fresh pasta, veal ragu / squash. Bonus: Bordalaise.
First thing's first, homemade pasta is a very special thing. Finally made my own by hand, at first given some help by my chef cousin on a visit, and then a few times on my own.
100g of 00 past flour and one egg is all you need.
Now, I don't [yet] have a pasta machine so am doing it all by hand with a rolling pin and a knife. I found that a bit of extra fat helps - an extra egg yolk or a splash of whole milk, that sort of thing. Pretty sure laminating helps the texture (a couple turns folding in thirds) and for sure you want it even, and windowpane thin. You want to see your hand when held to the light. It's loads of work by hand... mixing then kneading for 8-10 mins, let it rest at least 30 if not 45 mins, then rolling rolling rolling rolling as it fights to get thin enough, then a roulade to slice into strips. Way too much as a course, but so worth it as a special main.
Two attempts this year have been particularly special. The first of which was a veal ragu, made with meat from the dairy man at my local farmers market. Pretty much in line with my last entry on the subject, with the exception of possibly having put some sort of bacon or pancetta in there, I really can't remember. The homemade brown veal stock (probably more reduced than last time) definitely made a difference. As did leaving the sauce to meld with the pasta in the pan a bit longer. But OMFG the sauce with the fresh tagliatelle!!
The other one to mention was the roasted squash. I ended up with some sort of fancy one, but basically it was a slightly smaller and sweeter butternut squash. Cut into small cubes and roasted in the oven with a bit of oil until starting to caramelise. Toss with brown butter and fresh sage in a saucepan, add the fresh pasta with a bit of the water, sprinkle some pine nuts and voila - amazing celebration of the earth's autumnal bounty. No cheese required. Something about the interplay between the brown butter and sweet squash.... crazy good. Pappardelle seemed the right shape for this, 1.5-2cm wide, and cut shortways so not as long (and therefor easier to slurp up).
As a bonus note, when my mom was here I made beef tenderloin with bordalaise sauce and roasted bone marrow, same as earlier this year. I took my own advice and used the roasting saucepan for the sauce, deglazing it with wine and making the reduction a la minute. That, and the more reduced homemade veal demi-glace to start, made the sauce better.
Two notes for the record, it was 10 mins in the oven for the beef, and the base of the sauce was just my normal stock reduced down -- restaurant demi- rather than Escoffier!
100g of 00 past flour and one egg is all you need.
Now, I don't [yet] have a pasta machine so am doing it all by hand with a rolling pin and a knife. I found that a bit of extra fat helps - an extra egg yolk or a splash of whole milk, that sort of thing. Pretty sure laminating helps the texture (a couple turns folding in thirds) and for sure you want it even, and windowpane thin. You want to see your hand when held to the light. It's loads of work by hand... mixing then kneading for 8-10 mins, let it rest at least 30 if not 45 mins, then rolling rolling rolling rolling as it fights to get thin enough, then a roulade to slice into strips. Way too much as a course, but so worth it as a special main.
Two attempts this year have been particularly special. The first of which was a veal ragu, made with meat from the dairy man at my local farmers market. Pretty much in line with my last entry on the subject, with the exception of possibly having put some sort of bacon or pancetta in there, I really can't remember. The homemade brown veal stock (probably more reduced than last time) definitely made a difference. As did leaving the sauce to meld with the pasta in the pan a bit longer. But OMFG the sauce with the fresh tagliatelle!!
The other one to mention was the roasted squash. I ended up with some sort of fancy one, but basically it was a slightly smaller and sweeter butternut squash. Cut into small cubes and roasted in the oven with a bit of oil until starting to caramelise. Toss with brown butter and fresh sage in a saucepan, add the fresh pasta with a bit of the water, sprinkle some pine nuts and voila - amazing celebration of the earth's autumnal bounty. No cheese required. Something about the interplay between the brown butter and sweet squash.... crazy good. Pappardelle seemed the right shape for this, 1.5-2cm wide, and cut shortways so not as long (and therefor easier to slurp up).
As a bonus note, when my mom was here I made beef tenderloin with bordalaise sauce and roasted bone marrow, same as earlier this year. I took my own advice and used the roasting saucepan for the sauce, deglazing it with wine and making the reduction a la minute. That, and the more reduced homemade veal demi-glace to start, made the sauce better.
Two notes for the record, it was 10 mins in the oven for the beef, and the base of the sauce was just my normal stock reduced down -- restaurant demi- rather than Escoffier!