Read Eating Italy: A Chef's Culinary Adventure Online
Authors: Jeff Michaud
Eating Italy: A Chef's Culinary Adventure (50 page)
FOR TRUFFLE BÉCHAMEL:
Add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) white truffle paste, along with the nutmeg.
In both Italy and America, I’ve come across dozens and dozens of pasta dough recipes. I found the best one while working at Frosio in Alme, Italy. The egg yolks and durum flour give the dough enough stability for it to be stretched super-thin, which is what makes ravioli so tender. This recipe makes enough for four fully rolled sheets of pasta, each 4 to 5 feet (1.25 to 1.5 m) long. That’s enough to make about ninety-five 2-inch (5-cm) square or 150 1-inch (2.5-cm) square ravioli.
MAKES ABOUT 1 POUND (450 G)
1¼ cups (155g)
tipo
00 flour (see
page 277
) or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (70 g) durum flour
9 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon (15 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
Combine both flours in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add the egg yolks, oil, and 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of water, mixing just until the dough comes together, 2 to 3 minutes. Add up to 1 tablespoon (15 ml) more water, if necessary, for the dough to come together.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until silky and smooth, about 5 minutes, kneading in a little flour, if necessary, to prevent sticking. The dough is ready when it gently pulls back into place when stretched with your hands. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
Cut the dough into four equal pieces and let them sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before rolling out. Shape each piece into an oblong disk that’s wide enough to fit the width of your pasta roller. Lightly flour a long work surface and set the pasta roller to its widest setting. Lightly flour one disk of dough, pass it through the roller, and then lightly dust the rolled dough with flour, brushing off the excess with your hands.
Set the roller to the next narrowest setting and again pass the dough through, dusting again with flour and brushing off the excess. Pass the dough once or twice through each progressively narrower setting. For thicker pasta, such as corzetti, you generally want to roll to about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick or setting #2 or 3 on the KitchenAid attachment. For strand pasta, such as fettuccine, or for cannelloni, you want to roll to about
inch (1.5 mm) thick (setting #4 or 5 on the KitchenAid attachment). For ravioli, you want to roll the pasta a little thinner, to about
inch (0.8 mm) thick (setting #6 or 7); ravioli sheets should be thin enough that you can read a newspaper through the dough.
As you roll and each sheet gets longer, drape the sheet over the backs of your hands to easily feed it through the roller. You should end up with a sheet 4 to 5 feet (1.25 to 1.5 m) long. Lay the pasta sheet on a lightly floured work surface and use a cutting wheel, knife, or the cutter attachment on the pasta machine to create the right pasta shape for the dish you are making.
VARIATIONS
FOR BUCKWHEAT PASTA DOUGH:
Replace half of the
tipo
00 or all-purpose flour with buckwheat flour.
FOR CHESTNUT PASTA DOUGH:
Use ¾ cup (94 g) of
tipo
00 flour (see
page 277
) or all-purpose flour, ⅓ cup (42 g) of durum flour, and ½ cup (62 g) of chestnut flour.
FOR TAGLIOLINI:
Roll the pasta to #5 on the KitchenAid attachment, and then roll it again on #5. The dough should be about as thick as fettuccine. Lay the pasta sheets on a floured surface, lightly dust with flour, and then cut the sheets into 10-inch (25-cm) lengths. Fold each length in half lengthwise over itself, then fold in half lengthwise again. Julienne each folded piece crosswise into thin strips about ⅛ inch (3 mm) wide, and then dust with flour and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use immediately or freeze for up to 1 day.
You can easily make dried pasta that blows away the cheap, boxed stuff. The dough is just semolina and water. The trick is to get the dough to the consistency of damp sand. Depending on the humidity in the room, you may need to add more or less water to get to that consistency. You also need a pasta extruder or attachment for your pasta machine. Once extruded into spaghetti, macaroni, or whatever shape you like, just dry the pasta uncovered in your refrigerator, which has the perfect temperature and humidity. After about two days in the fridge, the texture of your dried pasta will be just right.
MAKES ABOUT 1 POUND (450 G)
2¾ cups (460 g) semolina
Put the semolina in a bowl and slowly stir in enough water (about 1 cup/235 ml) for the mixture to resemble damp sand. Knead it a little with your fingers until it clumps together, feels like sandy bubble gum, and sticks together when you pinch it. Too dry is better than too wet, and even though it may appear as if the dough hasn’t come together, it will compress when it is extruded through the pasta machine.
Fit your pasta extruder or stand mixer attachment with the plate needed for your desired pasta shape. Set the extruder to medium speed and feed the dough into the extruder in marble-size clumps, using a pushing tool to push the clumps through the extruder. The first few clumps will come out uneven; just throw them away. Continue gradually dropping marble-size clumps into the extruder and pushing them through, being careful not to overload it. As the pasta is extruded, cut it into lengths appropriate for the recipe you are making (examples follow).
Dry the pasta by placing it on wire racks that will fit in your refrigerator (or coil long pasta, such as spaghetti and bucatini, into nests) and refrigerate it uncovered for at least 8 hours or up to 5 days. The pasta will get drier and harder as it sits. For most recipes, the texture is perfect after 2 days in the refrigerator. Two-day-old pasta will cook in about 4 minutes in salted boiling water.
VARIATIONS
FOR SQUID INK PASTA:
Mix 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of squid ink into the water before adding to the semolina.
FOR SPAGHETTI:
Fit the extruder with the spaghetti plate, set the extruder to high speed, and feed in the dough, cutting the spaghetti to 9-inch (23-cm) lengths.
FOR CANDELE:
Fit the extruder with the large macaroni plate, set the extruder to high speed, and feed in the dough, cutting the candele to 6-inch (15-cm) lengths. Dry straight instead of forming into nests.
Everyone knows basil pesto made with herbs, pine nuts, and cheese. I like to skip the cheese and put the focus on nuts. Walnuts, almonds, pistachios, pine nuts. . . they all work well here. I keep the recipe ultra-basic as a starting point. If you like, toast the nuts or add some herbs for more flavor. Check out the variation that includes milk and butter as well.
MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS (375 ML)
1 cup (135 g) shelled nuts
1 cup (235 ml) blended oil (
page 276
)
Put the nuts in a blender or small food processor and process until chopped but not too fine; you don’t want to make nut butter. With the machine running, gradually add the oil in a slow, steady stream and process until blended and emulsified. Season with salt and pepper and use immediately or cover and store at room temperature for up to 8 hours, refrigerate for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 2 weeks.
VARIATION
FOR WALNUT PESTO:
Toast 6 tablespoons (45 g) of walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat until fragrant, 5 to 6 minutes, shaking the pan now and then. Put the toasted walnuts, 4 teaspoons (19 g) of room-temperature butter, and 1 cup (235 ml) of whole milk in a blender or small food processor. Process on slow speed and gradually increase the speed, adding more milk a little at a time, until the mixture looks smooth (up to ½ cup/120 ml additional milk). Blend until very smooth, about 2 minutes. When smooth, gradually add 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of olive oil in a slow, steady stream. Season with salt and pepper and use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days before using. Makes about 2 cups (475 ml).
You don’t need to be a pastry chef to make this dessert sauce. You just need a little patience so you don’t scramble the eggs. Once cooled, serve the sauce with almost any dessert. I like to spoon a pool of crème anglaise beneath a slice of pie, cake, or
torta.
MAKES ABOUT 2½ CUPS (625 ML)
6 large egg yolks
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1 cup (235 ml) whole milk
1 cup (235 ml) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
Put the egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl that fits tightly over a saucepan or in the top of a double boiler. Whisk until light and pale yellow, 1 to 2 minutes. Heat the milk, cream, and vanilla in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until it begins to simmer, 3 to 4 minutes, and then remove from the heat. Whisk about 1 cup (235 ml) of the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture until incorporated, then combine the rest. Set the bowl or double boiler top over gently simmering water. Cook and stir constantly but gently until the sauce thickens slightly and registers a temperature of 165°F (74°C), 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir until the sauce thickens to the consistency of heavy cream, about 2 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool completely, and then cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
Pastry cream is creamier than crème Anglaise because it’s thickened with starch. It’s what you see inside a typical chocolate éclair or cream-filled doughnut. The key here is cooking the cream long enough to cook out the starchy taste.
MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS (475 ML)
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (32 g) cornstarch
9 large egg yolks
1⅔ cups (400 ml) whole milk
6 tablespoons (90 ml) heavy cream
½ vanilla bean, split and scraped
Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Bring the milk, cream, and vanilla to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and mix about ½ cup (120 ml) of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture. Scrape all of the egg mixture into the pot of hot milk, and cook over medium-high heat until bubbling, thick, and creamy, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the mixer bowl and whip on low speed until cool, 3 to 4 minutes.
This is the most badass chocolate sauce ever. It’s simple, keeps for a week or two in the fridge, and goes with almost any dessert. You can even make a milk shake with it. For extra-bitter chocolate sauce, use a higher percentage cacao chocolate, such as 65% Manjari from Valrhona.
MAKES ABOUT 5 CUPS (1.25 L)
1½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
⅓ cup (90 ml) glucose syrup or light corn syrup
1⅓ cups (115 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 pound (450 g) bittersweet chocolate (about 58% cacao), melted