TUPELO • When Dominic Cua was 12, he was about his age and got an after-school job at Giovanni Mineo’s restaurant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
“Within a month, I was flying pizza in the window,” said Cua, a second-generation Italian. “They made other Italian dishes too – ravioli, sauce, meatballs. They let me watch. They let me help. I felt part of their family when I was there. “
But Mineo’s pizza house in a largely Jewish neighborhood called Squirrel Hill wasn’t Cua’s first introduction to Italian cuisine. In his early memories, his Irish mother makes authentic meatballs.
“She learned from my father’s sister, Aunt Helen. My mother was going to her house the whole time – I didn’t know she was being taught the art of Italian cuisine, ”said Cua. “She made meatballs almost every Saturday and shared them with the whole neighborhood. People would gather there. I remember the social and solemn nature of the meal. “
Cua, 61, never worked in a restaurant again. But he kept on cooking.
“I did all the Italian cuisine when I was married,” said Cua, who moved to Tupelo in the spring of 2020 to be closer to his new sweetheart. “When we talk now, it’s almost always Italian.”
Cua has been a businessman for most of his career, first in Pittsburgh, then in Nashville. In 2012 he retired from the construction business and the next year took a position in Tennessee as a consultant at a recovery center.
“I’m the consultant and weekend manager there, and after a while, tired of the food being served, I started teaching the customers cooking skills,” said Cua. “They love it. Cooking for a group of people can be a very spiritual thing.”
During the week at home, Cua also spends a lot of time in the kitchen. He could make chicken masala with a spinach salad or grilled rib eyes and asparagus.
“I’m self-critical of my cooking,” he said. “I did Thanksgiving and everyone said how great it was. I just thought it was standard. “
When Cua is making Italian food, he usually makes large quantities and freezes the sauce and meatballs. But he always makes his pasta fresh by making sheets for lasagne or ravioli with a hand-cranked pasta machine or by making angel hair nests or spaghetti.
“Cooking, whether for a loved one or for friends – I think the joy lies in doing it instead of enjoying the food afterwards,” he said. “The joy does not lie in eating, but in serving. Cooking is creative, it’s service and it’s friendship. “
TOMATO SAUCE
4 cups of chopped peppers
5 liters of San Marzano-style tomatoes or Roma tomatoes
1/4 cup of chopped fresh oregano
1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, sauté the onions, peppers and garlic in olive oil. Add tomatoes, oregano, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Stir in tomato paste and simmer for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
MEATBALLS
1/2 loaf of Italian bread, diced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup Italian seasoning
1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
2 pounds of ground beef or feed
Soak the diced bread in cream. Fry the garlic and onions in olive oil until clear. Whisk eggs and add Italian spices and parsley.
Mix the minced beef, Italian sausage and Parmesan. Take the bread cubes out of the cream with a slotted spoon and fold them into the meat mixture. Add sauteed onions and garlic, then add egg mixture. Mix well, then shape into 3-inch balls and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees; Turn meatballs and cook for another 20 minutes.
BASIC PASTA
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Pile the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Crack the eggs in the well and add the oil. Whisk the eggs in the well, being careful not to break the eggs over the sides of the flour. Slowly widen the well and pull the flour into the center. Knead the dough into a ball and set aside.
Knead the dough on a floured board for 10 minutes, adding more flour if necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.
When you’re done, cut the dough into four pieces. Using a pasta machine, roll out the dough thinly and cut into the pasta of your choice. (A rolling pin can also be used to roll out dough very thinly.)
CHEESE RAVIOLI
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 cup of crushed mozzarella cheese
3 to 4 finely chopped cloves of garlic or 1/2 tablespoon of garlic powder
Leaves with fresh pasta dough
For the filling, mix the parmesan, eggs, ricotta, thyme, Italian seasoning, mozzarella and garlic. Put aside.
For the ravioli, use a pasta machine to roll out the dough sheets on setting no.7. Lightly press a ravioli stamp into the pasta for instructions on the filling. Place 1 heaped teaspoon of filling in the center of each punch guide. Top with a second sheet of pasta. Use your fingers to press around the filling to seal the dough and remove air. Use a ravioli punch to completely cut out the raviolis.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the ravioli and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Place on plate with a slotted spoon. Top with tomato sauce.
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