fresh pasta three ways

pasta (or paste if you want to be more correct) is always much better when freshly made at home. while it does take effort on your part to make the dough and form it into various shapes, the advantage is that it can be done in large batches and frozen for up to several months. cooked either fresh or from its frozen state, it is ready in 3 minutes or less — much faster than using the dried variety (and much better!).

having a pasta machine makes the work much easier, especially if you are making a lot of it. it is not essential however as it can be rolled out by hand. be prepared for a workout though! you'll need to roll out your dough to a minimum of an 1/8th of an inch and thinner if you can do it. much of the process of hand rolling relies on having a very well rested dough so the gluten relaxes and is more amenable to being coaxed to stretch to its maximum length and width.

plain pasta is always good however to add some extra nutrients and colour, i'm showing how to do it with spinach and with tomato. if you're eager enough, you can even make all three kinds and serve it "tricolore" style, a tribute to its home country — italy. it looks quite nice on an oblong plate in separate piles of green, white (errr...yellow), and red.

buon appetito!



fresh spinach pasta

makes 1 pound (454 gr) - increase as necessary (below)

ingredients:

2 c all purpose flour (10 oz) + 1/2 c durum semolina pasta flour OR,
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

3 large eggs
water as needed (only if necessary)

1/2 lb (250 gr) fresh spinach or 1/4 lb frozen (125 gr)

method:

bring 4 c water to boil and add some salt (not the one from recipe!).

cook freshly chopped (or frozen) spinach in boiling and salted water until cooked. fresh spinach will take very little time.

drain the spinach and rinse it under cold water. squeeze it until almost all moisture is gone. this is very important as you don't want excess water. also, use a FINE meshed colander or you will loose parts of your spinach.

chop the spinach very, very finely or do it in a food processor, pulsing as you do it. you don't want a purée.

set this aside.

mix the dry ingredients together in a large wide bowl. if you don't have one, you can do this on the counter. you can also do this in a large food processor if you aren't comfortable or don't have the strength or ambition to do it by hand.

make your fontana by pushing the flour from the middle to the sides. make sure you have a strong wall which is high enough so that the liquid ingredients do not spill over. add the eggs to the middle space. with a fork, your fingers or chop sticks, mix the eggs to scramble them.

add the chopped spinach to the eggs now.

mix the eggs and spinach together and start to bring in the flour slowly from the INNER sides of the ridge of flour to slowly form a dough mass. this will take a little time. it will also get a bit more difficult as more flour is absorbed. continue until you can no longer add more flour. remember to try to conserve the wall until as late as possible in the process.

if you need extra water to make a smooth dough, add it now in very small amounts until the dough is formed.

now the hard part if doing this by hand — the kneading. knead the pasta dough for a good 4 to 5 minutes to make sure all is incorporated and the spinach is well distributed. you will see little flecks of green and white most likely. if there are large patches of white, then you haven't kneaded enough. these little spots will disappear as you roll out the dough and cook it.

let the dough rest for a minimum of 2 hours, covered.

cut the ball into 4 separate pieces and do not reroll it. this will make it elastic.

take one ball and roll it out very thinly and cut into desired shapes.

if you have a pasta machine, you need to extend the dough several times first, following the instructions of your machine.

cut the extended dough with the attachment you prefer.

if doing this by hand, have a large well flour surface and roll out your piece very, very thinly as much as you can. make sure that it does not stick to the board or counter, reflouring as needed.

flour both sides again (with a thin dusting) and roll up loosely and cut into strips. if you don't flour, they'll stick together and you'll have a disaster. loosen up (detangle them afterwards) the pasta and let your pasta sit a few minutes to dry out a bit.

i always reflour the cut noodles (place in a bowl with flour and gently toss them to distribute the flour and noodles.

put them in ziplocs in the portions needed. all that is necessary to cook them is to boil the water and put the pasta directly into the water, frozen. it will cook in under 3 minutes usually.

* * * * * * * *

regular (plain) pasta dough

ingredients:

2 c all purpose flour (+ extra as needed)
1 t salt
1 t olive oil
3 eggs
water if needed

method:

follow procedure above.

* * * * * * * *

tomato & cracked black pepper pasta dough

ingredients:

2 c all purpose flour + extra as needed
1 t salt
1 1/2 - 3 tsp CRACKED black pepper* OR coarsely ground
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil or 1 tbsp dried (optional)
1 t olive oil
3 - 4 tbsp good quality tomato paste
3 eggs

water if needed

*place whole peppercorns in a paper bag and crack/crush them with a rolling pin. don't add finely ground pepper, it's not the same thing and inappropriate for this recipe. i didn't have whole peppercorns at the time so used coarsely ground in the photos below. use the amount of pepper at your discretion.

method:

follow procedure above and add the tomato paste in place of the spinach.

i use some pasta flour also and like to mix the eggs and tomato paste separately and then add it to the fontana — either way works.

the finished product :)

enjoy!

caramel, pepper, jerusalem and a few eggs

..... oh yeah, and don't forget the noodles!

kugels can be made from a variety of noodles and/or vegetables and are simple and filling side dishes. this particular one is actually a specialty of the city of jerusalem and is easily whipped up in no time at all. it is somewhat different in that it requires making a caramel first from oil and sugar and then adding it to cooked fine noodles to provide both colour and flavour. the standard noodle kugels use wide (broad) type egg noodles and do not involve this kind of preparation.

while it does have sugar in it, this version is not particularly sweet. jerusalem kugels are always made with the addition of ground black pepper. that can be adjusted to suit one's taste but usually, they are quite peppery. once baked, they are a nice dark golden brown, crispy on the outsides and dense but soft on the inside.

and you thought noodles were only for italian pasta dishes ;p

jerusalem kugel

ingredients:

1/2 lb fine egg noodles (250 gr)
3 eggs

1/4 c vegetable oil
1/2 c white granulated sugar, divided*

1/4 - 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger, heaped
1/2 - 1 tsp ground black pepper

method:

boil a pot of salted water and cook the noodles until al dente. it should take less than 10 minutes as they are quite thin and small. do not overcook them.

drain well and set in a bowl.

preheat the oven to 350 F. grease a 6 - 7 inch cake pan, either round or square with margarine or oil. i like using margarine as it coats the sides better.

while they are cooling, heat 1/4 c of oil in a small pot or non stick fry pan. add *1/4 c + 1 tbsp of the sugar. reserve the rest for later.

stir the sugar in the pot or fry pan and let it melt.

it will slowly start to caramelize. do not leave it unattended.

once it is dark brown, very carefully add this to the noodles.

try to get all of the oil and sugar out of the pan. the mixture will sizzle a bit on top of the noodles; that is fine. mix well.

add the eggs, reserved sugar and seasonings to the noodle mixture. mix this well again.

add the mixture to the greased pan and bake for 1 hour or until well browned.

remove from oven. place a plate on top and then flip it over. you may want to check that it has not stuck to the pan first with a spatula before doing this. cut in serving pieces.

enjoy!

spicy "sweet & salty" sesame noodles

this recipe is more of a north american deli-type invention and uses either spaghetti noodles or thin linguine. while not authentically asian due to the type of noodles involved, it is convenient in that many homes always have these on hand. while some pasta salad and noodle recipes typically lose their taste upon sitting for any length of time, the flavour of these noodles is not dulled upon refrigeration or storage — even after several days. hopefully they won't be sitting around that long in your fridge!

notes for this recipe before starting:

* do not use salted water to cook the noodles; enough salt is provided in the soy sauce;
* a dark soy sauce is the one to use; light ones or japanese style do not have the same depth of flavour;
* do not use less oil than called for; it is there for a reason and does not make the noodles "oily";
* the sesame seeds & sesame oil are optional. omit if you do not like the the texture/flavour they add to the noodles;
* orange zest is also optional;

* intensity of chili heat is your choice, anywhere from none to smokin' hot;
* i sometimes make these noodles without the sesame seeds & orange zest and it is just as good. my preference is often for making them plain & simple.

spicy sweet & salty sesame noodles


1/2 small pkg spaghetti or linguine noodles [~ 250 g; 1/2 lb]
1 - 3 tbsp sesame seeds
3 - 4 tbsp vegetable oil
3 - 4 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp red chili flakes or sriracha sauce
4 - 5 tbsp dark soy sauce (not japanese or light soy)
3 - 4 tbsp honey
1/2 - 1 tsp dark [toasted] sesame oil
1 - 2 tsp finely grated orange zest or,
1 tbsp thinly julienned orange peel (no white part)

thinly sliced green onions for garnishing

peel garlic cloves and slice thinly. set aside. grate or julienne orange zest and set aside [cover it so it doesn't dry out].

measure out the noodles and break in half and set aside.

put up water to boil the noodles. while that is happening, place sesame seeds — if using — in a dry fry pan over medium heat and brown them. remove and set aside. in the same pan, add the oil [not the sesame] over medium low heat and add the sliced garlic. cook until softened, not browned. add the chili flakes during the last 30 seconds to cook a bit.

place this in a large mixing bowl and add the orange zest to release some of its oils. add the sesame oil and the seeds along with the soy sauce and honey.

when water is ready, boil the noodles until al dente and strain. drain well, you don't want any water added to the recipe. place the noodles in a large bowl and cover the bowl.

add drained noodles to the sauce ingredients and mix well with tongs. let the noodles absorb the sauce for an hour or two before eating. adjust seasonings to your liking.

these can be successfully refrigerated and enjoyed later. they absorb the flavours nicely.