Celebrated Cuisine – Cooking Pasta from Scratch Live

Pasta, pasta, pasta! In this episode Chef Laura showed us how to make pasta and sauce from scratch. If only we had smell-a-vision! Recipes are below. Thank you guys for another great episode. We had fun!

Spinach-Ricotta Mezzalune with Butter Sage Sauce

Yield: 12 servings as an appetizer, 6 as a main course

Pasta Dough
1 1/2 cups Cake flour (low protein)
6 T plus additional for dusting All purpose flour
3 each Egg yolks, large
2 1/4 T Olive oil, extra virgin
3/4 t Kosher salt
2-3 oz or as needed Water

Filing
8 oz Ricotta
1/2 cup Spinach, frozen, thawed, excess water removed, chopped
to taste Sea salt
to taste Freshly cracked black pepper
to taste Nutmeg
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, finely grated

Sauce
8 oz Butter, unsalted
1/3 oz Sage leaves, fresh
To finish Parmesan , freshly grated

1. Blend together cake flour, all purpose flour, egg yolks, oil, and salt in a food processor until dough just begins to form a ball. Add water as needed. Remove from processor and knead on a lightly floured surface, incorporating additional flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in plastic bag and rest dough at room temperature up to one hour.
2. Prepare filling: Mix ricotta, spinach, sea salt, nutmeg, pecorino romano and pepper together in a medium mixing bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings. Set aside.
3. Roll out pasta dough to setting 6, dust lightly with semolina flour and lay on flat surface. Using a 2-inch ring cutter, cut rounds from pasta dough.
4. Place enough filling on each round to allow each round to be folded over and sealed without breaking the dough. Gently press out air and use a fork to seal the dough shut. Repeat with remaining dough and filling, covering mezzalune with a barely damp cloth to keep from drying out and cracking, only if necessary.
5. Place a colander into a larger stockpot filled two thirds of the way with water. Bring to a boil, with 1 T of kosher salt.
6. Prepare Sauce: In a sauté pan, melt butter. When foam has subsided, add sage leaves and 1 t of salt. Sauté leaves about 4-5 minutes or until butter has begun to absorb the flavor of the herb. Season to taste.
7. Place several mezzalune into the colander in the boiling water and cook until pasta is al dente, about 4-6 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on a paper towel, then place on a plate or into sauce. Repeat with remaining mezzalune.
8. To serve, plate several mezzalune on individual serving dish, sauce with butter and sage mixture, then finish with finely grated parmesan. Serve immediately.

Fresh Pasta alla ‘Uovo (Egg Pasta)

Yields: 4 to 6 servings

About 2/3 cup Semolina flour
1 each Eggs, large
1t Kosher or sea salt
As needed Water
For dusting Semolina

1. Place semolina on clean work surface in small pile. Using egg, create a “hole” in the center of semolina large enough to hold a cracked egg.
2. Crack egg and place in center of the hole. Using fingers, break yolk, then begin to incorporate semolina into egg. Continue to work dough, adding more semolina as need to keep dough from sticking. If dough is too dry, add a little water.
3. Knead dough until it springs back immediately when pressed with a finger. Place dough in a plastic bag, seal and rest dough for 20 minutes.
4. Use pasta machine as instructed. Final thickness should be about 1/8” thick (between number 7 and 8). Dry cut pasta on a rack.
5. To cook, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook pasta about 2-3
   minutes, or al dente. Drain thoroughly, toss with olive oil and cover until ready to serve.

Sauce Christiana – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Vine Ripened Tomatoes, Garlic and Fresh Basil

Yield: 4-6 servings

1/2 to ¾ cup Extra virgin olive oil
3 large cloves Garlic, trimmed, quartered
2 pounds Vine-Ripened Baby Romas or baby heirlooms, sliced in half
6 each Basil leaves, fresh, whole
to taste Sea salt or kosher salt
garnish Pecorino Romano or Toscana

1. In large sauté pan, heat olive oil and garlic over low heat. Continue to cook for 4-5 minutes, taking care not to brown the garlic.
2. Add the tomatoes and basil to the pan. Cook gently, an additional 4-5 minutes or until basil is wilted and tomatoes have just barely begun to lose their shape.
3. Season to taste with sea salt.
4. Plate fresh pasta. Spoon sauce over pasta and garnish with freshly shaved Pecorino cheese.