Infused Pasta
By by Sicily: The Cookbook
Infused Pasta
By by Sicily: The Cookbook
Yield/Serves:
Makes about 6 servings of pasta
- About ½ pound parsley stems and leaves (to make about 1 cup parsley puree) or ½ pound carrots (prepared as stated below)
- Salt
- ½ pound 00 flour
- ½ pound remilled semola flour
- About 3/4 cup room temperature water
In Sicily, it is not common to flavor fresh pasta at home. However, nowadays, more and more restaurants are including dishes prepared with pastas flavored with Sicilian tastes and aromas. With an abundance of wild greens that grow at Feudo Montoni, I'm always looking for ways to utilize vegetables in creative ways. This recipe flavors pasta with parsley, but you could easily substitute any other leafy green such as spinach, chard, mustard greens, borage, nettles, and/or basil. If you would like to flavor the pasta with a non-leafy vegetable such as carrots or beets, first peel the vegetables, cut them into chunks, and cook them in boiling salted water until tender and easily pierced with a paring knife. Puree the vegetable pieces in a food processor, then pass the puree through a fine-mesh strainer to rid it of any lumps.
To make the flavoring puree, lightly blanch the parsley stems and leaves (or carrot pieces) in boiling salted water for about 1 minute. The salt helps to retain the color of the leaves. Do not overcook or the leaves will lose their color. Strain the parsley out of the boiling water and make sure to drain off all the water. One way to remove the water is by placing the blanched parsley in cheesecloth and squeezing out the water by hand.
Puree the leaves and stems in a food processor and pass them through a fine-mesh strainer to rid the puree of any lumps or fibrous pieces.
To incorporate the vegetable pulp with the two flours, it's best to use a stand mixer with a hook attachment. First place the puree in the mixer, along with the room-temperature water and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the two types of flour little by little, mixing them in until the dough forms a ball. The dough should be smooth and elastic in texture. If the dough feels too dry and is not fully sticking together, add a touch more water. If the dough feels too wet and pasty, add some more flour, of either variety. In either case, add a little at a time. Form the dough into a ball, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rest for about 1 hour at room temperature.
Roll the dough and shape it into the cut of your choice, such as spaghetti, tagliolini, or tagliatelle
Reprinted from Sicily: The Cookbook: Recipes Rooted in Traditions by Melissa Muller. Published by Rizzoli.
To make the flavoring puree, lightly blanch the parsley stems and leaves (or carrot pieces) in boiling salted water for about 1 minute. The salt helps to retain the color of the leaves. Do not overcook or the leaves will lose their color. Strain the parsley out of the boiling water and make sure to drain off all the water. One way to remove the water is by placing the blanched parsley in cheesecloth and squeezing out the water by hand.
Puree the leaves and stems in a food processor and pass them through a fine-mesh strainer to rid the puree of any lumps or fibrous pieces.
To incorporate the vegetable pulp with the two flours, it's best to use a stand mixer with a hook attachment. First place the puree in the mixer, along with the room-temperature water and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the two types of flour little by little, mixing them in until the dough forms a ball. The dough should be smooth and elastic in texture. If the dough feels too dry and is not fully sticking together, add a touch more water. If the dough feels too wet and pasty, add some more flour, of either variety. In either case, add a little at a time. Form the dough into a ball, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rest for about 1 hour at room temperature.
Roll the dough and shape it into the cut of your choice, such as spaghetti, tagliolini, or tagliatelle
Reprinted from Sicily: The Cookbook: Recipes Rooted in Traditions by Melissa Muller. Published by Rizzoli.