Homemade Pasta
Following is a basic recipe for the dough for whole egg pasta, used for making homemade spaghetti, tagliatelli, papparadelle, and all stuffed pasta shapes.
I have been making this pasta using Einkorn flour for about 6 years. It makes a beautiful dough. If you don't have Einkorn, try to get the “OO” flour. You can usually find it at the grocery store.
FOR EVERY TWO PEOPLE, USE:
2/3 cup of all-purpose flour or 3/4 cup “OO” Italian flour
1 egg
(So, for 6 people, I would use 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 3 eggs.)
Place flour in the bowl of a food processor and add egg. Pulse until the dough comes together and pulls away from the bowl. Flour reacts differently on different days. You may need to add a little more flour or a little water or it might be perfect.
Dump the dough onto a floured work surface and bring it together into a flat round. Cut it into four pieces and wrap all but one in plastic wrap.
Use a pasta machine to roll out the piece of pasta, running the piece of dough through on the lowest, widest setting for about 15 times, rubbing with flour if needed to keep it from sticking. Lay the pieces on a floured, towel-covered sheet pan. Dust and wipe with flour.
Repeat with the other pieces of dough.
After the pasta has dried slightly, cut the pasta either by hand or using the cutters for the pasta machine. Put the cut pasta in little nests back onto the sheet pans and toss.
Cook the pasta right away in a large amount of salted water. It will cook very fast and when it starts to float it's done.
If you don't want to cook it right away, cover the sheet pans with kitchen towels and store at room temperature until you are ready to cook the pasta. It will hold a day or so.
This process takes about 30 minutes and is fun to do with your children. My 9 year-old granddaughter can make pasta like a little Italian girl!
RAGU BOLOGNESE
from Gina Stipo
This is a traditional Bolognese sauce, very simple to make and yet very rich and complex tasting. It is used for traditional lasagna and is ALWAYS served with a fresh pasta tagliatelle – never a semolina-based dried spaghetti. This recipe makes enough for at least two meals and it freezes very well.
2 lbs. ground beef, pork and veal, any combination
1 large onion
2 celery stalks
1 carrot
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 large can tomato sauce
1-2 cups white wine
1 cup milk
sea salt
black pepper
Place the onion, celery, and carrot in a food processor and puree.
Brown the meat in a small amount of olive oil, add the vegetables and saute well until softened, adding additional oil if it seems dry.
Season with salt and a good amount of black pepper.
Add the wine and cook off completely.
Add the milk and cook off completely.
Add the tomato paste and sauce, cover and allow the sauce to cook for 2 hours. If it is very thick, add a little water and watch it while it cooks to make sure it doesn't burn or get too dry.