Two items on this morning's agenda:
Pick Basil
Feed Sourdough Starter
I had an Angel Hair with Pesto and Grilled Shrimp idea in mind for dinner this evening, but a variation came into play after a Google newsfeed article popped up.
First, the Pesto. Ingredients: Basil, Garlic, Pine Nuts prior to toasting, Parmesan, Lemon, S&P and of course, EVOO -
Voila! We have Pesto. I'll add additional EVOO later to thin it out -
Back to the Google Newsfeed article which was all about making Sourdough Pasta. OK, you've got my attention. Despite my Italian heritage, I've only attempted to make pasta once in my life, turned out to be an epic fail. We tried making Butternut Squash raviolis, the dough was way too thick and the ravs never cooked in the boiling water. A box of pasta to the rescue that day.
But this looks doable. 100 g of starter, 150 g of flour (00 can be used), pinch of Kosher salt, one egg. The recipe shows a Gnocchi shape, but I don't have the special Gnocchi forming board (a fluted board which I had thoughts of turning out in my woodshop but naaah). So we'll try Fettucine instead.
The dough, after about 8-10 minutes of kneading -
Let it rest for an hour or so. Divide into 4 pieces, roll them out on the granite as thin as possible, starting from a somewhat cylindrical shape -
Cut into long strips -
and pile them into little nests after they've dried a bit. This recipe only makes a small batch, perfect for dinner for two -
To go with the pasta, we'll need some grilled Shrimp, so the Goldens' gets called into use. I'm using Blackstone Tequila Lime today -
The fresh pasta only takes three to four minutes to cook in salted boiling water, so things are coming together quickly. Time to assemble it all. Pasta, Pesto, Shrimp. Couldn't be much easier.
Dinner is ready -
My plate -
OK, did I succeed this time at making pasta? Yes! This was outstanding. I would definitely make homemade pasta again, even without a pasta maker. Could I tell that it was sourdough? Not really, but I was using sourdough discard and not a ripe starter so it didn't have that sourdough tang. Kinda hard to discern anyway when pesto is featured in the dish.
Anyway, there you have it. Dom's successful attempt at making pasta which turned into a fantastic dinner.
As always, thanks for following along and reading through to the end of this post on yet another culinary adventure in my kitchen and backyard!
Regards,
-lunchman
Pick Basil
Feed Sourdough Starter
I had an Angel Hair with Pesto and Grilled Shrimp idea in mind for dinner this evening, but a variation came into play after a Google newsfeed article popped up.
First, the Pesto. Ingredients: Basil, Garlic, Pine Nuts prior to toasting, Parmesan, Lemon, S&P and of course, EVOO -
Voila! We have Pesto. I'll add additional EVOO later to thin it out -
Back to the Google Newsfeed article which was all about making Sourdough Pasta. OK, you've got my attention. Despite my Italian heritage, I've only attempted to make pasta once in my life, turned out to be an epic fail. We tried making Butternut Squash raviolis, the dough was way too thick and the ravs never cooked in the boiling water. A box of pasta to the rescue that day.
But this looks doable. 100 g of starter, 150 g of flour (00 can be used), pinch of Kosher salt, one egg. The recipe shows a Gnocchi shape, but I don't have the special Gnocchi forming board (a fluted board which I had thoughts of turning out in my woodshop but naaah). So we'll try Fettucine instead.
The dough, after about 8-10 minutes of kneading -
Let it rest for an hour or so. Divide into 4 pieces, roll them out on the granite as thin as possible, starting from a somewhat cylindrical shape -
Cut into long strips -
and pile them into little nests after they've dried a bit. This recipe only makes a small batch, perfect for dinner for two -
To go with the pasta, we'll need some grilled Shrimp, so the Goldens' gets called into use. I'm using Blackstone Tequila Lime today -
The fresh pasta only takes three to four minutes to cook in salted boiling water, so things are coming together quickly. Time to assemble it all. Pasta, Pesto, Shrimp. Couldn't be much easier.
Dinner is ready -
My plate -
OK, did I succeed this time at making pasta? Yes! This was outstanding. I would definitely make homemade pasta again, even without a pasta maker. Could I tell that it was sourdough? Not really, but I was using sourdough discard and not a ripe starter so it didn't have that sourdough tang. Kinda hard to discern anyway when pesto is featured in the dish.
Anyway, there you have it. Dom's successful attempt at making pasta which turned into a fantastic dinner.
As always, thanks for following along and reading through to the end of this post on yet another culinary adventure in my kitchen and backyard!
Regards,
-lunchman
