We plan our cooking classes about two months in advance, so back in late November I was putting together the class schedule for February. Looking at what we had planned already, I realized that we didn't have a pasta making class on our calendar for this month. Pasta making is one of our most popular, we teach the students to make the dough completely from scratch. In fact, I don't even let them mix the dough in a bowl, I have them make a well of flour right there on the prep table. The pastas that we typically make are egg noodles, rolled into flat sheets, and then either made into raviolis or cut into some kind of ribbon (fettuccine, pappardelle, etc.) But, for this class, I wanted to do something different, so I added orecchiette to the menu.
Now, I'd never made orecchiette before, but after some quick research, it seemed like it was fairly straightforward and would be a fun addition to our regular pasta making class. And, it would be a new technique for me to learn. So, I added it to our calendar and sent it off to be posted to our class website. Flash forward from November to last week, and it suddenly occurred to me that this pasta class was coming up on our schedule, and I still had never made orecchiette. So, guess what I did on my next day off--taught myself how to make orecchiette!
One of the most common questions I get from my students in pasta class is about flour, specifically when to use semolina, all-purpose, or Italian 00. Semolina flour is milled from durum wheat which has a higher gluten content than the types of wheat typically used for other flours, such as all-purpose. The higher gluten content makes it ideal for extruded, shaped, or formed pastas, such as orecchiette. Italian 00 flour is a softer flour, although it's gluten content is not that much less than semolina, and in fact is on par with all-purpose. However, it is milled in such a way to have an extremely fine texture, and pastas made with 00 flour are typically more delicate. This is also why pastas made with 00 or all-purpose typically use eggs, the protein from the egg white gives the pasta additional structure and strength. I usually teach basic pasta making with all-purpose flour since that's what most of us have in our kitchens at home.
Now, back to the orecchiette. I researched recipes and found that most chefs said that orecchiette is traditionally made with just semolina flour, but every single recipe I found used a mix of semolina and all-purpose. Ratios varied from recipe to recipe, but all used both flours. The only other ingredients are salt and warm water. All required the dough to rest, some for 30 minutes, some for several hours, some at room temperature, some in the refrigerator. The following recipe is the one I put together after reading all of these resources and recommendations.
Orecchiette Pasta
2
cups (8 ½ oz) all purpose flour
2
cups (12 ½ oz) fine semolina flour
2
teaspoons Kosher salt
1
to 1 ½ cups hot tap water
Whisk
together the flour, semolina and salt in a bowl of a stand mixer. Add 1 cup of water and mix by hand until the
dough forms, adding additional water a tablespoonful at a time as needed to
moisten the dough. Attach the bowl to
the mixer, fit the dough hook, and mix/knead the dough on low speed until
smooth and stiff, about 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, form into a flat disk and wrap in
plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator
for 2 hours.
Cut the dough into 8 equal sized pieces. Working with one piece at time, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a “snake”, about ½ to ¾ inches in diameter. Using a sharp knife, cut the “snake” into ¼ inch thick coins.
Orecchiette means “little ears”, and these small, cup shaped pasta do
indeed look like small ears. There are a couple of different ways to form the orecchiette. One way is to use what's referred to as a "nona knife"--nona is Italian for grandmother. Based on the pictures I've seen, it looks very similar to a table or butter knife. The tip of the nona knife is placed in the center of the pasta coin and pulled back while pressing the coin against the table or cutting board. The coin flattens and curls around the tip of the knife to form the little cup. 
Another technique is done with your thumb and the palm of your hand. To form the orecchiette, place a pasta coin in the palm of one hand, place the tip of your thumb on the opposite hand on the coin and press dough while twisting your thumb and palm in opposite directions. You should have a small cup shaped piece of pasta, thinner in the center and thicker around the outer edges, resembling a small ear. Alternatively, you place the dough coin on the cutting board and press/twist with your thumb. 
Ultimately, I preferred the method of pressing against the palm of my hand. I found it easier to form the cup, and the orecchiette even picked up the pattern of the lines in the palm of my hand, adding to that rustic appearance.
So, I now found myself with trays full of these adorable little pasta ears--of course, I had to make myself something yummy for dinner. A traditional dish with orecchiette uses broccoli rabe and Italian sausage. Well, I didn't have broccoli rabe in the fridge, but I did have regular broccoli, and I decided to throw in some sun dried tomatoes for a little extra something special. I used sweet Italian sausage (because that's what I had on hand), but I generally prefer spicy for a dish like this.
Orecchiette
with Italian Sausage, Sun Dried Tomatoes and Broccoli
Serves
4
1 recipe of orecchiette
1
pound broccoli, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
2
tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1
½ pound spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
1
medium onion, diced
4
cloves garlic, roughly chopped
½
cup thinly sliced sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained
½
cup white wine
Kosher
salt and black pepper
shaved
parmesan cheese to garnish
Bring
a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Place the broccoli in the pot and cook until bright green and
tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Using a
spider or slotted spoon, remove the broccoli from the pot and transfer to
the ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Keep the pot of salted water
simmering while you make the sauce.
Heat
a large skillet over medium heat. Add
the olive oil and sausage and stir, breaking up the sausage as it cooks. When the sausage is browned and no pink is
visible, add the onions and cook, stirring until the onions have softened,
about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sun
dried tomatoes and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 or 2
minutes. Add the wine and stir, scraping
the bottom of the skillet to release any browned bits from the bottom of the
pan. Season with salt and pepper, reduce
heat to low.
Return
the pot of salted water to the boil and add the orecchiette, stirring
occasionally. As the water returns to the boil, the orecchiette will begin to
float to the surface. After they have
boiled for about 5 minutes, remove one from the water and taste it for
doneness. The pasta will be al dente and
a bit chewy when done. Continue to boil
as needed to finish cooking.
Raise
the heat on the skillet to medium, add the broccoli rabe. Using a slotted spoon or spider, transfer the orecchiette into the skillet and stir to mix into the sauce. Add a ladle or two of pasta water as needed
to loosen the sauce. Transfer the pasta
to a serving bowl and garnish with shaved parmesan. Serve.
P.S.: The class went great!
P.S.: The class went great!
No comments:
Post a Comment