Daniel Goldwater
Chef CMRJ
Jerusalem
Israel
BASTA PASTA. (I can never have enough of pasta)
Pasta has to be my favourite food both to eat and prepare, its variety, versatility and its unmatched contribution to wider culinary culture is well accepted. Pasta offers the perfect medium to present meat, fish, dairy and vegetables in all their forms and fashions, from Michelin Star quality to kiddies ketchup and supermarket spaghetti. In times gone by dried pasta allowed carbohydrates to be stored, transported and rehydrated and cooked as needed at a later date (like salted Baccala, Sun-Dried Tomato or Porcini etc). Allowing mankind to travel, explore and attempt to sustain himself from season to season.
There is an unsettled argument as to the origins of Pasta. Of course, there is the popularly held notion I was raised on, that Spaghetti is an Italian version of Chinese rice noodles brought back to Italian shores by the great Venetian merchant and traveller Marco Polo. The earliest known written reference to pasta however is from the fifth-century common era (600-700 years earlier than Marco Polo). First mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud (written in Aramaic) from Byzantine Palestine, where debate took place between Rabbinic scholars regarding the cooking of “Itriyaot” in boiling water and whether it would be Kosher or not for Passover. Today 1500 hundred years down the track, in modern Hebrew dried pasta is still called ‘Itriyaot”. Others who are sceptical of all those Jewish achievements down through the ages point to the Fatimid Berber invasions of Sicily in the ninth century, they possibly brought what they called “al-itriya” (pasta) with them from Palestine that they “occupied” at the time as part of their Muslim Caliphate. I am just scratching around here and postulating, but there is definitely a PHD. in it for someone.
Fresh Pasta dough, like bread doughs are a living substance or mass that the Artisan works, moulds and has absolute control over its future form, taste, its textures and whether it will be consumed and remembered fondly or discarded irreverently and forgotten. “Yallah” (arabic for come on) enough of that “Philo” stuff and I don’t mean pastry. In short working dough of any kind and coaxing it to become what you want is for me one of the most satisfying pleasures to be had in a kitchen.
Now there are different types of Pasta dough suited to different uses. Ravioli and Tortellini dough has to be more elastic so it won’t split or tear when filled, gnocchi which is also considered a pasta contains potato or other starches, The recipe below is for Pasta Longo suitable for Spaghetti, Tagliatelle, Papadelle and other long pasta, it can also be used for Lasagna, Cannelloni or sheet pasta for other uses. This recipe is for whats known as the “lamination” process using pressure by passing the pasta through ever diminishing space between the rollers then folding it over itself and returning it to the rollers.
Fresh Egg Pasta dough (enough for 4-6 servings)
Ingredients:
- Quality Durum wheat Flour x 420 gram
- White Flour Tipo 00 x 180 gram
- Salt x 10 gram
- Quality Olive Oil x 15 gram
- Eggs or Egg yolks x 270 gram + 1 egg
Method:
Place all dry ingredients into the mixer using the paddle attachment, mix for a minute on low speed. (The mixer should be a minimum of 1000 watt strength, as the pasta dough is very hard and not pliable like bread or cake doughs and will be tough on the motor) add three-quarters of the egg and olive oil mixture and continue mixing letting it form into large breadcrumbs continue to mix for several minutes to build the gluten needed for elasticity and binding, then add the rest of the liquids and the mass should come together quickly, don’t mix for too long as it will burn out your mixers motor. Finish by hand and leave to rest for half an hour in Cling wrap.
Split the amount of dough into two and set aside and cover the dough not being worked. Using your palm and dusting with Durum flour to stop the dough sticking, press the dough as flat as you can before placing it between the rollers of the pasta machine and starting from the number ten setting work your way down to the number two setting, each time you roll it through make sure both sides are dusted with Durum flour to stop it sticking to the rollers. Once at number two fold the sheet over itself and repeat the process until the finished dough is silky smooth and not over moist. Do this about three or four times maybe more if the mixture is too wet. When the sheet starts fraying and looking dry along the edges it is telling you it is becoming over worked. For Spaghetti the thickness before cutting must be rolled through at number three setting. For Tagliatelle, Fettucinni or Parpadelle the last roll should be at number two.
Pasta is ready for cooking, boiling water with salt, the wider cut pasta will take 3 minutes and the spaghetti or Angel Hair will take two minutes.
Making Fresh Pasta comes with a warning:
Making fresh pasta messes up the kitchen, flour everywhere, eggs, sticky and a general “Balagan” (Hebrew for a real mess). If you don’t have a strong constitution or your better half is annal I strongly recommend buying your fresh pasta from a Pasta speciality store or your supermarket if they have quality brands.
Everybody has heard the term “Al Dente”, which literally means “to the tooth”, this is how pasta’s readiness has been tested since time immemorial, testing for firmness with good body and not soft and sticky, by biting down on it. Some people get into throwing it at the wall, if it sticks it’s ready if it falls it’s not, I wouldn’t advise this and it’s nowhere near as “scientific” as biting into it!
Basic Sauces:
There are three major types of pasta sauce, Tomato-based, cream-based and using Olive Oil as a base. To these you can fantasise and add almost anything, vegetable, fish, meat and heaven forbid treif (not kosher stuff).
Salsa Rosa (Red Sauce)
The best Tomato based sauce for Pasta is simple, quick and no nonsense.
Ingredients:
- Tomato Pulpa x 2 400 gram cans
- Onion x 1/2 diced finely
- Garlic teeth crushed x 3
- Fresh Basil Leaves Cut roughly(handful)
- 3 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
- Salt & Pepper
Method:
Olive oil in pan, when hot add Onion and toss for 2 minutes, drop the temperature to medium add two crushed garlic teeth, toss 1 minute, add Tomato pulp, toss two minutes, add Balsamic vinegar and basil cook for five more minutes on medium-low, at the very end add a couple of pinches of salt and a couple of grinds of pepper, the last crushed garlic tooth and its ready. Simple, quick, no-nonsense and tasty as.
Cream with fresh Salmon and Capers
This one is rich, very tasty, possibly even classy and as easy as the Red Sauce.
Ingredients:
- Heavy Cream 38 % x 250 ml
- 1/2 onion diced fine
- Fresh salmon cubed small x 150 gram
- 5-6 capers halved
- Zest of lone emon
- Dash of dry white wine
- Salt & Pepper
Method:
Small dash of oil in pan, when hot add onions, toss for a minute, add salmon toss, dash of white wine, add capers 250 ml of Heavy cream, salt pepper and lemon zest, let reduce for a minute or two, and its ready to combine with the pasta, suggestion Spaghetti.
Olive Oil Ginger Garlic Lemon Chilli pepper Sauce
Ingredients:
- Olive oil good shluck
- Garlic diced or grated x 4-5 teeth
- Ginger grated x good peeled thumb
- Pinch of finely diced fresh Rosemary
- Zest and Juice of 1 lemon
- Flakes of hot chilli pepper, depending on quality and “heat” a good pinch.
- Salt & Pepper
Method:
Good shluk of Olive oil in pan, add everything at the start and toss for a couple of minutes, ready for pasta
As I said above Pasta is a very varied and wide discipline, so next week we will try out several other dishes that can be combined from the same pasta recipe.
Bon Appitito and Ciao till next weekend.
