pasta for all seasons / pasta per ogni stagione

October 9, 2015 | Simona

strascinate with almond-hazelnut pesto

It is a truth universally acknowledged that pasta is a food beloved by many around the world. I like the title Nancy Harmon Jenkins and her daughter Sara Jenkins chose for their newly published cookbook: The Four Seasons of Pasta,¹ as indeed pasta accompanies the evolution of the year, letting itself be dressed with what the land produces and what goes well with the weather.

FTC disclosure: I have received an advanced copy of The Four Seasons of Pasta from the publisher. I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for discussing it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

The first 50 pages or so of the book are dedicated to the introduction, a presentation of pasta, some of the ingredients used in the recipes, and some techniques and basic preparations. I particularly appreciated the notes on ricotta ("All too often what is offered to us in North America is simply milk that has been coagulated by the addition of vinegar or lemon juice. It may taste good, but it is not really ricotta.") and Parmigiano-Reggiano ("Nancy calls it the Marcello Mastroianni of cheese") but this part of the book is interesting in general and provides useful and actionable information.

The book classifies pasta as northern and southern: "The northern tradition is fresh pasta, pasta fresca... The southern tradition is for dry pasta, pasta secca…" In the Oretta Zanini De Vita's Encyclopedia of Pasta classification is by shape: pasta corta, pasta lunga, strascinati, etc., which is closer to the way I think about pasta. The two perspectives are orthogonal. The geographical perspective is used to distinguish the tradition based on egg dough and that based on eggless dough, which is the protagonist of a good number of my experiments.²

Handmade pasta was a Sunday lunch affair in the house where I grew up. My mother made a four-egg batch of pasta dough first thing in the morning and usually cut it into tagliatelle.³ It was enough for two lunches for the four of us (served as primo, i.e., first course). The other days, we ate dry pasta, always De Cecco, my mother's favorite brand. This is a fairly common situation: "Pasta secca is the backbone of the Italian table and it's the kind of pasta we cook, day in day out… Almost all the recipes in the recipes in this book are about that kind of pasta."

As one would expect from the title, the 120 or so recipes in the cookbook are organized by season, starting with winter. They include some classic dishes, like spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino (which is supposed to be the pasta you can always make, for whoever shows up at your door, even at midnight), bucatini all'amatriciana, spaghetti con le vongole, a number of recipes for ravioli (with fillings like sweet peas or charred eggplant), a couple of recipes for gnocchi (without eggs, as it should be) and many creative takes on the theme of pasta secca.

The Four Seasons of Pasta is a great resource for cooks who may like to try their hand at ravioli every now and then but are mostly interested in expanding the boundaries of their dry pasta repertoire using a variety of ingredients: vegetables, meat, fish, legumes. Some recipes come together quickly, others require a more elaborate preparation. (Some ingredients may not be readily available to everybody.)

toasted almonds and hazulnuts, parmigioano-reggiano, orange zest, pepper flakes / IMG_3889

ingredients to make wintertime almond-hazelnut pesto

The recipe for Fusilli with radicchio di Treviso and walnuts in the winter section caught my eyes, but I could not find any radicchio di Treviso where I am, so I opted for the Wintertime almond-hazelnut pesto, which sounded quite interesting and turned out to be exactly that, with a bold orange flavor (from both juice and zest) I had not previously experienced in a pasta dish. I used less olive oil than called for in the recipe and made a rather dense pesto, then used more pasta cooking water to turn it into a cream. A few tastings allowed me to adjust the ingredients to get the balance of flavors that suited my palate.

My interest in the world of handmade pasta means that in the allocation of time, I choose to give priority to making the pasta versus making the sauce. (As mentioned in an earlier post,⁴ sometimes I don't have a set plan for the dressing and mi arrangio con quello che c'è (I make do with what I have.) In this case, I didn't have to make do, though: I prepared the pesto and used 2 tablespoons of it to dress a batch made with 100 g semolina flour and 50 g water (my standard small batch which yields two portions). I froze the rest for future consumption.

The recipe suggests to use the pesto to dress tagliolini or other long, skinny pasta and I don't disagree, but as I am working on perfecting my technique to make strascinate (Bari-style orecchiette which are not turned inside out on a fingertip, but shaped only using the tip of a knife—more on this in an upcoming post) so I used the pesto to dress a batch of the lovely little ears that came to life on my kneading board.

I am looking forward to having The Four Seasons of Pasta inspire further adventures in dressing my handmade pasta.

¹ The publisher's page dedicated to The Four Seasons of Pasta
² The page on the blog where you can browse the complete collection of handmade pasta shapes, some of them of my own creation.
³ My post on the Sunday lunch of my childhood (on the blog Live like an Italian)
⁴ The earlier post

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

pasta

or launch the pasta audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

pasta, book review

tagliatelle al matcha (tè verde) / matcha noodles / green tea noodles

May 14, 2015 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

matcha noodles dressed with Crescenza cheese

The eleventh stop of our World Culinary ABC¹ is Japan (Giappone). Japanese food is the first ethnic food I discovered after moving to California. There was a Japanese restaurant close to my husband's office and we often went there for dinner. When we chose our wedding date, we asked the Japanese lady who owned it to cater the reception. And so it was that we had a sushi chef at our house, much to our guests' delight. Probably the most moving memory for me is that of my mother offering the kimono-clad lady a slice of homemade tiramisù, our wedding cake. Neither spoke the other's language and so the exchange was solemnly silent.

If I ever visit Japan, I will be looking for people practicing the ancient art of marbling called suminagashi, meaning floating ink. I learned this marbling techniques several years ago from Robin Heyek², who went to Japan to research it. Making suminagashi requires concentration and attention and it is, in a sense, a ceremony. The ink pattern composed on the surface of the water is fragile³. The artist needs to decide when it is the right moment to freeze it on paper.

tea and tools

To celebrate this stop, I did something that had been on my wish list for a while: I used matcha⁴ — the green tea used for the Japanese tea ceremony⁵ — as an ingredient of pasta dough. I already had matcha and also the traditional bamboo scoop, called chashaku, and bamboo whisk, called chasen (both visible in the photo above). The dough was unexpectedly difficult to work by hand, so I used my pasta machine to roll it and cut tagliatelle. The flavor of matcha comes through: I dress the pasta lightly so as to maintain it.

Printer-friendly version of briciole's recipe for matcha noodles

Ingredients for the pasta (I recommend weighing both flour and water because the quantities involved are small):

5 g matcha
95 g semolina flour
60 ml warm water
A pinch of salt

Ingredients for the dressing:

1/2 tablespoon / 7 g butter
50 g / 1 3/4 oz. Crescenza cheese cut into small pieces⁶
Petals of one calendula flower⁷ (optional: it provides a nice color accent)

How to make the noodles
Measure the matcha and flour in a bowl and stir them with a metal whisk until the matcha is well dispersed, then add water and salt and mix into a dough, first with a fork and then with your hands.

Note: if you have the chasen (bamboo whisk) and like to use it, you can also mix matcha and hot (not boiling) water with it, then, once it is dissolved, add semolina flour and salt and mix into a dough, first with a fork and then with your hands.

Regardless of the method used, knead the dough until it is cohesive, then let it rest, covered, for 5 minutes or so. Knead it some more until smooth. Let it rest, well covered (e.g., wrapped in plastic film), for half an hour or so.

Cut the dough into 2 equal pieces, flatten both with a rolling pin and then roll with a pasta machine until you are down to the last but one notch. Let rest for a few minutes then cut each piece into tagliatelle (1/4-inch / 6 mm wide) with the attachment. Lay out the noodles in such a way that they don't stick to each other until you are ready to cook them.

noodles laid out to dry
(linen place mat from La FABBRICA del LINO)

How to cook and dress the noodles
Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil, add some coarse salt, stir and then toss the noodles in it. The time needed to cook it is a bit variable, depending on how dry they are, but it is not long.

In the meantime, melt the butter in a skillet on gentle heat, then add the cheese and stir while it softens. You want to time this so that the cheese is just melted by the time the pasta is ready to join it.

Taste and stop the cooking when the noodles are ready. Pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and drain leaving a little bit of the cooking water clinging to the noodles. Drop the pasta into the skillet with the melted cheese. Stir well over medium-low heat for half a minute or so, until the noodles are coated with the cheese. Sprinkle calendula petals, if using and give a final stir. Plate and serve immediately.

The recipe makes two small portions (served as Italian first course), but it can easily be doubled.

ready to be plated

Bringing this pasta to the table will definitely surprise your guests.

¹ The World Culinary ABC kick-off post.
² Robin Heyeck
³ More details on suminagashi on this page.
⁴ Wikipedia entry for matcha.
⁵ Wikipedia entry for Japanese tea ceremony.
⁶ My post on homemade Crescenza cheese.
⁷ Wikipedia entry: Calendula officinalis.

FTC disclosure: I have received the place mat free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting the product on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

I contribute my pasta to the 11th installment of the Abbecedario culinario mondiale (World Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 27 countries of the world using the alphabet as guide. K like Kyoto (Japan) is hosted by Sabrina of Nato sotto il cavolo.

The list of recipes contributed to the event and their slide show.

I contribute my dish also to the current edition of Pasta Please, a pasta-centric event created by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes and hosted this month by Jen of Jen's Food.

The roundup of the event.

As always, when I try something new, I was a bit worried about embarking in this adventure and in fact I encountered unexpected difficulties, but in the end I am happy about the result. I am contributing my matcha-flavored pasta to Our Growing Edge. This event aims to connect food bloggers and inspire them to try new things. This month the event is hosted by Jordan and Cindy from My Daughter and I.

The roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

tagliatelle al matcha (tè verde)

or launch the tagliatelle al matcha (tè verde) audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

noodles, matcha, pasta, green-tea, Japanese cuisine

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tagliatelle al matcha (tè verde)

tagliatelle al matcha condite con crescenza

L'undicesima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale¹ è il Giappone. La cucina giapponese è stata la prima cucina etnica che ho scoperto dopo essermi trasferita in California, grazie ad un ristorante giapponese che si trovava vicino all'ufficio di mio marito.

Se mai visiterò il Giappone cercherò di trovare chi ancora pratica l'antica arte del suminagashi, parola che significa "inchiostro che galleggia". Ho imparato questa tecnica per marmorizzare alcuni anni fa da Robin Heyek². Per fare suminagashi occorre concentrazione e attenzione ed è in un certo senso una cerimonia³. Il disegno creato con l'inchiostro sulla superficie dell'acqua è fragile. L'artista deve decidere quando sia il momento giusto per fermarlo sulla carta.

tè e strumenti per prepararlo

Per celebrare questa tappa ho usato il matcha⁴ — lo speciale tè verde giapponese usato per la cerimonia del tè⁵ — come ingrediente per preparare la pasta. Avevo il matcha e anche sia il tradizionale cucchiaino di bambu, chashaku, e il frullino, chasen (entrambi visibili nella foto in alto). L'impasto è inaspettatamente difficile da lavorare a mano e quindi uso la mia macchina per fare la pasta per stenderlo e produrre le tagliatelle. Il sapore caratteristico del matcha si sente: un condimento a base di Crescenza⁶ fa sì che tale sapore si mantenga nel piatto finale.

Ingredienti per l'impasto:

5 g matcha
95 g semola di grano duro
60 ml acqua calda
Un pizzico di sale

Ingredienti per il condimento:

7 g burro
50 g Crescenza tagliata a pezzetti
Petali di una calendula⁷ (facoltativi: danno una gradevole nota di colore)

Come preparare l'impasto e fare le tagliatelle
Mettere il matcha e la semola in una ciotola e mescolarli con una frusta fino a quando il matcha è ben disperso, poi aggiungete l'acqua e il sale e mescolate il tutto (prima con una forchetta e poi con le mani) fino ad ottenere un impasto.

Nota: se avete il frullino apposito (chasen) e vi piace usarlo, mescolare con esso il matcha e l'acqua molto calda (ma non bollente) fino a quando il matcha è dissolto. Poi aggiungere la semola e il sale e mescolare il tutto (prima con una forchetta e poi con le mani) fino ad ottenere un impasto.

Indipendentemente dal metodo usato inizialmente, lavorare gli ingredienti fino ad ottenere un impasto coeso. Far riposare, coperto, per 5 minuti e poi impastare di nuovo fino a quando sia liscio. Farlo riposare, ben coperto (per esempio, avvolto in pellicola), per una mezz'ora.

Tagliare l'impasto in due pezzi uguali, spianarli un po' con un matterello e poi con la macchina per la pasta fino al penultimo spessore. Far riposare qualche minuto e poi tagliare ciascun pezzo in tagliatelle con lo speciale accessorio. Depositare le tagliatelle su una superficie dove non attacchino fino a quando siete pronti per cuocerle.

tagliatelle messe ad asciugare
(tovaglietta di lino de La FABBRICA del LINO)

Come cuocere e condire le tagliatelle
Cuocere le tagliatelle in abbondante acqua salata. Il tempo necessario varia a seconda di quanto sono asciutte, ma non è lunghissimo.

Nel frattempo, far sciogliere il burro in una padella a fuoco basso, poi aggiungere il formaggio e mescolare mentre si ammorbidisce col calore. Fate in modo che il formaggio sia appena sciolto per quando la pasta sia pronta ad essere aggiunta.

Quando le tagliatelle sono cotte, versare un bicchiere d'acqua fredda nella pentola, mescolare e scolarle lasciando un pochino di acqua di cottura. Versarle nella padella con il formaggio fuso. Mescolare bene su fuoco medio-basso per circa mezzo minuto, fino a quando il formaggio sia ben distribuito sulle tagliatelle. Spargere i petali di calendula, se li usate e dare un'ultima mescolata. Impiattare e servire immediatamente.

Questa ricetta fa due porzioni come primo piatto e si può facilmente raddoppiare.

pronte ad essere impiattate

Con questa pasta decisamente sorprenderete i vostri ospiti.

¹ Post inaugurale dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale.
² Robin Heyeck
³ Maggiori detagli sul suminagashi su questa pagina (in inglese).
⁴ Wikipedia: matcha
⁵ Wikipedia: cerimonia del tè.
⁶ Il mio post sulla Crescenza fatta in casa (in inglese).
⁷ Wikipedia: Calendula officinalis.

FTC disclosure: Ho ricevuto la tovaglietta gratuitamente dall'azienda produttrice (la FABBRICA del LINO). Non ho ricevuto e non riceverò alcun compenso per presentare il prodotto sul mio blog. Le opinioni espresse nel post sono interamente personali.

Con questa ricetta partecipo all'undicesima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare 27 paesi del mondo usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. K come Kyoto (Giappone) è ospitata da Sabrina di Nato sotto il cavolo.

La lista di ricette contribuite all'evento e lo slide show che le mostra.

recipe: matcha noodles / green tea noodles

May 12, 2015 | Simona

Matcha noodles

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 10 minutes + resting time

Cook Time: a few minutes

Keywords: boil pasta matcha semolina flour Japanese Italian

Ingredients (Serves 2)

For the pasta(I recommend weighing both flour and water)

5 g matcha
95 g semolina flour
60 ml warm water
A pinch of salt

For the dressing

1/2 tablespoon / 7 g butter
50 g / 1 3/4 oz. Crescenza cheese cut into small pieces
Petals of one calendula flower (optional: it provides a nice color accent)

Instructions

How to make the noodles

Measure the matcha and flour in a bowl and stir them with a metal whisk until the matcha is well dispersed, then add warm water and salt and mix into a dough, first with a fork and then with your hands.

Cut the dough into 2 equal pieces, flatten both with a rolling pin and then roll with a pasta machine until you are down to the last but one notch. Let rest for a few minutes then cut each piece into tagliatelle (1/4-inch / 6 mm wide) with the attachment. Lay out the noodles in such a way that they don’t stick to each other until you are ready to cook them.

How to cook and dress the noodles

Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil, add some coarse salt, stir and then toss the noodles in it. The time needed to cook it is a bit variable, depending on how dry they are, but it is not long.

Go to the full post on tagliatelle al matcha (tè verde) / matcha noodles / green tea noodles

recipe: nodi / knots (handmade pasta)

September 12, 2014 | Simona

Knots (handmade pasta)

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 25 minutes + resting time

Cook Time: 3 minutes

Keywords: boil pasta soy-free sugar-free vegetarian Italian

Ingredients (Serves 2)

For the pasta dough

100 g / 3.5 oz. semolina flour of good quality
50 g / 1.75 oz. warm water (I recommend weighing the water)
A pinch of salt

For the dressing

1/2 cup / 120 ml slow-roasted heirloom tomatoes
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Instructions

How to make the dough and shape nodi

Make a dough with the ingredients and knead until nice and smooth. [You can watch my hands at work in this short video] Let it rest, well covered (e.g., wrapped in plastic film), for half an hour or so.

Working on the kneading board, roll the dough into a thick salami and cut it into 6-7 pieces. Keep them covered while you shape the nodi. Starting on one side, roll a piece of dough into a string 1/8 inch / 6 mm thick. It helps if you let the side of the dough you are not rolling hang from your working surface. Also, it may help rolling a portion of the piece of dough to the desired thickness, shape a couple of knots, then roll some more. (However, feel free to adjust the process flow to your skill and needs.)

Make a small simple knot with the dough and pull lightly to tighten it, then cut the dough leaving a short tail (about 3/8 inch / 1 cm). You can break the dough with your fingers, but I prefer the clean cut of a blade. Make another knot, if the next section of dough is thin enough, or roll it to thin it as needed. [You can watch my hands at work in this short video]

Lay the nodi out to dry on a lightly floured section of the kneading board (or a baking sheet lined with a cotton kitchen towel).

Repeat until you have used up the prepared dough.

Cook the nodi and dress them as you like. The following dressing is just a suggestion.

How to prepare the tomato dressing

My recent post on slow-roasted heirloom tomatoes, includes the simple recipe which makes a dense tomato sauce perfect for dressing pasta.

How to cook and dress the nodi

Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil, add some coarse salt, stir and then toss the nodi in it. The time needed to cook them is a bit variable, depending on their size, how dry they are, but it is not long.

In the meantime, warm up the slow-roasted tomatoes in a small skillet.

Taste and stop the cooking when the nodi are ready. Pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and drain. Depending on how thick the tomato sauce is, you may leave a little bit of the cooking water clinging to the pasta to thin it. Drop the pasta into the skillet with the tomatoes. Stir well quickly. Plate, sprinkle half the cheese on each portion and serve immediately.

Go to the full post on nodi (pasta fatta a mano) / knots (handmade pasta)

scorze di mandorle con carote / almond shells (pasta) with carrots

April 20, 2014 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

each one is unique

Curls of pasta dough resembling almond shells ask me to focus on their essential elegance refined by generations of women shaping them in the quiet busyness of their kitchen.

I saw this pasta shape in Encyclopedia of Pasta by Oretta Zanini De Vita. It is typical of the southern Italian regions of Puglia and Basilicata. Zanini De Vita writes:

With the rounded tip of a knife, pea-sized pieces of dough are drawn downward on the wooden board in such a way that they form little curls that resemble almond shells.

The work is always done on a wooden board known as an 'mpastapan, a curious dialect term that derives from the Italian impasta pane, or "knead bread."

I looked for a video showing how the pasta is made and found one. The word bucce is a synonym of scorze, while amelle is a dialectal word for mandorle, almonds. The shape of this pasta resembles that of almond shell (guscio di mandorla). After watching the video a few times, I made some semolina flour dough and let my hands find their way.

I worked on my technique for a while and now here are my hands at work:

If you watch both videos, you'll notice that I use the external side of my left thumb to hold the top of the piece of dough while my right hand drags the blade. The woman in the video uses her index fingertip instead. I tried doing that but found that I would often tear the dough with the nail and also, the position of my finger felt a bit awkward. Try both ways and see what works best for you.

After dressing this pasta in various ways, I created something especially for it with carrots.

farm fresh carrots

In the last few weeks, carrots and spring onions were part of my spring CSA share, so I gave both of them a role to play. The fresh thyme (timo) comes from my little herb garden. A bit of butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano complement the three-ingredient dressing.

they get along well

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for scorze di mandorle with carrots

Ingredients for the pasta dough (I recommend weighing both flour and water because the quantities involved are small):

100 g / 3.5 oz. semolina flour of good quality
50 g / 1.75 oz. warm water
A pinch of salt

Ingredients for the carrot dressing:

300 g / 10.5 oz. fresh carrots, possibly organic
1 spring onion, white and light green portion (set aside the dark green portion for another use) 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g clean weight
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
Leaves of 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
A pinch of fine sea salt

Ingredients to finish the dish

1/2 tablespoon / 7 g butter
15 g / 0.5 oz. Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

How to make the dough and shape scorze di mandorle
Make a dough with the ingredients and knead until nice and smooth. [This post (with video) talks about how to make semolina pasta dough] Let it rest, well covered (e.g., wrapped in plastic film), for at least half an hour.

Working on the kneading board, roll the dough into a thick salami and cut it into 5-6 pieces. Keep them covered while you shape the scorze. Roll each piece into a pencil-size snake (3/8 inch / 1 cm thick), then cut into 1.5 cm / 5/8 inch long pieces.

Shape each small piece into a scorza di mandorla using a knife with rounded end, possibly smooth. Place the blade on the top long side of piece of dough and spread it as if it were a piece of butter on bread. To prevent the dough from curling tightly, hold it flat with a finger of the hand not holding the knife. Practice will teach your hands to apply the right amount of pressure to the dough so you thin it without making a hole.

Lay the scorze di mandorle out to dry on a lightly floured section of the kneading board (or a baking sheet lined with a cotton kitchen towel).

Repeat until you have used up the prepared dough.

Cook the scorze di mandorle and dress them as you like. The following carrot sauce is just a suggestion.

How to prepare the carrots
Scrub carrots well and scrape surface to remove a thin layer of skin. Grate carrots using the extra-coarse side of a hand grater.

Cut the spring onion in half lengthwise and slice into 1/8 inch / 3 mm half-moons. Rinse well in a small colander.

Heat oil in a skillet. (Alternatively, if you have an oil mister, coat well the bottom of the skillet.) Add spring onion and stir to coat. Add the thyme leaves and stir. After 1 minute, add the grated carrots and stir well to coat. Cook on gentle heat for a couple of minutes. Cover the skillet and continue cooking, stirring every now and then, until the carrots are soft.

Season carrots with salt and stir.

Note that this will make more than you need to dress the scorze di mandorle. It will be enough to dress double the amount of pasta. Otherwise, leftover carrots can be eaten as a side dish, or added to a salad or eggs.

How to cook and dress the scorze di mandorle
Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil, add some coarse salt, stir and then toss the scorze di mandorle in it. They will come to the surface as they cook. The time needed is a bit variable, depending on their size, how dry they are, but it is not long.

In the meantime, melt the butter in a skillet and let the carrots warm up and mellow in the butter. You want to time this so that the carrots are nice and hot by the time the pasta is ready to join them.

Taste and stop the cooking when the scorze di mandorle are ready. Pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and drain leaving a little bit of the cooking water clinging to them. Drop the pasta into the skillet with the carrots. Stir well over medium-low heat for about half a minute. Sprinkle some of the cheese and stir one last time. Plate and sprinkle a bit more cheese on the top. Serve immediately.

The recipe makes two small portions (served as Italian first course), but it can be easily doubled.

almost ready

This is a study in daintiness: handmade pasta, soft carrots, pastel colors and delicate flavors.

It is also, serendipitously, appropriate for today: carrots → bunnies → Easter. See?

This is my contribution to edition #429 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and Brii of briggishome and hosted this week by Martissima of Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

"scorze di mandorle" con carote

or launch the "scorze di mandorle" con carote audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

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pasta, semolina flour, carrots, spring onion

scorze di mandorle con carote

ognuna è unica

Riccioli di pasta che sembrano gusci di mandorle mi affascinano con la loro eleganza essenziale raffinata da generazioni di donne che le hanno modellate nella loro cucina.

Ho visto questo tipo di pasta, tipica di Puglia e Basilicata, nel libro Encyclopedia of Pasta di Oretta Zanini De Vita.

Ho trovato un video che mostra come si fa questo tipo di pasta, chiamata anche bucce di mandorle. Dopo averlo guardato un po' di volte, ho impastato della semola e ho messo al lavoro le mie mani.

Ho perfezionato la mia tecnica e adesso sono pronta a farvi vedere come faccio:

Se guardate entrambi i video, noterete che io uso il lato esterno del pollice sinistro per tenere fermo il lembo superiore del pezzetto di impasto mentre la mano destra trascina la lama. La signora nel video, invece, usa la punta dell'indice. Ho provato ad imitarla, ma tendevo a lacerare l'impasto con l'unghia e la posizione del dito mi sembrava scomoda. Provate entrambi i modi e vedete quello che funziona meglio per voi.

Ho condito la pasta in modi diversi e poi ho creato qualcosa di speciale con le carote.

appena raccolte

Nelle ultime settimane, ho ricevuto nella mia cassettina carote e cipolle primaverili e così le ho scritturare per questo ruolo. Il timo viene dal mio orticello. Un po' di burro e Parmigiano-Reggiano completano il cast.

vanno d'accordo

Ingredienti per l'impasto:

100 g semola di grano duro
50 g acqua calda
Un pizzico di sale

Ingredienti per il condimento alle carote:

300 g carote, possibilmente bio
1 cipollotto, la parte bianca e verde chiara, 50 g di peso netto (conservare la parte verde scuro per un altro uso)
1/2 cucchiaio olio EVO
Le foglie di 2-3 rametti di timo fresco
Un pizzico di sale fino

Ingredienti per completare il piatto:

1/2 tablespoon / 7 g butter
15 g / 0.5 oz. Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Come preparare l'impasto e formare le scorze di mandorle
Lavorare gli ingredienti fino ad avere un bell'impasto liscio. [Questo post (con video) descrive come faccio l'impasto per pasta con la semola] Farlo riposare, ben coperto (per esempio, avvolto in pellicola), per almeno mezz'ora.

Fare ad ogni pezzetto di impasto la forma di una scorza di mandorla utilizzando la punta arrotondata di un coltello, possibilmente liscia. Appoggiare la lama sul pezzetto di pasta per lungo e appiattirlo come se fosse un pezzetto di burro da spalmare sul pane. Per evitare che la pasta si arricci su se stessa, tenerla piatta con un dito della mano libera. Con la pratica imparerete ad applicare abbastanza pressione con la lama per assottigliare la pasta senza lacerarla.

Lasciar asciugare la pasta sul piano di lavoro leggermente infarinato o una lastra da forno coperta con un canovaccio di cotone.

Continuare fino all'esaurimento dell'impasto.

Cuocere le scorze di mandorle e condirle come preferite. Il condimento alle carote qui di seguito è una opzione.

Come preparare le carote
Lavare bene le carote e raschiarne la superficie per rimuovere la pellicina. Grattugiatele con la grattugia a buchi grossi.

Tagliare a metà per il lungo il cipollotto e tagliarlo a mezzelune di 3 mm di spessore. Lavarle bene in uno scolapasta.

Scaldare l'olio in una padella. Aggiungere il cipollotto tagliato e le foglioline di timo e mescolare bene. Dopo un minuto, aggiungere le carote e mescolare bene. Cuocere a fuoco dolce per un paio di minuti. Coprire la padella e continuare la cottura, mescolando di tanto in tanto, fino a quando le carote siano tenere.

Salare le carote e mescolare.

In questo modo avrete più carote di quante ne avete bisogno per condire le scorze di mandorle due volte o una volta se fate il doppio dell'impasto. In ogni caso le carote che avanzano potete mangiarle come contorno o aggiungerle ad un'insalata.

Come cuocere e condire le scorze di mandorle
Cuocere le scorze di mandorle in abbondante acqua salata. Il tempo necessario varia a seconda delle dimensioni e quanto sono asciutte, ma non è lunghissimo.

Nel frattempo, far sciogliere il burro in una padella e far scaldare le carote nel burro. Fate in modo che le carote siano belle calde per quando la pasta è pronta ad essere aggiunta.

Quando le scorze di mandorle sono cotte, versare un bicchiere d'acqua fredda nella pentola, mescolare e scolarle lasciando un pochino di acqua di cottura. Versarle nella padella con le carote. Mescolare bene su fuoco medio-basso per circa mezzo minuto. Distribuire del formaggio sulla pasta e mescolare un'ultima volta. Impiattare, distribuire sopra ancora un pochino di formaggio e servire immediatamente.

Questa ricetta fa due porzioni come primo piatto e si può facilmente raddopiare.

quasi pronte

Tutto in questo piatto è delicato: pasta fatta a mano, carote tenere, colori pastello e sapori delicati.

E il piatto è anche adatto alla festa di oggi: carote → coniglietti → Pasqua.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 429 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once e Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da Martissima di Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

E per Pasta che ti passa organizzato da Sandra di Indovina chi viene a cena? e Gaia di Burro e Malla. La sfida qui è la spesa limitata a 5 euro ($6 circa) per un piatto di pasta per quattro persone. Gli ingredienti più costosi del piatto descritto sopra sono:

semola di grano duro: $1
carote bio: $1,33
Parmigiano-Reggiano: $1

I restanti $2,67 sono sufficienti a procurarsi il resto degli ingredienti e quindi credo di rientrare nei limiti della sfida. La soddisfazione che viene dal fare la pasta in casa è senza prezzo.

La raccolta di ricette contribuite all'evento (cliccate su Share per condividere e scaricare).

orecchiette alla farina di ceci tostata / toasted chickpea flour orecchiette

April 6, 2014 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

orecchiette: small beauties of pasta dough

Rainstorm: the sky clouds over, knits its brows and then cries unconsolably for hours.

rain — finally!

A rainstorm has a violent bewitching beauty best admired from inside.

When the weather forecast for the weekend is with 100% probability, I suggest you work on some project in the kitchen, like handmade pasta.

After orecchiette with semolina flour (the basic version, so to speak) and orecchiette with farina di grano arso (burnt wheat flour), it was time to work on a new take on this classic pasta shape from the southern Italian region of Puglia.

The success I had with gnocchetti alla farina di ceci made me try to toast chickpea flour and use it to make pasta. You have already seen the monochromatic version of the result in an earlier post.

chickpea flour: toasted (left) and regular

The dough made with toasted chickpea flour is a bit fussier to handle than the one made only with semolina flour. Hence, I would recommend you learn making orecchiette with the standard all-semolina flour dough (see recipe below), get comfortable with making the pasta shape and then explore the other options. Above all: start with a small amount of dough, so you don't get overwhelmed by the task.

You see my hands at work in the short video below. People in Puglia use a tool to shape the pasta, while I use only my hands.

Print-friendly recipe for briciole's toasted chickpea flour orecchiette

Ingredients for the pasta dough with toasted chickpea flour:

25 g / 1 oz. toasted chickpea flour
75 g / 2.5 oz. semolina flour of good quality
55 g / 2 oz. warm water
A pinch of salt

Ingredients for the basic pasta dough (with semolina flour only):

100 g / 3.5 oz. semolina flour of good quality
50 g / 1.75 oz. warm water (I recommend weighing the water)
A pinch of salt

Ingredients for the tomato sauce:

Olive oil
A shallot, minced
Leaves of a sprig or two of thyme
A small garlic clove, thinly sliced
2 cups strained roasted tomatoes (thawed, if frozen)
Fine sea salt, to taste
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to taste

Note: I recommend weighing flours and water because the quantities involved are small.

How to toast chickpea flour
(Do this ahead) Toasting chickpea flour requires full and undivided attention: it is ground finely, so it is more delicate than the semolina flour I have toasted in the past and it burns easily.

Warm up a cup of chickpea flour in a dry frying pan over medium heat. Stir often and when the flour starts to darken, turn down the heat to medium-low.

From then on, the flour will darken quickly, so stir continuously and when it is all a shade darker, remove from the heat. Give another stir and the transfer the flour onto a plate.

Let the toasted chickpea flour cool completely, then store it in a container until you need to use it.

How to make the dough and shape orecchiette
Since it is gluten-free (senza glutine), chickpea flour makes pasta dough a bit fussier to handle than the one made only with semolina flour. Flour your fingers every now and then with semolina flour to prevent sticking. And I let the orecchiette dry at least couple of hours before cooking them. I do not recommend you learn making orecchiette with this dough. Rather, make the basic all-semolina flour dough (see ingredients above) and then, when you are comfortable, try the version with toasted chickpea flour. [This post (with video) talks about how to make semolina pasta dough]

Note: from here on, the instructions are the same for either version of orecchiette.

Make a dough with the ingredients and knead until nice and smooth. Let it rest, well covered (e.g., wrapped in plastic film), for half an hour or so. The dough is darker than when made all of semolina flour and it darkens further as the orecchiette dry after they are shaped.

Working on the kneading board, roll the dough into a thick salami and cut it into 5-6 pieces. Keep them covered while you shape the orecchiette. Roll each piece into a pencil-size snake (3/8 inch / 1 cm thick), then cut into 1 cm / 3/8 inch long pieces. Important: you may need to increase the dimensions of the pieces of pasta, depending on the size of your hands, but keep the pieces square.

Shape each small piece into an orecchietta using whatever method suits you. I place my right thumb on the piece of pasta and drag it away from me, then, with my left hand, I turn it inside out over my index finger and lay it out to dry on a lightly floured section of the kneading board (or a baking sheet lined with a cotton kitchen towel).

Cook the orecchiette and dress them as you like. The following tomato sauce is just a suggestion.

How to prepare the tomato sauce
In a small saucepan, warm up a bit of olive oil, then add shallot and thyme. Cook gently for a few minutes, then add garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes. Adjust salt, to taste.

Note that this will make more sauce than you need to dress the orecchiette, but once you have the sauce ready, I am sure you'll find ways of using it, like making more handmade pasta.

How to cook and dress the orecchiette
Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil, add some coarse salt, stir and then toss the orecchiette in it. They will come to the surface as they cook. The time needed is a bit variable, depending on the size of orecchiette, how dry they are, the type of flour used, but it is not long, so don't wander far away from the pot.

Taste and stop the cooking when the orecchiette are ready. Pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and drain the orecchiette well. Place them in a bowl, sprinkle a bit of the cheese on them and stir briefly, then distribute some tomato sauce and toss. Finally, sprinkle some cheese and serve immediately.

Alternatively, while the pasta is cooking, place a few tablespoons of the tomato sauce in a small skillet and warm it up. Pour a glass of cold water in the pot and stir. Drain the orecchiette leaving a little bit of the cooking water clinging to the pasta and drop into the skillet with the sauce. Stir well over medium-low heat for about half a minute. Sprinkle some of the cheese and stir one last time. Plate and sprinkle a bit more cheese on the top. Serve immediately.

The recipe makes two small portions (served as Italian first course).

almost ready to be plated

Toasted chickpea flour has a distinct toasty flavor, which loses its edge once the pasta is cooked and dressed and remains as a suggestion of earthiness that I like.

This is my contribution to edition #427 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and Brii of briggishome and hosted this week by Lynne of Cafe Lynnylu.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

orecchiette alla farina di ceci tostata

or launch the orecchiette alla farina di ceci tostata audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

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pasta, semolina flour, chickpea flour, tomato sauce

orecchiette alla farina di ceci tostata

orecchiette: piccole bellezze di pasta

Temporale: il cielo si rannuvola, corruga la fronte e poi piange per ore in modo inconsolabile.

finalmente piove

Un temporale forte è di una bellezza violenta e affascinante da ammirare preferibilmente da dentro casa.

Quando le previsioni del tempo per il weekend sono con 100% di probabilità, consiglio di dedicarsi ad un progetto culinario, come la pasta fatta in casa.

Dopo le orecchiette semplici (la versione base) e le orecchiette di grano arso, era venuto il momento di provare una nuova versione della classica pasta pugliese famosa.

Il successo ottenuto con gli gnocchetti alla farina di ceci mi ha suggerito l'idea di provare a tostare quella farina e a farci la pasta. Il risultato lo avete visto in un post precedente, in versione bianco e nero.

farina di ceci: tostata (a sinistra) e normale

L'impasto fatto on la farina di ceci tostata richiede un po' più di attenzione di quello fatto tutto con la semola di grano duro. Suggerisco quindi di imparare a fare le orecchiette usando l'impasto normale (vedi ricetta in basso). Poi, quando avete preso la mano, esplorate pure altre versioni. Ma ricordate di cominciare facendo poco impasto in modo da non sentirvi sotterrati.

Potete vedere le mie mani al lavoro nel breve video qui sotto.

Ingredienti per l'impasto con farina di ceci tostata:

25 g farina di ceci tostata (seguono istruzioni)
75 g semola di grano duro
55 g acqua calda
Un pizzico di sale

Ingredienti per l'impasto normale (solo con semola):

100 g semola di grano duro
50 g acqua calda
Un pizzico di sale

Ingredienti per il sugo:

Olio EVO
Uno scalogno tritato
Le foglioline di un rametto o due di timo
Un piccolo spicchio d'aglio tagliato a fettine sottili
475 ml pomodori arrosto passati (scongelati, se necessario)
Sale fino, q.b.
Parmigiano-Reggiano grattugiato fresco

Come tostare la farina di ceci
(Da fare in anticipo) Tostare la farina di ceci richiede pazienza e attenzione: essendo macinata fine, è più delicata della semola che ho tostato in precendenza e si brucia facilmente.

Scaldare 150 g di farina di ceci in una padella a secco su calore medio. Mescolare spesso e quando comincia a imbiondire, abbassare il calore a medio-basso.

Da questo momento in poi, la farina scurisce rapidamente, quindi mescolare continuamente e quando è tutta di un tono più scuro, togliere la padella dal fuoco e versare la farina su un piatto.

Fare freddare completamente e conservare in un barattolo fino al momento dell'uso.

Come preparare l'impasto e formare le orecchiette
Dal momento che è senza glutine, la farina di ceci rende l'impasto un po' lunatico. Ad intervalli, tuffare le dita nella farina per evitare che le orecchiette vi si appiccichino. E far asciugare le orecchiette almeno un paio d'ore prima di cuocerle. Suggerisco di imparare a fare le orecchiette usando l'impasto normale. Poi, quando avete preso la mano, provate a fare la versione con la farina di ceci tostata. [Questo post (con video) descrive come faccio l'impasto per pasta con la semola]

Nota: da qui in poi, le istruzioni sono identiche per entrambe le versioni di orecchiette.

Lavorare gli ingredienti fino ad avere un bell'impasto liscio. Farlo riposare, ben coperto (per esempio, avvolto in pellicola), per almeno mezz'ora. L'impasto con la farina di ceci tostata è più scuro di quello fatto solo con la semola e imbrunisce ulteriormente durante il riposo delle orecchiette.

Sul piano di lavoro, formare un salsicciotto e tagliarlo in 5-6 pezzi da lavorare uno alla volta, mentre gli altri rimangono al coperto. Rotolare fino ad ottenere un serpentello grosso come una matita e tagliarlo a pezzetti di 1 cm. Importante: se necessario, aumentate le dimensioni dei pezzetti di pasta, a seconda della grandezza delle vostre mani, ma manteneteli quadrati.

Fare ad ogni pezzetto di impasto la forma di un'orecchietta usando il metodo che preferite. Io trascino il pezzetto di impasto con il pollice destro allontanandolo da me e poi lo rivolto sopra l'indice destro aiutandomi con la mano sinistra. Lasciar asciugare le orecchiette sul piano di lavoro leggermente infarinato o una lastra da forno coperta con un canovaccio di cotone.

Cuocere le orecchiette e condirle come preferite. Il sugo di pomodoro qui di seguito è una opzione.

Come preparare il sugo
In una pentola (di capienza un litro), scaldare un po' di olio d'oliva e aggiungere scalogno e timo. Cuocere a fuoco dolce per pochi minuti, poi aggiungre l'aglio. Continuare a cuocere per un paio di minuti, poi versare i pomodori passati. Portare a leggero bollore e cuocere per 7-8 minuti. Correggere il sale.

Questa ricetta prepara più sugo di quanto ne abbiate bisogno per le orecchiette, ma una volta che ce l'avete pronto, potete usarlo per altri piatti.

Come cuocere e condire le orecchiette
Cuocere le orecchiette in abbondante acqua salata. Il tempo necessario varia a seconda delle dimensioni, quanto sono asciutte, tipo di farina usata, ma non è lunghissimo quindi non lasciate la pentola incustodita.

Quando le orecchiette sono cotte, versare un bicchiere d'acqua fredda nella pentola, mescolare e scolarle bene. Versare le orecchiette in una ciotola, distribuirci sopra un po' di formaggio e mescolare, poi distribuire del sugo ben caldo e mescolare. Infine, distribuire sopra un pochino di formaggio e servire immediatamente.

Alternativamente, mentre la pasta cuoce, mettere alcuni cucchiai di sugo in una padellina e scaldare. Scolare la pasta lasciando un pochino di acqua di cottura e versarla nella padellina col sugo. Mescolare a fuoco medio-basso per mezzo minuto circa. Distribuire del formaggio sulla pasta e mescolare un'ultima volta. Impiattare, distribuire sopra ancora un pochino di formaggio e servire immediatamente.

Questa ricetta fa due porzioni piccole.

quasi pronte per essere impiattate

La farina di ceci tostata ha un chiaro sapore di tostato che diventa più delicato quando la pasta è cotta e condita, ma rimane come un'eco di rusticità che a me piace.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 427 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once e Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da Kris di Tutto a occhio.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

recipe: spaetzle with butter and parmigiano (spaetzle al burro e parmigiano)

March 6, 2014 | Simona

Spaetzle with butter and parmigiano

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Keywords: boil pasta flour cheese butter German Austrian

Ingredients (serves 2)

Ingredients for the Spätzle (to be mixed in advance)

1 large egg
60 ml / 1/4 cup milk
20 g whole-wheat flour
60 g all-purpose flour
A pinch of fine sea salt
A pinch of grated nutmeg

Ingredients to dress the Spätzle

1 tablespoon / 14 g browned butter or regular butter
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus to taste

Instructions

How to make Spätzle

In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg to blend yolk and white. Add the milk and whisk briefly.

Sift flours on the liquid ingredients while stirring with a wooden spoon. Add salt and nutmeg and stir to incorporate.

Refrigerate for at least an hour. (I usually prepare the batter in the morning to cook Spätzle for lunch.)

How to cook Spätzle

Since the Spätzle cook quickly, prepare the ingredients for the dressing before the water comes to a boil. Place butter in a skillet.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Choose the pot so that it fits the Spätzle maker you are using. (My Spätzle maker fits perfectly on my 6-qt. soup pot.) Given the relative small amount of batter, I cook it in one batch.

Pour the batter into the container of the Spätzle maker and slowly slide it from side to side. Drops of batter plunge into the boiling water and then, as they cook, they come to the surface. Use a spatula to press all the batter through the holes. Remove the Spätzle maker and stir the Spätzle to make sure they separate nicely.

In the meantime, melt the butter over low heat.

Cook Spätzle for 2 minutes, then drain. Transfer Spätzle to the skillet with melted butter. Briefly turn up the heat to medium-low and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cheese while stirring Spätzle gently. Plate and sprinkle additional Parmigiano-Reggiano on the Spätzle. Serve immediately.

Go to the full post on spaetzle al burro e parmigiano / spaetzle with butter and parmigiano

gnocchetti alla farina di ceci con barbabietole rosse / chickpea flour gnocchetti with red beets

January 26, 2014 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

half semolina and half chickpea flour

You have seen my latest gnocchetti in black and white and you'll learn the details.

Traditional gnocchetti sardi (Sardinian gnocchi) are made with semolina flour. After making them, I came up with a version using half all-purpose and half chestnut flour. Here, I am sharing a version that uses half semolina and half chickpea flour (a.k.a., garbanzo bean flour, besan). Chickpea flour is rich in proteins and naturally gluten-free.

regular (with saffron)

Chickpea flour has a distinct flavor, which gets toned down in the marriage with semolina flour. The result is an intriguing pasta.

aglio, olio e peperoncino

The photo above shows an early batch of my chickpeas flour gnocchetti dressed simply with garlic, oil, hot chili pepper, and fresh parsley. (Traditional gnocchetti sardi dough includes some saffron, zafferano, but I forgot it the morning I made those.)

The short video below shows my hands cutting the rope of pasta and shaping gnocchetti. As in the video included in the original post, I am showing two ways of shaping the pasta: you can use your thumb or your index finger, depending on how you feel more comfortable. You'll see in the video that the position of the gnocchi board (riga gnocchi) depends on the finger you want to use.

Apply the right amount of pressure on the piece of dough while dragging it along the board so that you get the sort of curl with the grooves on the surface and the nice nook on the other side.

If you press hard, the dough gets sort of smushed and sticks to the board. If you have experience making gnocchetti with the original (100% semolina flour) dough, be advised that in this version they are softer, so a more delicate touch is called for when shaping and handling them. Finally, make sure to flour lightly the gnocchi board as needed to prevent sticking.

a colorful version

A small amount of juice at the bottom of the bowl where I had placed some roasted red beets gave me the idea to make pink gnocchetti.

a colorful, nourishing plate

Then I thought about using the roasted red beets and fresh homemade English-style Coulommiers (a.k.a. English farmhouse cheese) to dress the pasta. Whether you use some red beet juice to make the gnocchetti or not, they will be bright and pink by the time they are placed on the plate.

Ingredients for the pasta (I recommend weighing flours and water because the quantities involved are small):

50 g / 1.75 oz. chickpea flour
50 g / 1.75 oz. semolina flour
A pinch of fine sea salt
45 g / 2 oz. minus 2 teaspoons lukewarm water
A few strand of saffron or a pinch of saffron powder (optional, see Note below)

Additional ingredients for the pasta dish:

Olive oil
A small shallot, minced
4 oz. / 112 g roasted red beets (see below: how to roast beets)
Fine sea salt, to taste
2 oz. / 56 g English-style Coulommiers (a.k.a. English farmhouse cheese) OR fresh chèvre, crumbled

Note: saffron is an ingredient of traditional gnocchetti sardi. If you would like to use it, bring the specified amount of water to a higher temperature, so it is hot and add to it the saffron. Stir and let sit for 10 minutes or so. If using the strands, remove them before using the water to make the pasta dough. Do not do this is you want to prepare pink gnocchetti (see below).

How to make gnocchetti
Make a dough with the water, flours and salt and knead until nice and smooth. [This post (with video) talks about how to make semolina pasta dough] For pink gnocchetti, include a teaspoon or so of red beet juice in the water (the overall amount of liquid should still be 45 g). The dough will be stickier than the one made using all semolina flour. Sprinkle just a small amount of semolina flour on the kneading board while you work the dough.

Let the dough rest, covered well so that does not dry out, for at least half an hour.

Roll the dough into a thick salami and cut it into pieces. Keep them covered while you shape the gnocchetti. Roll each piece into a pencil-size snake (3/8 inch / 1 cm thick), then cut into 1 cm / 3/8 inch long pieces. Shape each small piece into a gnocchetto using a gnocchi board or other method (see the post on gnocchetti sardi for a list of alternatives).

Place a piece of dough on the board, apply to it some pressure with either your thumb or your index finger and drag it on the board to curl it. The resulting gnocchetto will have grooves on the convex surface and a nice nook on the other side. If you use your thumb, the board handle points towards you and the dragging motion is away from you. If you use your index finger, the board faces you and the dragging motion is towards you.

Lay out the gnocchetti to dry. (I usually make them a few hours before cooking them.)

How to roast beets
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Rinse and scrub well beets, then wrap each one in foil, place on a baking sheet, and bake until easily pierced with a knife. Alternatively, place clean beets in a baking pan or dish, add 1/4 inch of water to the pan and cover tightly with foil or dish's lid, then proceed as with the other method. Let beets cool until easy to handle, then slip off the skin.

Note: If you are like me and prefer to buy bunches of beets with their greens still attached, cut the greens an inch above the beet, then proceed with the preparation. I usually bake a number of beets at a time, for efficiency's sake. There are many ways you can use them, for example, this soup or these scones. I also set aside the greens to make a frittata or to add to kale in this dish. And I prepare the stalks in this way.

How to put it all together
Cut the roasted beet(s) into small dice.

In a medium skillet, warm up a bit of olive oil, then add the shallot. Sauté for a couple of minutes, then lower the heat and continue cooking until shallot is soft.

In the meantime, bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil, add some coarse salt, stir and then toss the gnocchetti in it (what in Italian we call: buttare giù la pasta). They will come to the surface as they cook. The time needed is a bit variable, depending on the size of the gnocchetti and how dry they are. These cook faster than the original gnocchetti, so don't wander far away from the pot.

While the pasta is cooking, add the red beets to the shallot and warm up. Cover an keep warm over low heat, adding a tablespoon of the pasta cooking water to prevent the beets from drying out. Shortly before adding the pasta, sprinkle some salt, to taste, and stir well.

Drain the pasta, letting a bit of the cooking water cling to it, and drop it into the skillet with the beets. Stir well but delicately over low heat for one minute. Sprinkle most of the cheese on the pasta and stir.

Remove skillet from the heat, sprinkle the rest of the cheese on the pasta and serve immediately. The recipe makes two portions.

The combination of sweet red beets and delicately tangy cheese with somewhat earthy gnocchetti is a winner and the bright color of the dish is a pleasure for the eyes, especially on a gray day.

My chickpea flour gnocchetti recipe is my contribution to My Legume Love Affair #67, the current edition of the popular, legume-centered event created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen, and hosted this month by Brii of briggishome.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

And my recipe for chickpea flour gnocchetti with red beets is my contribution to edition #417 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and Brii of briggishome and hosted this week by Martissima of Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

gnocchetti alla farina di ceci con barbabietole rosse

or launch the gnocchetti alla farina ceci con barbabietole rosse audio file [mp3].

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pasta, chickpea flour, red beet

gnocchetti alla farina di ceci con barbabietole rosse

metà semola e metà farina di ceci

Avete visto le foto in bianco e nero dei miei gnocchetti sperimentali e adesso conoscerete e dettagli.

I tradizionali gnocchetti sardi sono fatti con la semola di grano duro. Dopo averli fatti in quel modo, ho creato una versione che usa farina bianca e farina di castagne. La version che descrivo qui usa metà semola e metà farina di ceci, ricca di proteine e naturalmente priva di glutine.

normali (con zafferano)

La farina di ceci ha un sapore abbastanza pronunciato che viene attenuato dal connubio col grano duro. Il risultato è molto interessante.

aglio, olio e peperoncino

La foto qui sopra mostra gnocchetti alla farina di ceci conditi semplicemente. (L'impasto per i tradizionali gnocchetti sardi comprende dello zafferano, che io ho dimenticato la mattina che ho preparato quelli della foto.)

Questa breve sequenza mostra le mie mani al lavoro. Come ho fatto nel video del post originale, dimostro due modi di formare gli gnocchetti: col pollice o con l'indice. La posizione del riga gnocchi rispetto alle mani dipende da quale dito usate.

Occorre applicare abbastanza pressione al pezzetto di pasta mentre lo si trascina lungo le righe per farlo arricciare, ma non tanta da spiaccicarlo.

Se avete esperienza con gli gnocchetti originali, sappiate che l'impasto di questa versione è più morbido e quindi richiede una mano più delicata durante la manipolazione. Infarinate bene il riga gnocchi per evitare che l'impasto aderisca ad esso durante la formazione degli gnocchetti.

versione colorata

Un po' di succo in fondo alla ciotola dove avevo messo delle barbabietole rosse arrosto mi ha dato l'idea di preparare degli gnocchetti rosa.

un piatto colorato e nutriente

Poi ho pensato di utilizzare le barbabietole rosse stesse insieme a del formaggio Coulommiers stile inglese fatto in casa per condire la pasta. Anche se non usate del succo di barbabietola rossa nell'impasto, per quando li servite, gli gnocchetti saranno di un bel colore rosa intenso.

Ingredienti per la pasta:

50 g farina di ceci
50 g semola di grano duro
un pizzico di sale
45 g acqua calda
alcuni stimmi di zafferano o un pizzico di zafferano in polvere (facoltativo, vedi Nota in basso)

Ingredienti per il condimento:

olio d'oliva
un piccolo scalogno tritato
112 g barbabietole rosse arrosto (vedi sotto: come cuocere le barbabietole rosse)
sale fino, q.b.
56 g formaggio Coulommiers stile inglese fatto in casa oppure caprino fresco, sbriciolato

Nota: lo zafferano è un ingrediente degli gnocchetti sardi tradizionali. Se desiderate usarlo preparate l'acqua in modo che sia bollente, aggiungetevi lo zafferano e fate riposare per 10 minuti. Se utilizzate gli stimmi, rimuoveteli prima di utilizzare l'acqua per l'impasto. Non fate questo se decidete di preparare gli gnocchetti rosa (vedi sotto).

Come fare gli gnocchetti
Lavorare farine, acqua e sale fino ad avere un bell'impasto liscio. [Questo post (con video) descrive come faccio l'impasto per pasta con la semola] (Per la versione rosa, usare un cucchiaino circa di succo di barbabitole rosse nell'acqua. La quantità totale di liquido non cambia.)

Se nel lavorare l'impasto sentite che è duro, aggiungete un pochino di acqua. L'impasto è un po' più appiccicoso di quello fatto con la sola semola. Spargere una piccola quantità di semola sul piano di lavoro quando lo lavorate.

Far riposare l'impasto, ben coperto, per almeno mezz'ora.

Formare un salsicciotto e tagliarlo a pezzetti da lavorare uno alla volta, mentre gli altri rimangono al coperto. Rotolare fino ad ottenere un serpentello grosso come una matita e tagliarlo a pezzetti lunghi 1 cm. Fare ad ogni pezzetto di impasto la forma di uno gnocchetto usando il riga gnocchi o altro metodo che preferite.

Occorre applicare abbastanza pressione al pezzetto di pasta mentre lo si trascina lungo le righe per farlo arricciare, ma non tanta da spiaccicarlo. La posizione del riga gnocchi rispetto alle mani dipende da quale dito usate per formare lo gnocchetto. Se usate il pollice, il manico del riga gnocchi è puntato verso di voi e il dito si allontana da voi. Se usate l'indice, il riga gnocchi è di fronte a voi e il dito si muove verso di voi.

Lasciar asciugare gli gnocchetti. (Io di solito li preparo alcune ore prima di cuocerli.)

Come cuocere le barbabietole rosse
Scaldare il forno a 190 C. Pulire bene le barbabietole, avvolgere in pellicola di alluminio, porre su una lastra da forno e cuocerle in forno fino a quando è facile perforarle con una lama. Lasciar intiepidire e poi rimuovere la buccia.

Nota: Se siete come me e preferite comprare barbabietole con ancora attaccate le foglie, tagliate i gambi 2-3 cm sopra alla radice e poi proseguite con la preparazione. Di solito cuocio un certo numero di barbabietole per volta, per amor di efficienza. Potete usarle in diversi modi, a parte quello descritto in questo post (per esempio, una zuppa o degli scone). Io utilizzo le foglie per fare una frittata o insieme al cavolo riccio in un gratin. E gli steli li preparo gratinati.

Come completare l'opera
Tagliare le barbabietole a dadini.

In una padella di medie dimensioni, scaldare un poco di olio d'oliva e cuocere lo scalogno fino a quando è translucido.

Nel frattempo, portate a bollore l'acqua per la pasta, salate e versateci gli gnocchetti. Saliranno in superficie durante la cottura. Il tempo necessario dipende dalle dimensioni e da quanto sono asciutti, ma non è lungo, quindi non abbandonate la pentola. Questi gnocchetti cuociono più rapidamente di quelli originali.

Mentre la pasta cuoce, aggiungere i dadini di barbatietola allo scalogno e scaldare. Coprire e mantenere caldi su fuoco basso. Aggiungere un cucchiaio dell'acqua di cottura della pasta per evitare che si secchino. Subito prima di aggiungere la pasta, salare a seconda del gusto e mescolare bene.

Scolare gli gnocchetti lasciando un po' di acqua di cottura e versarli nella padellina con le barbabietole. Mescolare bene ma delicatamente per un minuto a calore basso. Distribuire la maggior parte del formaggio sulla pasta e mescolare.

Togliere la padella dal fuoco, distribuire il resto del formaggio sulla pasta e servire immediatamente. Questa ricetta fa due porzioni.

La combinazione barbabietole rosse dolci, formaggio lievemente acidulo e gnocchetti un po' rustici funziona in modo perfetto e il colore vivace del piatto finale è un piacere per gli occhi, soprattutto se in una giornata grigia.

Con i miei gnocchetti alla farina di ceci contribuisco a My Legume Love Affair #67, edizione corrente del popolare evento dedicato ai legumi creato da Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, organizzato ora da Lisa di Lisa's Kitchen e ospitato questo mese da Brii di briggishome.

Questo post contiene il riepilogo dell'evento.

E contribuisco la ricetta degli gnocchetti alla farina di ceci con barbabietole rosse all'edizione numero 417 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once e Brii di briggishome, e ospitato questa settimana da Martissima di Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

serpente di pasta / snake of pasta dough

June 11, 2013 | Simona

rolling dough into a long snake

A new week, a new pasta shape. To make this one, whose name shall remain secret for now, dough is first rolled into a long, thin snake.

The casual arrangement of the folds and the contrast with the texture of the wooden kneading board made for an interesting image.

This is my contribution to edition #87 of Black and White Wednesday – A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar, and hosted this week by Jasmina of Jazzy Kitchen.

The photo was shot in color and then converted to sepia (Lightroom preset Sepia).

This post contains the gallery of photo contributed to the event.

On this page, you can find out who is hosting the current and future editions of the event.

handmade garganelli (pasta)

January 31, 2013 | Simona

ready to roll?

When you are done rolling, you get this:

meet Mr. Garganello

You look at garganelli and you think: penne rigate. There are a few differences between the two pasta shapes. In particular, in garganelli the ridges are perpendicular, rather than parallel, to the length, and there is a visible seam. A link tweeted recently by Frank of Memorie di Angelina sent me to an article on garganelli. As soon as I finished reading it, I started planning my rendition.

According to the Encyclopedia of Pasta by Oretta Zanini De Vita, this pasta shape is typical of Emilia-Romagna (like the strozzapreti I featured recently), but it can also be found in Marche and Umbria. The name comes from the dialectal word garganel, chicken's gullet "which the ridged garganello resembles." I am not familiar with the dialects of Emilia-Romagna, but in Italian there is the expression bere a garganella, which means to drink without placing the rim of the vessel on your lips, but letting the liquid drop straight into your mouth.

Zanini De Vita's entry for garganelli is interesting to read in its entirety, in particular because it shows an image of the pettine (comb), the tool traditionally used to make them. They are indeed also known as maccheroni al pettine. I don't have a pettine, but browsing around the web, I saw that the tool sold as garganelli board, to be used in lieu of a pettine, is basically a gnocchi board with a mini rolling pin.

my first version of rolling pin for garganelli

I already had a gnocchi board, so I asked for my husband's help in crafting the mini rolling pin. "We need a dowel," he said. I am used to going to the hardware store to ask for things that are made for one job, while I will be using them for a totally different one. I did not do my homework with the necessary care (see later), so I asked for a 1/2-inch diameter dowel (photo above). The dowel he got me was too long, but a small saw took care of that detail and voilà, I had my mini rolling pin.

I then turned my attention to the logistics of shaping garganelli. The recipes I read for the dough were all over the place: the only common trait was the use of eggs. Most importantly, the recipes did not address my main question: how do you prevent garganelli from flattening?

I decided to use my regular egg dough, which has a certain amount of body due to the presence of semolina and durum flour in the mix. It all went smoothly and I had a lot of fun shaping the garganelli. But then, what I was dreading, happened: my beautiful tubular garganelli slowly flattened while drying. Of course, they were still edible.

in great shape

For my second attempt, I let the pasta dry somewhat between the rolling and the shaping, so that it would be stiffer. It worked: My garganelli kept their pretty shape until I plopped them into boiling water, over an hour after they I had rolled them.

garganelli dressed with mashed avocado

Then, in a grocery store in Oakland, I happened upon dry garganelli and noticed that their diameter was smaller than that of my homemade garganelli. I went home and did a bit more research. The most influential source of information I found is a post that includes a .gif image showing the shaping of a garganello using the thicker end of a chopstick. After reading the post, I got two more dowels: one 3/8-inch and the other 1/4-inch (6 mm) in diameter and again cut a piece from each, about 8 inches (20 cm) long. I then made garganelli using both and in the end concurred with Yuko of Cuisinivity that using a small-diameter mini rolling pin is better. The garganelli made with the 1/4-inch diameter mini rolling pin are less tricky to handle and keep their lovely shape better.

Here are my hands making garganelli:

I follow Yuko's lead in somewhat marking the pasta square by lightly passing the rolling pin over it first. My addition is that when I do the actual roll, I use the side of the board closest to me to direct the rolling action (see where my thumbs are in the video).

As in other pasta shapes I make, the hands move with a balance between not enough pressure, which in this case would make a garganello without ridges and not properly sealed, and too much pressure, which would make the dough square stick to the board or to the rolling pin.

I have made several batches of garganelli by now, to test the variations described above, and dressed them alternatively with burro e parmigiano and with mashed avocado (I am using avocado in many dishes these days). A Note about cheese: I am submitting the recipe below to a vegetarian event and therefore I am leaving the kind of cheese unspecified. Cheese may be made with calf rennet, for example Parmigiano-Reggiano, or non-animal rennet, so the vegetarian needs to choose accordingly.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for handmade garganelli

The following ingredients yield two small portions. Once you become conversant with the shaping action, double them or more, depending on how many people there are around the table and the rest of the menu.

1 extra-large egg
80 g (a teaspoon less than 3 oz.) King Arthur Flour's pasta blend, plus more as needed to obtain the dough
A pinch of salt
All-purpose flour, as needed, for rolling and shaping
Half a ripe avocado
Freshly grated cheese of choice, to taste (see Note above)

Make a dough using the first three ingredients. Add more pasta flour as needed to get a supple dough. Cover the dough and let rest for 1/2-1 hour.

Roll the dough by hand or with a machine into one of more thin sheets (on my machine, I roll to the last thickness level; I roll the dough twice at each level and once at the last level), flouring lightly as needed (with all-purpose flour) to prevent sticking. Cut the pasta into squares of 4 cm / 1.5 inch side and let rest briefly, while you knead, roll and cut the odd-shaped cutouts.

Starting from the squares you cut first, shape each one into a garganello (see the video above for reference). Place a square diagonally on the board, then lightly roll the mini rolling pin over it in the direction away from you. Hook the corner closest to the board handle on the mini rolling pin and roll towards you, applying a light pressure to imprint the ridges on the outer surface and to seal the garganello. Flour the board and the mini rolling pin as needed to prevent sticking. Place the shaped garganelli on a lightly floured tray.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add some coarse salt, stir and then add the pasta. Bring water back to boiling. Cooking time depends on flour used and thickness of pasta, but it is in the order of a few minutes, so don't wander away, but pay undivided attention.

Since the pasta takes only a short time to cook, prepare the dressing as the water comes to a boil. Put the avocado in a bowl and mash it with a fork to make a cream.

When the pasta is ready, turn off the heat, pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and then drain the pasta, leaving a bit of water clinging to it. Toss pasta and mashed avocado, sprinkle grated cheese on it and toss some more. Serve immediately.

There is a page on the blog where you can browse the complete collection of handmade pasta shapes, some of them of my own creation.

This is my contribution to the first edition of Pasta Please, a new pasta-centric event created by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes and hosted this month by the creator herself. The theme this month is: cheese.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

garganelli

or launch the garganelli audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

handmade pasta, avocado, cheese