CULINARY INFO
Pasta : Recipes

**Sieve the flour and salt onto a bench or into a bowl and make a well in the centre
**Pour the beaten eggs into the well
**Gradually incorporate the flour, adding oil and water only as needed to adjust the consistency
**Pull and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic
**Cover the dough with a damp cloth and allow to rest in a cool place for at least 1 hour
**Roll out the dough on a floured bench to a thickness of no more than 1mm
**Cut and shape as required
**To this recipe puréed spinach, tomato paste, squid ink or other flavours/colours may be added.



COOKING PASTA
[ Click here for the correct way to cook pasta ]

SAUCES
Examples of sauces that may accompany pasta include:

**Fresh tomato
**Cream, butter or Bèchamel based
**Rich meat sauces
**Bolognese
**Soft white or blue cheese sauces
**Olive oil and garlic
**Olive oil, garlic and olives.

CHEESES
Examples of suitable Italian cheeses for pasta:
**Parmesan: the most popular of hard cheeses which is ideal for grating. A far superior flavour when used fresh as opposed to the pre grated, dehydrated variety
**Pecorino: A strong ewe's milk cheese, which is quite often studded with peppercorns, it can be grated or thinly sliced
**Ricotta: Creamy white in colour, this cheese is made from the discarded whey of other cheeses
**Mozzarella: this cheese is traditionally made from the milk of water buffalo. It is pure white, creamy in texture with a mild flavour that is usually enhanced by marination. It is best tossed in to the pasta in small pieces right at the end or used in cold pasta dishes, as this is the cheese that is used in pizzas and becomes very stringy in texture on cooking
**Gorgonzola or dolcelatte: distinctive, strong flavoured cheeses which are blue veined.

INGREDIENTS FOR PASTA DISHES
These are as many and varied as the types of pasta, only more so. When producing a pasta dish one only needs two things; imagination and taste buds, a little sense of adventure wouldn't go amiss either! Such ingredients could include :

Meats	Seafood	Vegetables	Seasonings
salami	smoked salmon	mushrooms	parsley
parma ham	shrimps	tomatoes	coriander
cooked, smoked ham	prawns	shallots	tarragon
bacon	mussels	avocado	rosemary
beef	scallops	truffles	fennel
crayfish	chicken	capsicums	dill
chicken livers	tuna	spinach	chillies
smoked sausage	crab	zucinni	garlic
dried sausage	anchovies	olives	saffron
tongue	abalone	ceps	nutmeg
eggs	kina	lemon	capers
chicken	kina	aubergine	green ginger

CLASSICAL PASTA DISHES
Fettuccine and macaroni can be served as for spaghetti, as can linguini but is normally reserved for seafood.

Spaghetti/fettuccine bolognaise	Served with a rich meat and tomato sauce with oregano
Spaghetti Milanaise	Served with a tomato sauce with julienne of ham, tongue & mushroom
Spaghetti Italienne	Served tossed in butter, cheese and grated nutmeg
Spaghetti Napolitaine	Served with a tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes and milled pepper
Fettuccine Alfredo	Served with a cream sauce with bacon and chives.

GNOCCHI
Gnocchi is an Italian word that means small little dumplings and there are three main types:

Parisienne: made with a choux paste
Romaine : made with semolina
Piemontaise: made with potato pulp

Gnocchi Parisienne (4 covers)
125 ml  water
50 gm  butter
60 gm  flour
2 x  eggs
50 gm  grated cheese (Parmesan)
250 ml  thin Béchamel
salt

**Boil the water, butter and salt in a thick bottom pan
**Remove from the heat and mix in the flour with a wooden spoon, return to a gentle heat
**Stir continuously until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan
**Cool slightly and add the eggs; beating well, add half the cheese
**Place in a piping bag with a 1/2 cm plain tube
**Pipe out in 1 cm lengths into a shallow pan of gently simmering salted water
**Simmer for approx. 10 minutes, drain well
**Carefully combine well with the Béchamel and place in an earthenware dish
**Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and gratinée

Gnocchi romaine (4 covers)
500 ml milk
100 gm semolina
1 x egg yolk
25 gm grated parmesan
25 gm butter
250 ml tomato sauce
salt & pepper
grated nutmeg

**Boil the milk in a thick bottom pan, sprinkle in the semolina, stirring continuously
**Stir to the boil
**Season, simmer until cooked; approx. 8 minutes
**Remove from the heat
**Add in egg yolk, cheese and butter; mixing well
**Pour into a greased tray; 1 cm deep
**When cold, cut into rounds or lozenge shapes
**Place the debris into the bottom of an earthenware dish and arrange the shapes on top
**Sprinkle with cheese and gratinée
**Serve with a thread of fresh tomato sauce/coulis

Gnocchi piemontaise (4 covers)
300 gm mashed potato (cooked in their skins)
100 gm flour
1 x egg
1 x egg yolk
25 gm butter
250 ml tomato sauce
salt & pepper
nutmeg

**Mix the potato with the flour, egg, butter and season while hot
**Shape into balls the size of walnuts
**Dust with flour and flatten with a fork
**Poach in gently simmering salted water for approx. 5 minutes
**Drain carefully
**Dress in a buttered earthenware dish
**3/4 cover with tomato sauce
**Sprinkle with the parmesan and gratinée

SPATZLÉ
Spatzlé are a German type noodle that is paste from a wet paste and are about 5cm long and 1cm thick. This paste is either pushed through a press or made in the traditional way with the use of a board and a palette knife directly into salted, boiling water. From the same paste a dish called knopfle can also be made. Which is done by pushing the paste through the holes of a colander; resulting in small round lumps.

Spatzlé and knopfle are traditionally served either tossed in butter with freshly milled pepper or nutmeg or served in a rich meat sauce similar to demi-glace. However they can be treated the same as Italian noodles or spaghetti.

Recipe
400 gm strong flour
4 x eggs
1 tbs olive oil
water
salt

**Sieve flour and salt in a bowl
**Add eggs beaten together with oil
**Add water while working with a wooden spoon until a thick, wet, elastic paste is achieved
**Cook as above