For the Love of Fresh Pasta

Mmmm, Fresh pasta! I would argue that if you haven’t had it, you have yet to experience all life has to offer. What’s the big difference between buying dried pasta and having it fresh? Well that’s like asking, oh I don’t know… what the difference between 12am and 12pm? It’s night and day!!! There is nothing like making pasta by hand. When I am making it, it's almost as if the colors of my world shift to antique hues and the little Tuscan grandmother in me comes alive. Now, I don’t exactly have a Tuscan grandmother, BUT i've spent enough time learning about and eating traditional Tuscan food that I think I do have a little Tuscan fairygrandmother. Making pasta is a labor of love. I think that’s the difference actually. A lot of things taste better with a little love in them… it’s my not-so-secret ingredient. In fresh pasta, you can taste it lingering in every bite.  I have only recently started making it in my own home, but I already feel almost guilty making pasta dishes with the dried variety. I see my little pasta machine sitting there on the shelf as I reach for store bought stuff and I imagine the rejection it must feel. Like how all that puppy in the window must feel when it sees one of the others being chosen and not him.

 

(see... antique hues!) photograph made possible by roomie

We all know it’s equally fun going out at 12am and 12pm but for different reasons. It’s the same when it comes to fresh vs. dried pasta. They are both great in different circumstances. Obviously… if you don’t have a pasta machine like this one, you aren’t going to be making rigatoni any time soon! But you can make ravioli or fettuccini. Dried pasta is best with your hearty sauces like rich marinara. Fresh is delicate and needs a sauce of the same nature.

One of my closest friends and I collaborated on this recipe.  Often times it hasn’t even hit noon yet and we are throwing around ideas for dinner. Always a good start to the day. When coming up with this pasta, we were thinking fresh & light yet cheesy & substantial. When we had decided on all the ingredients, we knew it was going to be good, but we didn’t know it was going to be THIS good! This is a slow sauce to make, one that doesn’t require a lot of attentiveness and it gets better the longer it cooks. Like one of Pavlov’s dogs, I salivate at the sound of the ricotta cheese mixing with the pasta and melting into the crevasses. I was so hypnotized by the sound, in fact, that I completely forgot to take a picture of the final result. Forgive me, it wont happen again.
  
Fresh Rigatoni with Heirloom Cherry Tomato Sauce
serves about 4

Fresh pasta is not necessary for this recipe. Feel free to use dried, it will still be delicious.

To make the pasta I followed the recipe that came with my pasta maker... but any will do. You do not need a stand mixer to make pasta dough.

For the Pasta dough:

• 4 large eggs
• 3 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour (sift first, then measure out 3 1/2 c.)
• 2 Tbls. water
• 1 Tbls. salt

Break eggs into a glass measuring cup
     Place flour and salt in stand mixer bowl. Beat at low speed and gradually add in the eggs plus 2 Tbls. water. Mix for 30 seconds. Stop and exchange the flat beater for the dough hook. Turn to low speed for about 2 minutes.
    Remove mixture from bowl and place on a clean surface. Knead by hand for about a minute untill it is smooth and forms into a ball.
    This is when you add the dough in small balls into the pasta maker and it comes out in pretty shapes :)

For the Sauce:

• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced - use 4 the first time (i say first because you WILL want to make this again) but add in another clove the second time if you would like a stronger garlic flavor
• 2 cups (more or less) heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 Tbls balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 of a 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese (I used whole ricotta, you could use skim if you want, but whole really is the way to go)
• 3 oz. goat cheese
• 2 handfuls of arugula
• 1/2 c. basil, roughly chopped
• about a dozen cranks of lemon pepper - I bought this at Trader's (as in Trader Joe's grocery store...we are on a first name basis thanks to my frequent visits). I bought it on a whim and now I add it to everything! Seriously Delicious

In a medium sized pan, pour enough olive oil to coat the bottom completely. Add the diced onion and a pinch of salt and sauté over a medium-low temperature. The slower you cook the onions the more delicious they get. You are not trying to brown them… you just want to sweat them out and make them happy and translucent. After about 5 minutes add the minced garlic. Keep cooking over a low temperature, once the onions become translucent, add the halved cherry tomatoes and another pinch of salt. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil and cook for a good while, I’m talking at least 20 minutes, until it is thick and glazed and saucy. Once it has all come together and reached this saucy stage, add the splash balsamic vinegar and turn up the temperature a little bit. Continue cooking until it is reduced and has turned the sauce a wonderful caramelized color. Resist eating this with a fork straight out of the pan… but its okay if your can't.

      (This is right before adding the balsamic vinegar)

You can keep the sauce over low heat while you cook the pasta. Since I am using the fresh rigatoni I made only hours beforehand, it takes about 3 minutes to cook. If you are using store bought pasta, follow the time on the box. Once the pasta is done, save about ½ c. of the pasta water and set it aside. Drain the pasta. In a large bowl, add the pasta, the cheeses (it is important to do this first so the heat from pasta really melts the cheese), the pasta water, the onion/tomato sauce, the arugula, basil, and lemon pepper. Toss all together until well incorporated. I like to have some freshly grated Parmesan to sprinkle on top. I also like to add a little salt and pepper once I’ve dished up my individual plate, but after I’ve tasted it to feel it out.

I had these leftovers cold for lunch the next day, YUM


 

Why Cook Spaghetti In Water When You Can Cook It In Wine?

     For 8 months in 2008/09 I lived in Florence, Italy. From September to April I ate my way through Florence, then through Italy, and eventually through 14 other countries. I think it’s safe to say it was the best time of my life.  I kept  journals and wrote in them daily. Instead of filling the pages with stories of delicious, cute, hott Italian boys or things I missed about home, I wrote about what I ate and how amazing it was. I wish I had them with me right now to quote some of it because I am sure I sounded like a school girl in love, but really… I was writing about food. What amazes me is how much I can remember about a place or time, just by thinking about what I ate. For example, say to me ‘Ricciarelli’ and I will think of ALL the things I remember about Siena, not just the cookie (as delicious as it was). Or say ‘Spaghetti dell'ubriacone’ and I think of EVERYTHING about Florence.

While living and travelling in Europe, I fell in love with streets and trees, sculptures and buildings everyday. But my true love was the food. Anywhere and everywhere I went I made sure to fully experience the country through its food. My culinary inspiration grew each day, as did waistline. I could write for days about those 8 months, but I will stick with one dish in particular for this post.

I have a long list of favorite places to eat in Florence. If you are ever planning a trip there, email me and I will fill you in on all you need to know about eating in Florence. This book was a big help. One of my favorite places is Osteria de Benci. I can’t count the number of times I went there, but I can tell you that I ordered the same thing EVERY time. Usually I venture out at restaurants that I love, wanting to experience all they have to offer. But I was too in love with this one dish. On the walk over to the osteria, I always tried to convince the taste buds in the frontal lobe of my brain to give the rest of the menu a shot and just when I was about convinced to try something new, the personified plate of purple spaghetti appeared on my shoulder with big doe eyes and I knew I couldn’t reject him. Lucky for me, I had a system down with my friends. I ordered the spaghetti dell'ubriacone (drunk spaghetti) while someone else ordered the eliche del profeta (a cheesy fusili pasta tossed with olive oil, oregano and fresh tomatoes), and another ordered the strawberry risotto (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it). I got the best of all three worlds every time.

Of all the images, tastes, and smells that pop into my head when I think of Florence, the spaghetti dell'ubriacone is near the top. I miss osteria de benci almost as much as I missed my family while I was living so far away. That is why this pasta has become one of my staples.

The first time I heard of this red wine pasta, I thought it was weird. You might think its weird too, but try it. Then as you slurp up your last drunken noodle, book your flight to Florence and have the real deal. While I can tell you how to make the pasta, I can't give you the experience of enjoying it in the city herself, which only adds to the flavor of my memory of this dish.

Just because the spaghetti is purple, doesn’t make this is difficult to make. It might seem difficult, but read through it and you will see it is actually quiet simple.

This does not do the original spaghetti dell’ubracione much justice. In Michael Chiarello’s recipe on food network, he adds broccoli rabe to this pasta. I add broccolini instead and add pine nuts as well.

Red Wine Pasta

Serves 4

•One bunch broccolini (most of the stems trimmed off)
•1 pound spaghetti
•2 bottles red wine of your liking (1 for the spaghetti to drink and 1 for you to drink)
•1 big pinch of sugar (or about a teaspoon is you wish to measure)
•1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
•5 garlic cloves, chopped (use 4 for a milder garlic flavor)
•1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (this has a mild spice, I like to add a bit more though)
•salt & pepper
•½ c pine nuts, toasted slightly
•½ c. grated Parmesan (optional)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the water has come to a boil, add in the broccolini, only for about 2-3 minutes. Transfer the broccolini with a slotted spoon to a colander to drain. DO NOT DRAIN, save the water to cook the spaghetti in! (if you got caught up in the steamy broccolini moment and drained it all, that’s ok. Just fill the pot back up with water).

Return the water to a boil and cook the spaghetti for 5 minutes. Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water and set it aside. Now you can drain the whole pot into the colander (take out the broccolini and set aside before you drain the spaghetti!)

Return the now empty pasta pot to the stove. Add one entire bottle of wine to the pot along with the sugar. Bring this to a boil and let it boil vigorously for about 2 minutes to allow the wine to concentrate and cook down a bit.

Add the spaghetti to the boiling wine and stir**. Boil the pasta in this wine for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until most of the wine is absorbed and the noodles are al dente (almost like cooking risotto).

**Right when you add the spaghetti to the wine, cook the garlic and pepper flakes in the olive oil in a LARGE deep skillet or pan (large enough to hold all the spaghetti). Cook over med-low heat so the garlic does not burn and become bitter. Cook until the garlic is a light golden color (about 5 min.). Now add the broccolini and a pinch of salt and pepper to this. Cook together about another minute. Add ½ c. of the reserved pasta water.

When the spaghetti is finished cooking, add in the pine nuts and pour the whole pot into to the broccolini mixture. Toss together. Cook another minute or 2. Remove from the stove. Add more salt and pepper, a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if you so well please.

Buon Appetito!