Tagliatelle Fresche al Prosciutto Crudo

The fabulous Monday Pasta continues.

Tonight we had another hand-made pasta.  Tagliatelle.  Feather-light tagliatelle.  Perfect ribbons of silkiness...

I'm in love.

Victor has mastered the art of pasta-making.  Totally and completely.

Personally, I think everyone needs to go out and buy a pasta roller.  You can't buy pasta like this.  You just can't.

Tagliatelle

Serves 4

Making fresh pasta is easier and quicker than you may think, and the results are well worth the extra effort. Tender and supple, this hand-cut tagliatelle readily absorbs the flavors of the sauce it's tossed with.

Ingredients

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• Coarse sea salt

Instructions

On a clean work surface, mound flour and form a well in the center. Add eggs and egg yolks to the well. Using a fork, gently break up yolks and slowly incorporate flour from inside rim of well. Continue until liquid is absorbed, then knead for 10 minutes. Wrap dough tightly in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes.
Divide dough into 3 pieces. Cover 2 pieces with plastic wrap. Flatten remaining dough piece so that it will fit through the rollers of a pasta machine.

Set rollers of pasta machine at the widest setting, then feed pasta through rollers 3 or 4 times, folding and turning pasta until it is smooth and the width of the machine.
Roll pasta through machine, decreasing the setting, one notch at a time (do not fold or turn pasta), until pasta sheet is scant 1/16 inch thick.

Cut sheet in half widthwise; dust both sides of sheets with flour. Layer sheets between floured pieces of parchment or wax paper. Cover with paper and repeat with remaining dough.

With the short end of 1 pasta sheet facing you, loosely fold up sheet, folding sheet over two or three times from short ends toward the center. With a large chefs knife, cut folded sheet into ribbons, a scant 1/4 inch wide. Unroll strips and lightly dust with flour; spread on a lightly floured baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pasta sheets.

To cook the tagliatelle, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain pasta, transfer to a large serving bowl and toss with sauce.

Three ingredients.  That's it.  Three ingredients.  No gums, stabilizers, or dough conditioners.  Flour, eggs, and salt.

The sauce is the same.

The recipe tonight called for prosciutto, shallots, and cheese.  Three ingredients.  Four if you count a couple tablespoons of wine.  Simple, basic, and exploding with flavor.

I really love complex dishes where a score of ingredients compete and blend.  But there is another side of me that really loves the simplicity of a dish - where there are three ingredients and I taste each one individually and collectively.

Tonight's pasta was just that.  Each ingredient stood out, yet complimented and balanced the others.

Having grown up with - and cooked - Americanized versions of Southern Italian food, I'm really enjoying the more authentic and simpler foods Italy has to offer.  A couple of good ingredients is all it takes.

Tagliatelle Fresche al Prosciutto Crudo

4 servings

Ingredients

• Fine sea salt
• 5 ounces 1/8-inch-thick slices prosciutto
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallot (1 to 2 large)
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 14 ounces fresh tagliatelle
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, cut fat from prosciutto; finely chop fat. Cut remaining prosciutto into
1/4-inch cubes. Combine prosciutto fat and butter in a large nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add shallot and cook for 1 minute more. Add cubed prosciutto and cook for 1 minute more, then add wine and ¼ cup of the boiling water; cook until liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes, then remove from heat.

Add pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente (about 3 minutes for fresh pasta). Reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid, drain and immediately transfer to a large bowl.

Return skillet with prosciutto to medium-low heat. Add cheese and stir to combine. Immediately add contents of skillet and 1 tablespoon of the pasta cooking liquid to pasta; toss to combine. Add more pasta cooking liquid to moisten, if desired. Serve immediately.

And for dessert, I made a Spongata...

by Tim Dineen

Cheese Gnocchi

Sunday Dinner.

A tradition in many cultures.  Lots of family, lots of food, lots of fun.  We had two out of three, today.  Lots of food, lots of fun - but just a little family.  Victor's mom, brother and sister-in-law.

We decided we'd do the Monday Pasta today.  Sunday Dinner... Italians...  It seemed the right thing to do.

Tonight's dish was Ricotta Gnocchi.  Lighter than their potato cousins, they're also more flavorful.  They work equally well with a red sauce, a cream sauce, or a simple butter sauce.

Ricotta Gnocchi

• 1 lb ricotta cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed

1. Stir together the ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan Cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a large bowl until evenly combined. Mix in 1 cup of flour. Add additional flour if needed to form a soft dough.
2. Divide the dough into 3 or 4 pieces, and roll into 1/2-inch-thick ropes on a floured surface. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces, and place on a lightly floured baking sheet. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
3. While sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Boil the gnocchi until they float to the surface, 1 to 2 minutes, then drain.
4. Place gnocchi into a serving bowl, and spoon sauce over top.

They are actually pretty easy to make.  I've made them many times in the past rolling the little gnocchi off the tines of a fork.  The gnocchi board really makes it easier, although the fork tines are not difficult by any means.

You definitely want a soft dough to begin with.  Work it just enough to get everything mixed together, and although the recipe doesn't call for it, wrapping it and letting it rest for about 20 minutes or so will help bring it together and allow the flour to absorb the liquids.

And then it just becomes the rolling, cutting, and forming process.

[flowplayer src='https://tjrecipes.com/media/gnocchi.mp4']

The recipe makes a goodly amount.  We got two sheet pans - one went into the freezer!

I made another loaf of bread, and Marie brought over some great blondie-brownies.  And we had some of the Bananas Foster Bread from last night.

We ate really well.

A good time was had by all, the Giants beat the Padres, and life is good!

by Tim Dineen

Tagliatelle con Broccolo Romanesco

It is actually becoming difficult to describe how wonderful and delicious our Monday Pasta is...  Me.  The guy who can talk all day - is having trouble coming up with words to describe light-as-a-feather hand-made pasta with a couple of simple ingredients.

But I tell ya, I'm gonna have fun trying!

What started out as a bit of a lark has turned into a real learning experience for both of us.  We both grew up on the heavy southern Italian red sauce - with lots of beef and pork, meatballs and sausages.  I absolutely love it.  But all of a sudden, there are a bazillion ways to dress pasta - with just a couple of ingredients.  Now, restraint has never been a word I would say, see, or hear in a kitchen, but these dishes are all about restraint.  They're about a couple of ingredients standing on their own.

Tonight's pasta was a prime example.  Cauliflower, anchovies, dried chiles, a garlic clove, and a can of tomatoes.  I could taste every flavor, yet not one overpowered another.  The balance was unbelievable and another perfect learning experience for the king of culinary excess.

And Victor has the pasta-making down to a science.  It's uncanny what he is able to do with a couple of eggs and a cup of flour.  Unbelievable.

So here's another fantastic Monday Night Pasta Dish... With more to come!

Tagliatelle con Broccolo Romanesco

Tagliatelle with Romanesco Cauliflower and spicy tomato sauce

• 2 ½ lbs cauliflower (preferably Romanesco)
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 flat anchovy fillets
• ½ tsp dried red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
• 1 28 oz. can whole plum tomatoes in juice
• 1 lb Tagliatelle or other long pasta
• ½ cup flat leaf parsley finely chopped

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut cauliflower into 1 inch wide florets. Cook florets in the boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Reserve water, transfer cauliflower to a colander to drain, then rinse under cold water to stop cooking.

In a large, high sided skillet with a lid, combine garlic, oil, anchovies and pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes and juices (I break up the tomatoes), bring to a simmer then add cauliflower. Gently simmer sauce, covered, stirring once or twice for about 20 minutes or until sauce starts to thicken a bit. Meanwhile return the water to a boil.

Five minutes before sauce is ready, cook pasta in the boiling water until al dente. Drain pasta and transfer to a large service bowl. Immediately add sauce and parsley, toss to combine. Serve immediately with grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

The pasta is a total key-player in these dishes.  If you can make it, all the better.  if you can't, at least get the best fresh pasta you can find.  And if you can't get fresh, the best packaged.  And if the best packaged is a store-brand, well... go for it, anyway!

Tagliatelle

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• Coarse sea salt

Special equipment: parchment or waxed paper

Instructions

On a clean work surface, mound flour and form a well in the center. Add eggs and egg yolks to the well. Using a fork, gently break up yolks and slowly incorporate flour from inside rim of well. Continue until liquid is absorbed, then knead for 10 minutes. Wrap dough tightly in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes.

Divide dough into 3 pieces. Cover 2 pieces with plastic wrap. Flatten remaining dough piece so that it will fit through the rollers of a pasta machine.

Set rollers of pasta machine at the widest setting, then feed pasta through rollers 3 or 4 times, folding and turning pasta until it is smooth and the width of the machine.

Roll pasta through machine, decreasing the setting, one notch at a time (do not fold or turn pasta), until pasta sheet is scant 1/16 inch thick.

Cut sheet in half widthwise; dust both sides of sheets with flour. Layer sheets between floured pieces of parchment or wax paper. Cover with paper and repeat with remaining dough.

With the short end of 1 pasta sheet facing you, loosely fold up sheet, folding sheet over two or three times from short ends toward the center. With a large chefs knife, cut folded sheet into ribbons, a scant 1/4 inch wide. Unroll strips and lightly dust with flour; spread on a lightly floured baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pasta sheets.

To cook the tagliatelle, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain pasta, transfer to a large serving bowl and toss with sauce. (If serving with Ragu all Bolognese, use 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups of the sauce.)

It's worth buying a pasta roller.  Really.

Oh... and just as an aside...  I actually went out and purchased 2 cans of San Marzano canned tomatoes.  DOP Italy, the whole bit.  I'm going to play heretic here, but neither of us saw them as worth three times more than our normal canned store-brand plums.  Yes, they're good, but our fresh-from-the-garden plums are better.

by Tim Dineen

Malloreddus con Salsiccia

It is so good to be me.

I know, I know...  It's just not right to brag or gloat or any of that sort of stuff, but damn! it's good to be me!  My stomach is smiling from here to the moon and back!

Victor was in the kitchen once again, working his way through the Pasta Issue of La Cucina Italiana.  This weeks gastronomic celebration was Malloreddus con Salsiccia, or Malloreddus with Sausage.

Malloreddus is a semolina pasta from Sardinia.  Sardinia, was occupied for several centuries by the Arabs after the fall of the Roman Empire, and one of the fun culinary differences from other parts of Italy is the locals acquired a taste for saffron.  It is often used both in the dough and in the accompanying sauce.

Malloreddus in not gnocchi, although they share a similar shape.  They have very different ingredients, textures, and flavors.

Malloreddus

• Sea Salt
• 1 ¼ cups semolina flour
• ¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour
• Extra virgin olive oil

Gnocchi board or a table fork

Dissolve 1 tsp salt in ¾ cup warm water. In a large bowl whisk together semolina and all purpose flour; mound and form a well in the center.

Add water mixture and 2 tsp olive oil to the well. Using your hand or a fork, slowly incorporate flour from inside the rim of the well. Continue until liquid is absorbed, then knead in bowl until dough forms a complete mass (dough will be slightly sticky).

Transfer dough to a well floured work surface and knead, dusting with a bit more flour as needed just to keep dough from sticking to your hands, for 5 minutes. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Break off about 1/8 of the dough; tightly rewrap remaining dough. Roll dough into ½ inch cylinder, and cut into ¼ inch thick pieces. Pressing with your thumb, roll each piece on a gnocchi board (or down the back of a fork) to give it the characteristic ridges, and put on a floured baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.

To cook fresh Malloreddus, bring a large pot of salted water to a bill. Add pasta and cook until tender, about 6 minutes after water returns to a boil. Drain, transfer to a large serving bowl and immediately toss with sauce and serve.

This is less than half of the pasta.  The rest went into the freezer!

Malloreddus con salsiccia – Malloreddus with sausage.

• 1 lbs sweet or hot Italian sausage
• Heaping 1/8 tsp crushed saffron threads
• 3 tbls extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 1 (28 oz. can) whole peeled tomatoes with juices.
• ½ cup dry white wine
• Sea Salt
• 1 lbs fresh Malloreddus or dried from the store
• ½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese plus more for serving

Remove sausage from casing, break meat apart a bit. Combine saffron and ¼ cup water in a small bowl

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat, add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened. 5 to 6 minutes. Add sausage, and cook, breaking meat apart with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices, add wine, cook, breaking up tomatoes for 5 minutes. (Sometimes dump the tomatoes and juice in a large bowl and roughly break them up with my hands)

Add saffron mixture and ¼ tsp salt. Gently simmer sauce until thickened and flavorful, 45 to 50, minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente (about 6 minutes for fresh Malloreddus). Meanwhile, gently warm sauce. When pasta is al dente, drain, transfer to a large bowl, immediately add sauce and toss to combine. Add cheese and toss once more. Serve immediately with extra cheese.

I made a loaf of Pane Pugliese from dough I had frozen a couple of weeks ago.  It was the perfect accompanyment to the perfect pasta dish.

While there are still lots of recipes in the magazine, we just received a copy of the latest Wegmans magazine - full of Italian Pasta Meals!

The Monday Pasta Extravaganza is going to going on for many many many more weeks to come!

It is so good to be me!

by Tim Dineen