Pasta Class Session I Summer 2017

Homemade spaghetti Bolognese with garlic bread

Fresh Pasta

Ingredients

1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water

Preparation

Blend together all dough ingredients in a food processor or by hand until mixture just begins to form a ball. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface, incorporating only as much additional flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, 6 to 8 minutes. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature 15 min.

Spaghetti Bolognese

1 medium onion
1 stick celery
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
14 ounce can tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato puree
pinch of dried oregano
salt
pepper
12 ounces dried spaghetti
1 cup parmesan cheese

1. Peel and chop the onion, carrot, and celery finely, peel and crush the garlic
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Cook the onion, carrot, celery and garlic over low heat until they are soft
3. Add the ground beef to the pan and cook until the meat has browned, stirring constantly
4. Stir in canned tomatoes, tomato puree and oregano. Taste the sauce with a clean spoon and season with salt and pepper.
5. Cover pan with a lid and let sauce simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking
6. While sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt
7. Begin making garlic bread, after bread is in the oven add pasta to the water and cook until pasta is “al dente”
8. Drain pasta and top with a scoop of Bolognese sauce and a side of garlic bread

Garlic Bread (makes 8)Garlic Bread (makes 8)

1 loaf Italian bread
1 stick butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Slice loaf of bread in half horizontally
3. Finely chop garlic and parsley
4. Mix softened butter with garlic and parsley in a small bowl until well combined
5. Spread butter mixture evenly over both halves of bread
6. Bake in oven for about ten minutes, or until bread is crispy

Cheese Ravioli with Spinach Pesto & Cesar Salad

Pesto

2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ cups fresh baby spinach
½ cup fresh basil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1. Place garlic in food processor and pulse until finely chopped
2. Add cheese, salt, pepper, spinach and basil
3. While processor is running, slowly pour in oil, and lemon juice through the food chute
4. Process until well blended, place pesto in a large bowl

Cesar Salad

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 very large head of romaine lettuce

1. Tear romaine lettuce into bite size pieces
2. Wash lettuce
3. Whisk together all dressing ingredients until combined
4. Toss lettuce with dressing until lettuce is fully coated

Ravioli

1 package wonton wrappers
1 egg, beaten
1 cup ricotta
2 cups mozzarella
Salt
Pepper

1. Bring saucepan of water to a boil
2. Lay out wonton wrappers and baste with egg
3. Combine ricotta and mozzarella, season with salt and pepper
4. Drop ½ tablespoon filling onto wonton wrappers
5. Place another wonton wrapper on filling and pinch edges to seal
6. Drop ravioli into boiling water for two minutes, drain, and top with spinach pesto

Taco pasta and Mexican wedding cookies

Mexican Wedding CookiesMexican Wedding Cookies

1 ½ cups butter or margarine at room temperature
¾ pound powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup finely chopped almonds (optional)
3 ¼ c. all purpose flour

1. Beat butter until light and fluffy, then beat in 2 tablespoons of sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, and almonds (if using)
2. Gradually add flour, beating to blend thoroughly
3. Pinch off pieces of dough, the size of large walnuts and roll between palms into round balls
4. Place 1 ½ inches apart on ungreased baking sheets, flatten each ball slightly
5. Bake in a 275 degree oven until lightly browned (about 45 minutes)
6. Sift remaining powdered sugar onto large sheet of wax paper
7. Roll each cookie gently in sugar

Taco Pasta

2 cups rotini pasta
½ pound ground beef
2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix (see attached recipe)
2 tablespoons water
½ red bell pepper
½ green bell pepper
2/3 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons salsa (see attached recipe)
shredded cheddar cheese

1. Bring salted pot of water to boil
2. Prepare taco seasoning and salsa according to recipes below
3. Chop bell peppers
4. Cook pasta according to package
5. In large frying pan, cook ground beef until it is completely brown
6. Drain oil
7. Stir in taco seasoning and water
8. Add cooked noodles, bell peppers, sour cream and salsa. Toss to combine
9. Serve topped with shredded cheddar cheese

Taco Seasoning
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder

1. Stir to combine all ingredients

Salsa

2 medium tomatoes
½ small onion
2 garlic cloves
1-2 tablespoons cilantro
salt & pepper

1. Wash and dice tomatoes
2. Peel and cut onion and garlic
3. Combine garlic, onion and tomatoes with cilantro salt, and pepper
4. Stir with a spoon and mash a little

Spinach pasta with garlic butter sauce and parsley breadsticks

Spinach pasta with garlic butter sauce

8 ounces spinach
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 to 2 tablespoons water

1. Fill a saucepot with about 2 inches of water, and place a steamer basket inside
2. Bring large pot of salted water to boil
3. Bring water to a simmer, and add spinach, cover and steam until bright green (about 2 minutes)
4. Allow spinach to cool, squeeze out liquid and puree spinach in food processor
5. Combine flour and salt in a medium sized bowl
6. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the egg
7. Mix until it forms a stiff dough
8. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water if needed
9. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough with hands for about 3 minutes
10. Roll dough until it is about 1/8 inch thick, cut into thin strips and boil until pasta is al dente

Parsley Breadsticks

1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup oil
3 cups bread flour
2 ½ teaspoons yeast
1 stick butter
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
garlic salt
parmesan cheese

1. Make dough in mixer with dough hook
2. Roll out into a 10 x 12 inch rectangle
3. Cut into ¾ inch wide strips
4. Give each strip a twist and place on greased cookie sheet
5. Let rice for about 20 minutes
6. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes
7. Make a mixture of chopped parsley and melted butter, brush cooked bread sticks with parsley butter, sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesan cheese

Garlic butter sauce

1/3 cup butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
¼ tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano

1. In a small saucepan melt butter, add garlic and saute until cooked
2. Add dried oregano and dried basil, stir
3. Serve over spinach pasta

Vegetable Lasagna with Bird’s Nest cookies

Bird’s nest cookies

1 cup butterscotch or peanut butter chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 (6- ounce) bag chow mein noodles

1. In large saucepan, melt both kinds of chips over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth
2. Stir in half of the noodles until they are completely coated
3. Add remaining noodles. Stir until completely coated
4. Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto wax paper
5. Stick three butterscotch/peanut butter chips onto each cookie as eggs
6. Let set while preparing mac ‘n cheese

Vegetable Lasagna

Cooking spray
2 zucchini
2 green bell peppers
1 (8 oz) package fresh mushrooms
1 onion
1 tablespoon fresh basil
1 clove garlic
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
12 lasagna noodles
2 (28 oz) jars pasta sauce
1 pound mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1. Wash all vegetables
2. Slice zucchini, cut green bell pepper into 1 inch pieces, slice mushrooms, cut onion into 8 wedges, chop basil, mince garlic
3. Shred mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, spray baking sheet with cooking spray
5. Arrange zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, and onion wedges on baking sheet
6. Scatter basil and garlic over vegetables and spray with cooking spray. Season with salt and pepper
7. Bake in preheated oven until vegetables are lightly browned and tender, 10-25 minutes
8. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, cook lasagna in boiling water stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite (about 8 minutes). Drain
9. Bring pasta sauce to a simmer in saucepan over medium high heat. Mix mozzarella and parmesan cheese in a bowl