Last months edition of Gourmet Traveller covering the "Best of Italy" with a four page spread debating various bolognese recipes had me jazzed up to give pasta making a go. Paolo Laboa, Head Chef of Farina demonstrates his method of making champion-winning pesto on Chow along with traditional Genovese pasta sheets using white wine. The general rule when making pasta seems to be 100 g flour : 1 egg plus a little water or olive oil to moisten the dough for a softer finish. Deep yellow pastas owe their richness to a higher ratio of egg yolks to flour, consequently reducing or leaving out egg whites altogether. A sprinkle of salt helps to reduce the necessary kneading time and allowing the mix to rest for at least an hour acts to fully saturate the flour for a smoother and more pliable dough.
I gave the Farina method for pesto an attempt. The idea of soaking basil to prevent discolouration through the removal of chlorophyll is a new one for me but it seems to work quite well. The pesto isn't cooked but merely heated through by the warmth of the pasta itself and a little cooking water to melt the parmesan so I opted for the addition of roasted garlic instead of raw.
Posts
Sounds lovely. Did you handroll/cut the pasta or have you bought the KA attachment? :)
ReplyDeleteIt's useful to hear that the resting helps, since I didn't do that last time. I might add a little oil too, since my dough was quite dry.
ReplyDeletei tried doing the whole process with a tiny little asian rolling pin ((>_<)) never again!
ReplyDelete