chyme, you have pajata in name only. The dish cannot be made properly without it. Find another source. - 2
Build the soffritto
In a heavy braising pan or Dutch oven, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften completely and the onion turns pale gold, about 15 minutes. Add the crushed garlic and cook one minute more. The garlic perfumes the oil; it must not brown.
- 3
Brown the pajata
Push the soffritto to the edges of the pan and increase the heat to medium-high. Add the pajata segments in a single layer. Let them brown without moving for two minutes, then turn carefully. You want color on the exterior. Work in batches if necessary. Crowding prevents browning.
- 4
Deglaze with wine
Pour in the white wine. It will sizzle and steam. Scrape the bottom of the pan to release the fond. Let the wine reduce until you no longer smell raw alcohol, about five minutes. The pan should be nearly dry.
- 5
Add tomatoes and braise
Add the crushed tomatoes, passata, rosemary, sage, and crumbled peperoncino. Season with salt and pepper. Stir everything together. When the sauce begins to bubble, reduce the heat to the lowest setting. The surface should barely tremble. Cover the pan, leaving the lid slightly ajar. Braise for two to two and a half hours, stirring occasionally.
The pajata is ready when completely tender and the chyme has released into the sauce, thickening it to a consistency that coats a spoon. If the sauce reduces too much, add a splash of water. - 6
Finish the sauce
Remove the rosemary sprig and garlic cloves. Discard them. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning. It should be rich, slightly gamey, with an unctuousness that comes from nowhere else in cooking. This is the chyme. This is what makes pajata unique.
- 7
Cook the rigatoni
Bring abundant salted water to a vigorous boil. The water should taste like the sea. Cook the rigatoni until one minute shy of the package directions. It will finish in the sauce. Reserve two cups of pasta water before draining.
- 8
Marry pasta and sauce
Add the drained rigatoni to the sauce. Toss over medium heat for one to two minutes, adding pasta water as needed. The sauce should coat the ridges and slip inside the tubes. Each piece of pasta should carry the sauce. Remove the pajata segments and set aside briefly.
The rigatoni must have ridges (rigati). Smooth tubes (lisci) cannot hold this sauce properly. The ridges are not decoration; they are function. - 9
Serve immediately
Divide the pasta among warm bowls. Top each portion with pieces of pajata. Pass Pecorino Romano at the table. Once the pasta is sauced, serve it promptly, inviting your guests to put off talking and start eating. This is not a dish that waits.
Chef Tips
- •Finding pajata outside Italy requires a relationship with a specialty butcher. Call ahead. Explain what you need. The intestines must be from milk-fed calves, and the chyme must remain inside. Accept no substitutes.
- •The smell during cooking will be pronounced. This is correct. Open a window if it troubles you, but do not be alarmed. The finished dish smells of tomato and herbs. The gaminess integrates.
- •Romans traditionally add a splash of the pasta water to the sauce before tossing. The starch helps bind everything. Do not skip this.
- •Pajata reheats adequately, but the texture of the intestines changes. This is a dish best eaten the day it is made, ideally with people who appreciate what they are eating.
Advance Preparation
- •The sauce can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. The pajata should be stored in the sauce. Reheat gently, adding water if the sauce has thickened too much.
- •This dish does not freeze well. The texture of the intestines suffers.
- •The soffritto can be prepared several hours ahead and held at room temperature. Add the pajata and continue when ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 420g)
Calories
620 calories
Total Fat
21 g
Saturated Fat
8 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
12 g
Cholesterol
245 mg
Sodium
950 mg
Total Carbohydrates
69 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
38 g
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