Once in a blue moon, I choose to make a marathon
dinner. I’m talking about 3 hours
of active cooking. This is my
therapy. Knife in one hand; wine
glass in the other (figure of speech for the safety conscious). Great music playing at elevated levels
in the kitchen. Frank Sinatra,
Rock, Dance…anything but country.
This is what I call livin’.
“Mise en place" is my first priority. This is the French technique where you slice, dice, grate, and crush all your ingredients beforehand. This is Food Network’s secret to make cooking seem so simple--everything at the ready in small bowls. All you have to do is throw them in the pan at the appropriate time. This is the only way to cook with total control. Recipe and instructions below.
“Mise en place" is my first priority. This is the French technique where you slice, dice, grate, and crush all your ingredients beforehand. This is Food Network’s secret to make cooking seem so simple--everything at the ready in small bowls. All you have to do is throw them in the pan at the appropriate time. This is the only way to cook with total control. Recipe and instructions below.
Making homemade noodles is an event. Special equipment is highly
recommended. You can get the
hand-crank pasta roller or the fancy schmancy Kitchen Aid attachment. I don’t recommend using a rolling pin. Either way, the result is pasta that
makes you question if store bought is good enough. These types of tastes & textures make me a dish
snob. You can sell this stuff.
Homemade Spaghetti Noodles
Serves 6 adults
INGREDIENTS
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (King Arthur’s Flour preferred)
4 eggs (organic are best)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (to achieve elastic
consistency, not sticky to the touch)
DIRECTIONS
Combine ingredients and knead until an elastic consistency
is attained (combine in flour "well" or in a bowl). Set aside 20-30
minutes. Cut into 4 even
pieces. Press each piece into a
flat disc. Run through pasta
roller several times, folding pasta to add layers for each pass. Achieve a desired thickness and use
pasta cutter to make spaghetti.
Boil in salted water, approximately 5-8 minutes, until al-dente,
depending on thickness of the noodles.
Overcooked pasta will break apart easily; close monitoring is
recommended to maintain firm texture.
Prepping the "well". You can also use a bowl.
Eggs, salt, olive oil in the flour well. Combine well.
After kneading and resting. Portioning into manageable pieces.
Lots of pasta sheets ready to be cut into noodles. I made this contraption to aid with pasta making.
Credit: Leocadia Photography
Pasta sheets being cut into noodles.
Credit: Leocadia Photography
Ready to boil!
Credit: Leocadia Photography
Gourmet Primavera Sauce
Serves 6 adults
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, diced small (see Dicing technique)
1 package button mushrooms, sliced into 4 pieces
1/2 large zucchini, diced small
4 large tomatoes, diced
1 package basil, chiffonade
15-20 pitted kalamata olives, halved
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
Gray salt for finishing
Parmesan cheese for finishing
DIRECTIONS
Prepare all ingredients and place in individual bowls for the mise en place. Heat ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat momentarily. Introduce mushrooms, red pepper flakes, and the salt. Sauté over medium heat for approximately 3-5 minutes, periodically stirring. Reduce heat to medium low and add onions and sweat for 5 minutes (do not brown onions). Add garlic and stir for 2-3 minutes, taking care not to brown the garlic. Add tomatoes, olives, vinegar, half of the basil, and zucchini. Turn burner to high and heat mixture until zucchini is somewhat tender to the bite, not mushy. Turn heat off and slowly reheat just prior to serving.
Homemade Pasta Meditteraneo
FINISHING
Top the assembled dish with grey salt, parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, and a chiffonade of basil. The dish is purposefully light on the salt, so use as much grey salt as you wish. Bon appetit!
This is an original recipe and I’m more than happy to share it with you! Looking forward to your comments! Much thanks to Leocadia Photography for coming over for a wonderful night of pasta making, wine, and great conversation!
