Homemade Linguine

 Homemade Linguine

Homemade Pasta sounds intimidating, but it's not actually hard!  It's a little soul improving work that results in delicious food an a meal to impress.  This recipe calls for a richer pasta using more egg yolks than whites.  This recipe also calls for using a pasta maker, specifically, I used the one that attaches to a stand mixer, but any other pasta maker will do as well.

Materials: Pasta Maker

Ingredients:

6 Egg Yolks
4 Egg Whites
4 C 00 Semolina Flour
1 Generous Pinch of Salt
1 Teaspoon Olive Oil

1. Measure out flour and form into a well.

2. Put eggs in the well and mix with fork until combined.  Slowly add flour from the inside of the well and incorporate it into eggs.

*Tip* Be careful not to use too much flour at a time or your well will collapse and the eggs will spill all over!

3. Once a dough is formed kneed the dough by pushing down and out until a smooth ball is formed (about 8 minutes of kneeding)

4. Cover the ball in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30minutes.

5.  Cut the dough into 6ths.  Flatten slightly and check that your pasta maker is set on the widest setting and feed through 1/6th of the flattened dough.

6. Use one hand to feed it through the machine and the other to catch the pasta from the other side until it is running quickly and smoothly through the machine without continuing to get flatter.

**Tip** this is a feeling you can feel the machine's tension become less on the dough as you feed it through.

7. Change the setting to the next lowest (zero to one, or one to two depending on your machine).  And repeat feeding through the dough with one hand and catching it with the other until it runs smoothly through the machine and is ready for the next setting.

8.  Determine how thick you want your noodles to be, for linguine a thicker noodle is traditional, so I stopped my machine at the 5th setting despite my machine having 8 settings. 

9.  Change the attachment on your pasta maker to the fettuccine or linguine attachment which will cut your pasta into strips.  If you do not have this attachment you can gently fold your flattened pasta dough about 4xs and cut it into strips with a knife and achieve the same results.

10.  Place the noodles in additional flour so they remain dry and wont get stuck to one another.  Most people put their noodles in pretty "nests", but putting them in a giant pile works exactly the same if you have enough flower to keep them from sticking.

11. Repeat steps 6-10 with the remaining dough while bringing a pot of salted water to a boil.

12.  Once the salted water is boiling drop in the pasta.  It should take about 45 seconds to a minute to cook.

**Tip** you know the pasta is done when it floats to the top of the pot.  Remove it immediately and serve with your delicious  Homemade Tomato Sauce !

Enjoy !!

Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce

So many of my posts relate to my excess of tomatoes and this is no exception.  I used 12lbs of fresh tomatoes from my garden in this recipe and still have lots more tomatoes left.  Pomodoro Sauce is usually my favorite sauce over marinara because it is so light and has the distinct fresh tomato taste even when the tomatoes weren't picked right before putting them into you pot.  This is so delicious you don't even have to add sugar to the sauce.

I have only cherry tomatoes right now, but plum, roma, and beef will help you add some additional flavor to the sauce. 

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

12lbs of tomatoes 
6 Basil leaves with stems attached
Bunch of leaves and stems from a tomato plant
1 Tbs salt
1 6oz can of tomato paste
1 small onion minced
6 Cloves of Roasted Garlic *instructions on how to roast garlic follow*

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

1. Heat tomatoes in a large stock pot until all of the water is released (about 10minutes).  If you do not have a large enough pot work in batches.

2.  Cut off about 1/4 inch off of the top of the garlic head.  Place it into tinfoil and drizzle oil on top and place in the oven until brown about 30minutes.

3. If you have a food mill use it to separate the skins and the seed.  If you are like me and do not have a food mill, use a hand blender to blend the tomatoes and a mesh sieve to strain the seeds and skins saving the juice and pulp from the tomatoes.

4. In dutch oven or heavy bottomed sauce pan (large enough to fit the tomato juice and pulp in) cook the onion until translucent on medium-high heat.  Then add the tomato paste and roasted garlic and mix until the onion is incorporated.

5.  Add the tomato juice and cook at a simmer for about 40 minutes.

6. Add the tomato plant and basil leaves with stems attached and continue to cook for 10 more minutes to infuse their flavors. (if working in batches repeat this with the other batches)

6. Remove the tomato plant leaves and basil leaves and add salt to taste.

Serve on fresh pasta

Enjoy!!

Stuffed Artichokes

I tend to like food better when it require some work to eat it.  Artichokes fall into this category, I like artichokes best when I have to pull off each leaf individually and can indulge in its tasted over and over again.

Stuffed Artichokes

Serves 3:

Ingredients:

3 Large Artichokes
3 Large Pieces of Whole Wheat Sourdough (or firm bread)
1/4 C Butter
2Tbs Lemon Juice
1/3 C White Wine
1/4 C Parsley
1/4 C Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees

1. Cut off about 1inch of the artichoke.  Then using scissors cut off the tips of the leaves. Open up the leaves by spreading them outwards from the center.  This will make it easier to stuff them.  

2. Steam Artichokes for 40 minutes or until the lower leaves can be pulled off effortlessly

**TIP: I am impatient and never follow through with the rule and the result is a hard interior for the inner leaves.  Make sure they almost fall right off!**

3.  During this time make the stuffing. Begin by using a food processor to make the bread into breadcrumbs.

4.  Melt the butter in a sauce pan, add the lemon juice and white wine until it has reduced and the alcohol has cooked out.

5. Add the breadcrumbs and grated cheese.

6. Take off the heat to cool and add in the parsley.

7.  When the artichokes are done steaming, allow them to cool enough to handle them.

8. Using the stuffing open each leave and place enough stuffing so that it is almost coming out of the top.

9. Sprinkle additional cheese and drizzle olive oil on top of the artichoke.

10. Place on top of a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes until the bread crumbs and cheese are toasted. 

Serve and Enjoy!!