Pasta Brief

Durum Wheat Pasta

• Southern Italian
• South Dakota – So close you can’t tell
  • Florence Gormet, Inc

CLICK HERE FOR ANOTHER TAKE ON
COOKING PASTA FROM SCRATCH

Tips

• Keep pasta from air, light, and weevils.  Store in a plastic airtight container.
• Cook small pastas in a stock pot covering with 1 inch of water
• Cook long pasta in a 12 inch skillet
• Reserve liquid for soup thickeners or Cacio e Pepe
  • Mix 2 TBL black pepper
  • 3.5 oz (100 gm) Pecorina Romano grated cheese
  • 50 gm grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/3 C EVOO
    • Stir with a wooden spoon to create a paste
  • Add 2 oz starchy water and mix to combine (about 3/4 C total)
    • Whisk slowly to combine
  • Add spaghetti pasta and stir for 2 full minutes
  • Finish with 2 TBL Pecorino Romano
  • Add 1/2  more black pepper

Making your Own Pasta

Semolina flour, salt, eggs – and then EVOO – not too much

• Approx 100 gm 00 semolina flour per egg
• Approx 2 C flour for 3 eggs
• Add 2 TBL EVOO (mostly on hands)

1. Make nest of flour and salt mixture
2. Oil your hands
3. Add eggs into the well
4. Mix with hands to combine
5. Bench knife until it starts to come together
6. Keep hands oiled
7. Add another egg yolk if necessary
8. Drizzle water if necessary, but it will probably be OK
9. If too sticky, add a bit more flour
10. Knead on floured surface with oiled hands until it becomes springy
11. Roll into a thick rope, and wrap in plastic for 30 minutes – This is a must
12. Cut into equal sized pieces, depending on how you will use the pasta
    • Golf ball sized pieces is a good size if you are going to cut strips manually,
    • Tennis ball sized if you will put them through a roller
13. Roll, fold, repeat about 8 times
14. Cut and flour
15. Let dry for about an hour
16. Cook in large pot of boiling water
17. Only needs to cook 3-5 minutes

Types of Pasta

• Lasagna Noodles About 2 inches wide
• Pappardelle About 1 inch wide
• Tagliatelli ½ inch wide
• Fettuccini ¼ inch wide
• Linguini 1/8 inch wide
• Spaghetti 1/16 inch wide
• Angel Hair 1/32 inch wide

Pasta will last a long time, but keep it in a dark airtight container

Five Shapes

• Strings
  • Vermicelli
  • Spaghetti
  • Capellini
  • Fedelini
• Ribbons
  • Linguini
  • Fettucini
  • Tagliatelle
  • Bavetti
• Tubes
  • Penne Rigata
  • Tubetti
  • Zitti
  • Rigatoni
  • Tortiglioni
  • Mostaccioli
• Shapes
  • Dischetti
  • Fusili
  • Farfalle
  • Orchiette
  • Radiatore
• Micro Pasta
  • Orzo
  • Pastina

Preparing Pasta

• Dry pasta – is essentially already cooked
  1. Put into a pan or skillet.
  2. Cover with a asmall amount of cold water- just to cover by an inch
  3. Add 1 TBL salt Bring to a boil
  4. Remove the lid, give it a quick stir, and simmer only 8-10 minutes
  5. Pull out pasta with a strainer or tongs
  6. KEEP pasta water, thicken or finish sauces with pasta water
• For Spaghetti, use a 12 inch sautee pan, lay noodles flat , barely cover, bring to a boil, add salt

Serving Suggestion

• Serve hot pasta on top of EVOO and minced garlic
• Top with grated cheese, sundried tomatoes, black pepper