I will be discussing how to make fresh tagliatelle Pasta today. So let’s talk fresh pasta. It’s all about texture. There is nothing worse than “gummy” fresh pasta. I won’t get into actual recipe for pasta itself now. Everyone has their own version. I will discuss the method for now. Anyone that needs a recipe, just ask. So, take a traditional roller pasta maker, you know, the table mount type with the thick rollers? Roll your pasta through until the smallest setting. It’s at this point that people make mistakes. You must lay the thin pasta sheets out on sheet pans and dry them slightly before you cut into tagliatelle. You must dry them out perfectly. The sheets should be dry but pliable before u cut them in the tagliatelle attachment. You then lay the tag out on sheet pans with semolina flour and let them dry even further till almost completely dry then cover and refrigerate.
Posts Tagged ‘pasta’
Let’s Talk Tagliatelle Pasta! |  |
| Monday, June 22nd, 2009 |
Let’s Talk Leftovers! | |
| Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 |
Let’s talk about what else you can do to save money and get the most out of your food deliveries. Most restaurants offer side orders for delivery. This is a really great way to plan a meal for the following day. Let’s say you order a sautéed spinach side. One of my favorite pastas is rigatoni with a spinach cream sauce. It’s extremely nutritious. So as soon as the spinach arrives take the top off and cool it down in the fridge. Be sure to mix it up every 5-10 minutes until it is cool. If the spinach arrives in an aluminum container, as ours does, it’s best to transfer it to something else if you don’t plan on using it in three days. So we are ready to talk about our spinach pasta. The following day pull the spinach from the fridge and chop roughly. In a sauté pan (large enough to sauté your pasta and sauce,) add a lil’ smashed garlic & a lil’ EVOO & color lightly the garlic. Add your spinach & sauté lightly. Add some fresh heavy cream and put on the side. When your pasta is ready drain and leave a little wet. Immediately after draining pasta, add to your saucepan with cream and spinach and sauté over medium heat till sauce comes together and pasta is coated well. At the last moment, before you plate, add a nice handful of parmigiano cheese and a nice ribbon of EVOO and some cracked black pepper. Spinach pasta will suck up quite a bit a cream so don’t be shy. If you wanna lighten this recipe up a bit add some tomato sauce and less cream. The smashed garlic is made by putting a clove under a meat clever and smashing it till it is pulp under the knife. This releases all the oil. I will get into the PROPER use of garlic at a later date. After I teach you garlic your life will never be the same again.
Let’s Talk Leftovers! | |
| Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 |
Especially now in this time of great need following a period of great waste I think it’s important to keep leftovers. Any leftover pasta you have is best served “al forno” or baked in the oven. You can also do it steamed over a double boiler, or seared in a pan. To bake leftover pasta: the key is to remoisten & give color, add a lil’ water & mix it up with some cheese on top and bake at 450 till hot & brown. Too “fry” leftover pasta: get a wide pan medium hot with a little oil add pasta & sauté till desired texture. Add H2O and cheese while u sauté. Baked method works very well with all tomato based and cream sauce based pastas or any pasta that has significant sauce. Steamed method works well with ANY pasta period. It reconstituted while it heats up but it gives no color and will overcook the pasta a bit. Fry method is old school and close to my heart but the most difficult and messy of all. Nowadays a nonstick helps immensely. But part of the charm of the fry method is the stickiness and uneven coloring that can be achieved, and you won’t overcook the pasta at all. One more method to consider: put pasta in large thick bowl, add a lil’ water and parm cheese, cover with Saran wrap and cook on high in microwave for 4-6min. The microwave method is the simplest of all; works very well with all pastas and doesn’t make any mess. It’s also great for unequipped kitchens. For olive oil based pastas llike spaghetti garlic and oil or vongole (clams.) I like to fry them. Just adding a lil’ water to keep it fluid.
