Our first encounter with flour was pasta - a day full of pasta. We started the day as usual, with a demo from the chef. She showed us how to make pasta dough by hand and then in the food processor. She also showed us how to make gnocchi and a simple tomato sauce - the room was FULL of the sweet smells of roasted garlic and simmering tomatoes.
To make pasta by hand, the most important part is accurate measurements to get the proper dough consistency. After measuring the flour, it is piled on the counter and formed into the shape of a volcano. The egg is then cracked into the middle of the flour and slowly kneaded into the flour. Using the food processor, the dough is made my simply combining the egg and flour - very simple. To me, there's something slightly sterile about using the food processor to make pasta. Pasta is such a heart-felt dish; the perfect thin spaghetti noodle smothered in a robust tomato sauce conjures up images of a hearty Italian grandmother slaving away all day in the kitchen, serving her family a meal to feed their bellies and their souls. I just don't think the food processor can feed my soul.
After making the dough, we using the pasta roller to flatten and cut the pasta. It was amazing!
I decided to make whole wheat pasta by hand. Tracy and I cut sheets into fettuccine style noodles and kept some flat sheets to make ravioli. Throughout the rest of the day, we made several sauces and fillings and were able to make lots of different pasta dish with the variety of ingredients.
A couple of our dishes:
spinach pappardelle with sweet tomato sauce
butternut squash and walnut stuffed ravioli
rosemary fettuccine with sage butter sauce
whole wheat spaghetti with white bean and lemon sauce
No comments:
Post a Comment