Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Guest Blog: Pasta w/Curt Smith
Sometimes we need to find inspiration in others so when I was playing a game of "words with friends" with a co-worker he mentioned that he had just bought a pasta maker. When I asked if it was the hand crank kind...he responded all offended "of course." When I saw his wife the next day at work she told me of how he was awake at 0100 making her homemade pasta on her code 7 and it was at that point that I decided his story, recipe and pictures were blog worthy. So here it is Curt Smith and his amazing homemade pasta. His story is an inspiration to us all. Thank you for sharing!
PASTA WITH SPINACH AND MELTED TOMATOES
Melted tomatoes
I began with my cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise, then tossed with EVO, rosemary, and thyme. I then "melted" them on a disposable aluminum cookie sheet (easy cleanup) in a 375 oven for about 50-60 minutes. This brings the acids to the surface, while caramelizing the natural sugars in the tomatoes. Yum. I also tossed two garlic cloves in the same mix, and roasted them at the same time on the same sheet pan.
Homemade Pasta
Prior to starting my pasta, I started 5 quarts of water and sea salt to get it to a full boil by the time my pasta was ready.
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (for the time being, because I ordered 10lbs of Italian Tipo 00 pasta flour, which has not arrived yet. Soon, soon.)
3 eggs
15-20 seconds in my Kitchenaid food processor and rolled it out on a flour dusted counter. I kneaded for 15-20 seconds only to prevent overworking the dough.
I then made sheet pasta, finishing with a #6 setting for thickness (about 3/16") on my Marcato Atlas 150 pasta machine
I then cut my sheets to approximately 2" x 8" strips of homemade pasta deliciousness.
Putting it all together
Just prior to boiling my pasta, we sautéed fresh spinach in EVO and butter, for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
I boiled my pasta for no more than 2 minutes to get it to "al dente", and after a quick drain, immediately added the pasta to the spinach in the skillet.
A very fine chop of the roasted garlic finished the work, and we added the garlic and tomatoes to the pasta and spinach, then lightly tossed.
We finished with freshly grated Parmesan cheese (is there any other kind?) and served immediately.
Wine pairing
I also am a huge fan of Manage a Trois Red (yes, I've read your blog) however, Bogle Merlot is my "current" favorite. But I felt that either of these choices might be a bit too much with the acids and caramelized sugars and garlic that we had going on with this dish. So I decided go with something I hadn't tried before. Since I'm such a fan of Manage, I'd bought a bottle of Manage a Trois Rose about a year ago as part of a "get 10% off for a six-pack", wine run at Vons. I'd intended to try it long ago, but never got to it. So there it was in my wine fridge, calling out to me. In my opinion, it was the perfect pairing with this dish.
PASTA WITH SPINACH AND MELTED TOMATOES
Melted tomatoes
I began with my cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise, then tossed with EVO, rosemary, and thyme. I then "melted" them on a disposable aluminum cookie sheet (easy cleanup) in a 375 oven for about 50-60 minutes. This brings the acids to the surface, while caramelizing the natural sugars in the tomatoes. Yum. I also tossed two garlic cloves in the same mix, and roasted them at the same time on the same sheet pan.
Homemade Pasta
Prior to starting my pasta, I started 5 quarts of water and sea salt to get it to a full boil by the time my pasta was ready.
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (for the time being, because I ordered 10lbs of Italian Tipo 00 pasta flour, which has not arrived yet. Soon, soon.)
3 eggs
15-20 seconds in my Kitchenaid food processor and rolled it out on a flour dusted counter. I kneaded for 15-20 seconds only to prevent overworking the dough.
I then made sheet pasta, finishing with a #6 setting for thickness (about 3/16") on my Marcato Atlas 150 pasta machine
I then cut my sheets to approximately 2" x 8" strips of homemade pasta deliciousness.
Putting it all together
Just prior to boiling my pasta, we sautéed fresh spinach in EVO and butter, for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
I boiled my pasta for no more than 2 minutes to get it to "al dente", and after a quick drain, immediately added the pasta to the spinach in the skillet.
A very fine chop of the roasted garlic finished the work, and we added the garlic and tomatoes to the pasta and spinach, then lightly tossed.
We finished with freshly grated Parmesan cheese (is there any other kind?) and served immediately.
Wine pairing
I also am a huge fan of Manage a Trois Red (yes, I've read your blog) however, Bogle Merlot is my "current" favorite. But I felt that either of these choices might be a bit too much with the acids and caramelized sugars and garlic that we had going on with this dish. So I decided go with something I hadn't tried before. Since I'm such a fan of Manage, I'd bought a bottle of Manage a Trois Rose about a year ago as part of a "get 10% off for a six-pack", wine run at Vons. I'd intended to try it long ago, but never got to it. So there it was in my wine fridge, calling out to me. In my opinion, it was the perfect pairing with this dish.
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