Fresh pasta

Ingredients

4 eggs

2 cups of 00 flour

2 cups semolina

Water if necessary

STEP 1 - Preparing the dough by hand

Pour the flour into a bowl, then the eggs and water

in the middle.

Mix with a fork to thoroughly blend the eggs

with the flour. Do not add salt.

Knead the dough with your hands until it is completely

smooth and consistent. If the dough is too dry, add

some water; if it is too sticky, add some flour.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a table, lightly dusted with flour.

If necessary, continue kneading the dough by hand and break it up into little pieces.

Dough should never stick to your fingers.

STEP 2 - Preparing pasta sheets

Set the adjustment knob of the machine to number 0, so that the two smooth rollers are fully open. Feed a piece of dough through the rollers while turning the crank.

Lightly dust both sides of the pasta sheet with flour and fold it in half. Feed the pasta sheet through the smooth rollers several times, until it is long and regular in shape.

Cut the pasta sheet in two and dust each piece lightly with flour on both sides.

Set the adjustment knob to 1 and pass the pasta sheet through just once; then, set the adjustment knob to 2 and pass the pasta sheet through once more; then, set the adjustment knob to 3, and so on until you reach the desired thickness (the recommended thickness setting is no. 6 for fettuccine and no. 7 for tagliolini).

Cut the pasta sheet crosswise, into pieces about 25cm long and dust them with flour.

STEP 3 - Cutting the pasta

Insert the crank in the cutting accessory and feed the pasta sheet through the rollers to cut it. Pick up the dough with the stick and transfer it to dry.

The pasta dries in about 1-2 hours, depending on the temperature and humidity and can then be stored in suitable kitchen containers.

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Tips

* do not use cold eggs straight out of the refrigerator;

* Do not add salt to the dough;

* Preserve home-made dried pasta for no more than 1 month;

* You can freeze freshly cut pasta, but always consume it within 1 year;

* Cook the pasta in a large amount of hot water (4 litres for every ½ kg of pasta).

Mint pesto

*1 clove of garlic 
*1 cup of fresh mint 
*10 cherry tomatoes 
*1 cup roasted pistachios or almonds 
*1 tsp coarse salt 
*1 cup olive oil 
*100g / 3,5oz feta cheese 

Using a pesto mortar: In the pesto mortar, crush the garlic with the coarse salt until is a paste, add the the pistacchio, mint and the tomatoes. Combine olive oil and cheese if desirable. 




Using a blender: Combine the garlic, mint, nuts and salt. Blend until is all just crushed. Combine the tomatoes, feta and blend not to become smooth, but an uneven texture.

Béchamel sauce

-1l or 4 1/4 cups milk
-1 onion, halved
-1 bayleaf
-2 cloves
-100g / 7 tablespoons butter
-100g / 11 tablespoons flour
-Salt & white pepper
-Nutmeg

1 - Gently bring the milk to boil in a saucepan with the onion, bayleaf and the cloves. Turn off the heat and let it rest for 30 minutes;

2 - In another sauce pan, melt the butter, then add the flour. Stir until a paste forms (that's called roux), continue cooking for 2 minutes;

3 - Remove the onions, the bayleaf and the cloves out of the milk. Combine gradually the milk with the roux, stirring ad you go. Cook for another 20 minutes in low heat stirring until the sauce thickened. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg.

An ideal béchamel is a béchamel without lumps and without taste of flour. To avoid lumps stir and to avoid the taste of flour cook for minimum 20 minutes. 

Branzino al cartoccio - Baked fish wrapped in paper

· 1 filet of Branzino or any other 
fish you like (about ½ pound)

· 4 thin slices of Potato

· 1/3 of Red Pepper, sliced

· 1/3 of Yellow Pepper, sliced

· Tomatoes, sliced 

· 1 clove of garlic, cut in half

· 6 Olives (optional)

· 1 tablespoon of Capers (optional)

· 2 teaspoons of Olive Oil

· 1 teaspoon of Balsamic Vinegar

· Lemon

· Herbs of the season

· Salt/Pepper/Pepperoncino (to taste)

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F;
 


2. Place an approximately 14-inch piece of 
parchment paper on the table;


3. Lay the potatoes slices down in a row; add 
salt and pepper (this will be the bed for the fish,
 you can also add rosemary);


4. Place the fish on the top of the potatoes;


5. On the top of the fish, add all the other 
ingredients; 


6. Fold the fish up in the paper tightly; 


7. Bake at 180˚C / 350˚F for 30 minutes. 

Roasted cherry tomato sauce

This is a very different way to make your tomatoes sauce, you will bake it in a oven instead of cooking on stove top. Very versatile and you can always add pretty much anything you think it will taste good with it. 



*500g / 1,10 pound cherry tomatoes (cut in half) 

*2 garlic cloves (chopped) 

*1 cup chopped almonds 

*60ml 1/4 cup olive oil

*60ml 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 

*Salt & Pepper 

*Basil 

*Fresh mozzarella di Bufala 



1- In a baking dish combine all the ingredients, 
except the cheese.

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2 - Mix all very well and bake on convection 
mode (200C/390F) for about 25 minutes. 



3- After baked, if you desire a more saucy 
texture break the tomatoes using a wood spoon. Mix very well with the pasta and serve with the fresh mozzarella and fresh basil 
leaves on the top. You can always modify this 
recipe adding other ingredients like capers, 
olives, pine nuts, cilantro. coconut milk, 
cream, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, tuna, 
mussels, shrimps and whatever you think 
will taste good with the sauce.

Sausage ragu with mascarpone

​- 3 cloves of garlic, minced

- 350g/12oz of Italian sausage, taken out of their casings

- 1/2 cup of tomato paste

- 1 cup beef stock

- 1/2 cup mascarpone

- 1 1/2 cup of red wine

- 1 table spoon, fresh rosemary

- 1 pinch of chilli peppers

- 6 table spoons olive oil

- Salt & Pepper to taste

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1 – In a big frying pan, brown garlic, chilli peppers, rosemary and sausage with the olive oil;

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2 – After the meat is all cooked and brown, combine the wine and let reduce in half;

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3 – Add the tomato paste and the stock, let it cook for ten minutes in low heat;

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4 – Turn the heat off and combine the mascarpone, then toss the pasta with.

Baked chicken Involtini stuffed with parmigiano, wrapped in prosciutto, served with cherry tomatoes

-8 chicken cutlets (you can buy chicken cutlets from a store, or you can do it by yourself by slicing the chicken breast in half thru the middle, so you can get a thin, flat piece of chicken)
-200g/7Oz Parma ham (or a similar dry cured ham)
-200g parmigiano cheese
-3 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
-1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
-1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1- Lay in a wood board two pieces of sliced ham;

2- On the top of the ham, lay one piece of the chicken cutlets;

3- Place a piece of parmigiano about the size of your pinky finger top to tail in the middle of the chicken and roll thightly;

4- Place all the involtini in a baking dish;

5- Using a mix bowl, combine the cherry tomatoes, balsamic, olive oil and basil. Mix well;

6- Add all the cherry tomatoes with the involtini on the baking dish;

7- Bake for 30 minutes in 180C/360F.

Ginger bug

Ingredients

To Start the Bug

• 2 cups water
• 2 table spoon of  sugar
• 2 table spoon of fresh ginger diced or grated

To Feed the Bug

• 5 teaspoons of sugar
• 5 teaspoon of ginger diced

To Use the Bug

• 8 cups fruit juice, ginger tea or sweetened herbal tea

Preparing the Bug

• In a jar, combine one cup of warm water and two table spoons of sugar.
• Drop the ginger into the jar, and then cover it with a cloth.

Feeding the Bug

• The next day, and each day for 5 days, stir 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 tbsp ginger into the jar. Between 3 and 5 days, you should start to see bubbles forming, and your bug should smell yeasty and gingery. When you see bubbles, your bug is ready to use.

Using the Bug

• To use the bug, strain 1/2 cup of the liquid and mix it with 7 1/2 cups liquid such as fruit juice or sweetened herbal tea, bottle and ferment up to 3 days.

Chicken with Leeks

-Six chicken thighs

-1 table spoon of oregano

-1 cup cream or mascarpone

-1 leek chopped

-1/4 cup Aceto Balsamico

-200g Parma ham or Black Forest ham, diced

-8 carrots, whole, just cut in half lengthwise

-Parmigiano cheese

-Salt & Pepper

-Crush red peppers (if desidered)

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1 – Marinate the chicken thighs for six hours with the balsamic, oregano, pepper and crush red pepper;

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2 – Mix the chicken with the leeks, carrots and ham. Place everything in a big baking dish;

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3 – Bake it for 30 minutes in 190C / 370F. Keep looking every ten minutes while it bakes because the leeks can start to burn, if starts to burn, just mix with a spoon;

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4 – Take out of the oven and mix the mascarpone/cream and the Parmigiano cheese;

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5 – If your oven have the broiler function, broil for 10 minutes, until it gets all very crispy. If you don’t have this function on your oven, bake it at the highest temperature your oven can get for 10 minutes;

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6 – Serve it. 

Risotto with asparagus, mint and lemon

• 10/13 asparagus

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 1 big lemon, juiced

• 1 1/2 cup of Arborio risotto rice

• Parmigiano cheese, grated

• 1 1/2 cup of white wine

• 3 table spoons of olive oil

• 3 table spoons of butter

• 5 cups vegetable stock

• 1/2 cup of fresh mint, finely chopped

1 - Heat the oil in a pan add the onion over a low heat for 6-8 minutes, or until it gets soft. Add the risotto rice;

2 - Pour in the wine and simmer until it has been fully absorbed. Add 2 cups of the stock and cook in medium heat, stirring, until it has been absorbed. Repeat, adding a little stock at a time until the rice is tender but retains a slight bite and the liquid has been absorbed. If you run out of stock add a little boiling water until the rice is cooked. This will take about 18 minutes;

3 - Five minutes before the rice is ready, stir the asparagus, mint and juice from half the lemon into the risotto. Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until heated through;

4 - Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmigiano cheese, lemon juice and butter. Taste the risotto and adjust the seasoning if necessary;

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5. Serve the risotto immediately garnished with the remaining lemon cut into wedges.

Quick Pizza crust

3 1/4 cups 00 Flour    

1 cup Warm water

¼ cup Olive oil

1 tablespoon Sugar

1/2 tablespoon Fine salt

1 cube Fresh yeast (or 1 Satchel of dry yeast)


1 - In a big bowl, dissolve the fresh yeast with the sugar.  Simply by moving it around with a fork and mixing a bit, the fresh yeast will turn to liquid.  (If you're using dry yeast, it will dissolve in the water).After the yeast turn liquid ddd the warm water and stir;

2 -   Sift the flour into the bowl. Mix the water into the flour with a strong wooden spoon. Add the salt and mix with the spoon for about 1-2 minutes;

3 -   Kneed the pizza dough for about 3 minutes with olive oil in your hands, mixing very well.  Let it rest for one hour inside the bowl;

4 - Divide the dough in two and make two balls. Put on the top of the baking tray that you will use it, and let it rise for another 30 minutes;

5 - Press the dough into the pan with your hands, making the pizza dough go all around the baking dish. If you are having trouble, just let it rise for another 10 minutes and it will be easier to open the dough;
6 - Before add the toppings, you will have to pre bake the pizza for 10 minutes so the crust gets more crispy. So bake the dough for 10 minutes in 180C / 360 F.

7 - After pre baked you can be creative and add any toppings you like.


Here is a very important recipe to make your pizza even better

Tomato sauce for pizza

This tomato sauce will make a big difference on the taste for your pizza. Making a raw tomato sauce, the tomatoes will cook simultaneously with the dough and the taste and smell of freshness will make your pizza a success.

-1 can san Marzano tomatoes
-1/2 cup olive oil
-1 table spoon oregano
-1 tea spoon salt
-1 pinch of crushed red peppers

1 - Mix all those ingredients on the blender until it gets like a juice texture;

2 - Top your pizza with this tomato sauce and bake your pizza.

Pear ravioli with Parma ham and Gorgonzola sauce

Pear ravioli with Parma ham and Gorgonzola sauce

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You can also substitute the Gorgonzola for other cheeses

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For the dough:

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-400g/4 cups 00 flour

-4 eggs

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Using a fork begging mixing in the egg with the flour. Once egg has been mixed in enough, begin using your hands to work the dough. Continues until reaches a smooth consistency, adding a light dust of flour if necessary. Cover the dough with plastic wrap to protect from drying. For best results, let the dough rest for at least 10 minutes.

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For the pear filling:

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-2 ripe pears, grated with the skin

-1/2 cup of ricotta or gorgonzola dolce

-A pinch of ground nutmeg

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Grate the pears and mix with the ricotta and nutmeg. The consistency needs to be firm.

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​Making the Ravioli:

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1 - Roll the dough on your pasta machine until the number 6 if using a Marcato brand;

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2 - Using a cutter, a glass or a jar, cut the dough in circles;

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3 - Place heaped teaspoons of filling on your pasta sheet. Wet your finger with water and run it around the filling before folding the pasta onto itself so that the little mounds of filling are completely covered by pasta. Push down around the filling so that the pasta is well sealed, taking care not to trap air into the raviolo.

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4 – Place the raviolis in a floured covered wood board;

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5 – Boil them for not more than four minutes and toss with the sauce.

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For the sauce:

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-4 table spoons Gorgonzola dolce

-½ cup parma ham, chopped

-1 cup cream

-1 cup prosecco

-½ cup chopped walnuts

-1 table spoon, butter

-Salt & pepper

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1 - In a big frying pan, brown the ham in butter in low heat;

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2 – Combine the prosecco and stir the pan, turn heat on high and let reduce in half;

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3 – Add the Gorgonzola and let it melt, then combine the cream and walnuts;

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4 – Salt and Pepper and toss the ravioli with the sauce.

Risotto with shrimps, tomatoes and zucchini

*4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

*1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Onion
*4 Tablespoons Butter (2 Tablespoons Removed To Finish The Dish)

*2 Cups Arborio Rice
*1/3 cup lemon juice

*1 Cup White Wine

*6 Cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth

*1 Pound Fresh, Small To Medium Shrimp, Shells Removed And Deveined

*3 Small Zucchini, Ends Removed, Cut In Half Lengthwise, Sliced
*10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

*1/2 Cup Fresh, Chopped Parsley

1 - Heat the 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy saucepan with the oil;

2 - Add the onions and cook until translucent over medium heat;

      3 - Add the rice and stir until it is well coated with the butter and oil;

4 - Begin to add the wine, and stir continually over medium heat until it is absorbed;

      5 - Start to add 2 cup of hot broth, stirring as it is absorbed;

6 - Continue in this manner, adding ladles full of hot broth, and stirring continuously;

7 - About 10 minutes into the cooking time, add the zucchini and continue cooking for another 7 minutes.

8 - Add the shrimp, tomatoes, and continue to cook until the rice is cooked, but remains slightly firm to the teeth.

9 - Remove from the heat, add the remaining butter, parsley and the lemon juice;
10 – Serve it!