Pasta imperfecto

Yesterday I decided to make some homemade stuffed pasta. I was in the mood for a heavy Italian meal, and felt like getting my hands dirty. I had the best intentions, really. I was going to make fun pasta pillows stuffed with Italian sausage, spinach and cheese. I knew it would be a little labor intensive, but I didn't count on giving up 3 hours of my life (minus shopping time)! I was so exhausted at the end, I could barely enjoy my meal! I neglected to take a picture of some of the stuffed pasta pillows, sorry. They were all randomly shaped, some where oblong rectangles, some where petite rounds, some where massive triangles, all were tasty. :) My sauce was ultra chunky and chocked full of veggies.

Garden sauce:

2 medium zucchini, quartered and thinly sliced
about a cup of carrots, thinly sliced (about the same size as your zucchini)
1 cup cremini or button mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine or chicken stock
1 small can tomato sauce
2-14 oz cans diced tomatoes (no salt added)
1 tbs oil
S & P
2 Tbs Italian seasoning (usually a mix of basil, fennel, oregano maybe some rosemary)

Saute the veggies in the oil until they begin to caramelize. Deglaze pan with stock or wine, then add tomatoes, sauce and seasonings. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes until nice and thick.

Pasta Dough:

2 cups all purpose flour (plus more for the board)
3 large eggs
1 tsp oil (preferably olive)
1/2 tsp salt

Make a well in the flour, then crack the eggs into it. Sprinkle with salt. Take a fork and carefully beat the eggs. Add the oil, then carefully start mixing in some flour from the bottom (not the sides!) of the well until you have a nice bright yellow paste. Using a bench scraper or a knife with a large blade (think cleaver or butcher knife) start scraping the walls of the well into the moist middle. At this point, you're gently folding in the flour, just to get it incorporated, go easy on it until a dough forms! Once you have a dough, knead it just until it's got a smooth consistency. To test to see if your gluten has been properly developed, poke the dough with a thumb. If it springs back, you're good...if the indentation stays, keep kneading. Once the dough is ready, cover it, and let it rest in the fridge for at least 10 minutes. If you try to roll it out right then, it will keep shrinking back and drive you crazy! Not to mention, the pasta will be tough. Once the dough has rested, half it, then roll it out into workable portions. You can then shape it however you wish. You can cut it into strips for fetutini or squares for ravioli. Use your imagination! Remember: fresh pasta only takes about 3-5 minutes to cook, so don't leave it alone for too long!

Sausage, spinach and cheese stuffing:

15 oz Ricotta cheese
1 cup chopped spinach (I used really well drained and thawed frozen spinach)
1 lb Italian Sausage (or you can make your own with 1 lb of ground pork)*
1/2 cup onion, finely minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup Italian blend of cheeses (take your pick)
1 Tbs oil
1 egg
S & P
1/4 tsp nutmeg (it's generally a good practice to use nutmeg when you have dark green veggies)

Brown the meat in the oil with the onions and garlic. Season with S & P. In a big bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. When the meat mixture is done, allow it to cool to room temp so that it doesn't melt the cheese or scramble the egg. After it's cool, mix it with the cheese. You're now ready to stuff some pasta or use it in a lasagna!

Humpday Hunger Happenings

Tonight was the first night in a while that I didn't have anything scheduled, so I took advantage of the free time to make a colorful, healthy(ish), yumalicious meal.

Menu:

Roasted Red Pepper/Spinach Pizza (whole wheat crust)
Garden salad tossed with bacon bits and flax seeds (Ranch Dressing, of course)
Coconut Rice pudding

The meal may sound kinda fancy, but it's actually super simple and quick to make (40 minutes or less)

Pizza:

Preheat: 450

For the Crust:

1 tbs. dry active yeast (1 packet)
1 cup warm water (not boiling!)
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tbs. vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
2 1/2 cups flour (go half whole wheat, half all purpose if you'd like)

For some reason, people feel like good homemade pizza has to be this all-day, excessively complicated undertaking. When you use this recipe, you can actually make, from scratch, a pizza more quickly than you can cook a frozen one!

1.) Dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar, salt, and oil. Whisk until will mixed.
2.) Add flour and mix until dough pulls away from sides.
3.) Dump dough onto floured surface and knead 2-4 minutes.**
4.) Grease pan, and sprinkle the bottom lightly with cornmeal. Roll out dough until it is large enough to fit your pan. Place rolled out dough into pan.

Toppings:

About 1 cup pasta sauce
2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 cup or so roasted red peppers, from a jar, drained and roughly chopped
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

I just use the cheapest pasta sauce I can find. Nothing fancy there, it's good and saves time. For extra kick, you can sprinkle Italian seasonings onto the crust, pre-sauce. Pour the sauce on, and spread it out. I layered the veggies and cheese, just to get everything mixed up and evenly distributed.

Bake: 10-12 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and cheese is well melted. Enjoy! Notes: ** You can let the dough rise for up to 30 minutes, if you'd like. It's a good way to give yourself some time to do other things (like make a salad) since the cooking time is so short**
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Coconut Rice Pudding

What you need:

2 cups Arborio rice (the kind usually used for risotto...it makes for a very creamy pudding! You can use regular rice, as well)
1- 14.5 oz can coconut milk (unsweetened)
1/2 cup or so sugar (to your taste)
1 1/2 cup milk (evaporated milk works great here)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
2 egg yolks

What you do:

1.) Warm milks, water, extracts, and sugar in medium sized sauce pan until warm but not boiling.
2.) Add rice. Cook 25-35 minutes, or until the rice is done to your liking.
3.) Put egg yolks in a small bowl, and add about 1/4 cup of the rice cooking liquid to the yolks and whisk with a fork until well incorporated.
4.) Add egg mixture to rice pan and mix well. Allow to cook 5 more minutes, pudding should be somewhat set.
5.) If you have tons of liquid still in the pan, cook a bit longer and be prepared to remove the excess and cook more rice in a smaller pot with it. (Don't add more rice to the original pot or you'll end up with some crunchy rice and some gummy rice in the same spoonful).
You can serve the pudding immediately, or you can serve it chilled. If you'd like, you can also melt some chocolate or carob into the pudding for an added layer of flavor!