Cornmeal Pasta Recipes

CORNMEAL PASTA

Steps:

• Place corn, eggs, oil and salt in food processor or blender. Cover and process until smooth. Add flour and cornmeal. Cover and process about 10 seconds or until dough leaves side of bowl and can be pressed together with fingers. Remove dough and press into a ball. Cover dough with plastic wrap or foil. Let stand 10 minutes.
• Divide dough in half. Roll one-half of dough with rolling pin into rectangle 1/8 to 1/16-inch thick on lightly floured surface. Loosely fold rectangle lengthwise into thirds; cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips for fettuccine, 1/8-inch strips for linguine. Hang pasta on drying rack or lightly floured towels to dry. Repeat with remaining dough.
• In 6-quart saucepan, heat 4 quarts water to boiling; add pasta. Boil uncovered 2 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until firm but tender. Drain pasta; do not rinse.

CORNMEAL PANCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
• Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and nutmeg in a large bowl. Whisk together the egg yolks, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla in a medium bowl. Whisk the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture until just combined to make a thick batter.
• In another bowl, whip the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Use a rubber spatula to fold the whites into the batter just until no white streaks remain.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and brush lightly with butter. Working in batches, drop about 1/4 cup batter per pancake into the skillet. Cook until bubbles form on the tops of the pancakes and the undersides are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until the pancakes are cooked through, about 1 minute more. Transfer the cooked pancakes to the oven to keep warm and continue to make more pancakes, brushing the skillet with butter as needed, until all the batter has been used. Serve the pancakes with blackberries and maple syrup.

HILLBILLY TEA CORNMEAL NOODLES

Steps:

• For the noodles: Mix together the flour, cornmeal and salt on a clean work surface. Make a well in the middle and add the tea, oil and eggs. Mix the egg mixture with a fork until well combined, then slowly mix in the flour until incorporated enough to mix by hand. Knead the dough for 5 minutes; you will know it is done when you squeeze it and the dough springs back afterwards. Set the dough aside and let rest for 30 minutes.
• Cut the dough into thirds and transfer to a floured work surface. Roll out as thinly as you can; flour is your friend here. Sprinkle a little flour on one part of the dough, roll it up into a tube like you would with a jelly roll, and cut it into strips. Repeat with the remaining dough, flouring the noodles generously to prevent sticking. The noodles can be refrigerated for up to 2 days before use.
• For the sauce: Bring a large stock pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, Brussels sprouts and red peppers and cook until lightly caramelized. Turn the heat to low and add the cream, garlic and some salt and black pepper.
• When the water has reached a rolling boil, drop your noodles into the pot and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the noodles into the sauce using a spider strainer, adding 1 cup pasta cooking water, and then turn the heat to medium-high. (If you don't have a spider strainer, add 1 cup of pasta water to the sauce, and then separately drain and add the noodles without rinsing.) Cook the noodles in the sauce, stirring, until it all comes together and thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Plate it up and finish the dish with some fresh lemon zest over top!

CORNMEAL SPAETZLE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Whisk together flour, polenta, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk together eggs, milk, and fromage blanc with a mixer on medium speed. Reduce speed to low; whisk in flour mixture. Raise speed to medium-high; whisk until thick and gooey, about 2 minutes.
• Working in batches and using a rubber spatula, gradually press batter through a large-holed colander into boiling water. Boil until spaetzle float to top, about 1 minute; scoop out using a fine sieve. Rinse under cold water; drain.
• Heat butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add spaetzle; season with salt and pepper. Brown, tossing often, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat; toss in dill.

CORNMEAL OR POLENTA PASTA

Steps:

• Food-processor mixing recommended, following the directions on page 160.
• Cut in wide strips of polenta pasta.
• Dress with a simple tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella.
• Also good with Brodetto with Lobster and Corn (page 299).

CORNMEAL PATE BRISEE

Steps:

• Place the flour, cornmeal, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse several times to combine. Add the butter, and process, until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, pour the ice water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream, until the dough just holds together (do not process for more than 30 seconds).
• Turn out dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten each to form a disk. Wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 1 day before using.

CORNMEAL PANCAKES

Steps:

• Combine the first five ingredients. In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles on top begin to pop; cook until second side is golden brown. Serve with syrup.

CORNMEAL BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil.
• Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper and sugar in a food processor and process to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is uniformly crumbly. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
• Mix the egg and buttermilk together. Using a fork or your fingertips, lightly stir them into the dry ingredients so the mixture can be gathered together to form a ball of soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board.
• Pat the dough until it is uniformly one-half-inch thick or a shade thicker. Cut into one-and-one-half-inch rounds. You can re-form the scraps and cut those. Place the dough rounds on the baking sheet and bake until medium brown on the bottom and just beginning to brown on top, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve, or allow to cool, then warm before serving.

CORNMEAL PANCAKES

Steps:

• Mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl.
• Beat the egg with the melted butter and milk. Stir into the dry ingredients. The batter should not be perfectly smooth.
• Heat a griddle or skillet, and brush with butter. Drop a generous tablespoonful of the batter into the pan, cook over medium heat until lightly browned, turn and brown the other side. If this first pancake turns out well, put it on a warm serving platter. But often, the first pancake serves to season the pan and does not brown evenly. It is best discarded before getting on with cooking the rest. Brush more butter on the griddle or skillet as needed.
• Serve the pancakes with butter and maple syrup.