Italian Pasta Recipes
- Each Person: 1 egg and 100g flour
Directions
Place the flour on a board or in a bowl. Make a well in the center and crack the eggs into it. Beach the eggs with a fork until smooth.
Using the tips of your fingers, mix the eggs with the flour, incorporating a little at a time, until everything is combined.
Knead the pieces of dough together, with a bit of work they’ll bind together to give you one big, smooth lump of dough.
Once you’ve made your dough, you’ll need to knead and work it with your hands to develop the gluten in the flour, otherwise your pasta will be flabby and soft when you cook it, instead of springy and al dente.
When it comes to rolling, the main problem you’ll have is getting the pasta thin enough to work with. It’s quite difficult to get a big lump of dough rolled out in one piece, and you need a very long rolling pin to do the job properly. The way around this is to roll lots of small pieces of pasta rather than doing a few big ones.
If you’re making pasta like tagliatelle, lasagne, or spaghetti you’ll need to roll the pata down to a playing card; if you’re making a stuffed pasta like ravioli or tortellini you’ll need to roll it down slightly thinner.
Bechamel Sauce
100g butter 100g flour 10g salt 1L whole milk freshly grated nutmeg
Heat butter in a medium saucepan until melted. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook gently over medium heat until light golden brown, 6-7 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until almost boiling. Add milk to the butter mixture. 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. If lumps begin to form, you need to adjust the heat up a bit higher.
Bring to a boil, and cook for 30 seconds, continuing to stir. Remove from the heat and season with salt and nutmeg
Note: After I had brought it to a boil and let it cook for 30 seconds, it was still too liquidly. I continued to cook it over high heat, stirring constantly, until it thickened down, and began to coat the back of the spoon.
Salame Al Cioccolato
150g Sugar 150g Biscotti 170g Butter 2 Medium Eggs 50g Cocoa
Beat the eggs and sugar with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Melt and add the butter, and beat until incorporated. Add the cocoa, and beat until incorporated. Finally, incorporate the crushed biscotti into the mixture.
Place a large sheet of waxed paper on a work surface. Pour the chocolate mixture onto the paper and shape it into a cylinder, rolling the parchment paper around it and twisting the ends so that it resembles a large candy in a wrapper. Put it in the freezer until firm, at least 3 hours.
To serve, unwrap the chocolate salami cylinder and use a serrated knife to cut thick delicious slices.
Pasta Filling
200g or 2 cups fresh ricotta 100g or 1 cup parmesean 24 months 1 Tbsp nutmeg powder OR 1 Tbsp truffle oil
Mix the parmesan with the ricotta and then ad the nutmeg or truffle oil
Tomato Sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed 500g tomato puree (Passata) 4 basil leaves 2 tsp salt
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the garlic and cook on a low heat until soft. Add the tomato puree. Cook for a few minutes then add the fresh basil. Season generously and simmer for 20 minutes
Butter & Sage Sauce
100g butter, cubed 4 leaves of coarsely chopped fresh sage 1/2 teaspoon salt
In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Heat 3-4 minutes or until is melted, stirring constantly. Immediately stir in sage and salt; remove from heat.
Lasagne Order
Parmesan Cheese Besclamella Ragu Pasta Besclamella Ragu Pasta Besclamella Ragu Pasta Beslamella
Ragu Bolognese
300g ground beef 150g sweet bacon 50g celery 50g carrot 50g onion 300g tomato sauce 1/2 glass of white wine 1/2 glass of milk Salt & Pepper 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Melt 150g of sweet diced pancetta over a gentle flame in a saucepan. Add the chopped celery, carrot and onion and fry, adding 3 Tbsp of oil. Add the ground beef and brown it, then blend it with half a glass of white wine and let it evaporate. Continue cooking stirring gently, then add tomato sauce and simmer over a low heat for about 2 hours, covering the saucepan with a lid. Add, if the sauce restores too much, a little water. Towards the end of cooking, taste the sauce; adjust salt and pepper and, if necessary, add a few tablespoons of milk to correct the acidity of the tomato. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of salted water. Complete with grated parmesan and serve.
