Villa Mocenigo

400 g spaghetti
400 g small cuttlefish and a few ink sacs
5 ripe tomatoes (optional)
1 clove of garlic
1 small bunch of parsley
extra-virgin olive oil
salt
chilli powder

Wash the cuttlefish then chop roughly. Cook some chopped garlic in a little oil, add the cuttlefish and a ladle of hot water and cook for 15 minutes. Add the roughly chopped tomatoes (skinned and with their seeds removed) and when the sauce has thickened, break the ink sacs into the pan. Season with a handful of chopped parsley, salt and few red chilli. Allow the sauce to cook for a few minutes before spooning in the cooked spaghetti.
Another version of this recipe does not use tomatoes; the cuttlefish is cooked in white wine or a few ladles of hot stock.

200 g “tagliatelle” (type of pasta)
300 g of dry borlotti beans1 carrot
1 onion
1 stalk of celery
1 clove of garlic
1 sprig of rosemary or sage
100 g pork rind
grated cheese
½ glass of extra-virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

Steep the beans in water for 12 hours. Blanch the pork rind for 5 minutes in boiling water, drain and scrape well. Peel and chop the onion and the other vegetables and cook them together with the garlic and rosemary and/or sage in a little oil. Rinse the beans and add to the vegetable mixture. Add the pork rind and about 1.5 litres of water. Add salt and cook, covered, over a low heat, for about 2-3 hours. Remove some of the beans (half, or a third if you prefer a thicker soup), pass through a food mill, and replace in the soup.
Cook the tagliatelle in the soup mixture which should be diluted with a few ladles of boiling water if necessary. Before serving, remove the pork rind and slice it into thin strips, placing one in each bowl. Ladle out the bean soup, flavour with freshly ground pepper, add a trickle of fresh oil and a sprinkle of grated cheese.
This is just one of the many versions of pasta beans.

For the gnocchi:
1 kg potatoes,
about 200 g flour,
a few sage leaves,
butter,
salt.
For the sauce:
800 g ripe, firm potatoes
1 small bunch of basil
½ teaspoon sugar
extra-virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

Boil the potatoes, then peel and mash them while still hot. On a pastry board, knead the potatoes gently with the salt and flour to obtain a soft, pliable dough. Form cylinders about the size of a finger and then  cut into small pieces to make small dumplings. Pass these over a grater to obtain the rough exterior  typical of gnocchi.
Prepare a tomato sauce: wash the tomatoes, plunge them into boiling water, skin them and remove any stems and seeds. Blend in a food processor. If there is a lot of liquid, let the tomatoes drain on a sloping surface for about 15 minutes before blending. Cook the puree over a moderate heat with a little oil and leave to thicken for about 30 minutes with a pinch of salt and one of sugar and stirring from time to time. Just before removing from the heat season with pepper and finely chopped basil.
In a separate pot melt a generous amount of butter and add a couple of sage leaves. Bring some water to boil in a large pot then drop in the dumplings a few at a time. As soon as they rise to the surface remove them with a slotted spoon and arrange them on plates. Add the tomato sauce and a little melted butter and sage.
The gnocchi can be also be flavoured with meat sauce, gorgonzola or simply with melted butter and cinnamon.