Fresh Pasta For Malefante Taccozze Recipes

FRESH PASTA

Steps:

• To make the dough by hand, mound flour in the center of a work surface, and make a well in the middle. Crack eggs into the well.
• Beat eggs with a fork until smooth, then begin to work flour into eggs with the fork.
• Use a bench scraper to work in the rest of the flour, a bit at a time.
• Once all the flour has been incorporated, start working the dough with your hands to form a rounded mass for kneading. Be sure your work surface is clean of all loose bits of dough; lightly dust with flour. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
• Cover dough with an inverted bowl or plastic wrap; allow to rest 1 1/2 hours, or chill overnight.
• To roll using a machine: Divide dough into 4 pieces. Quickly knead and flatten a portion of dough into a disc shape somewhat narrower than the machine opening; very lightly dust the dough with flour. Feed through at your machine's widest setting. (If pasta pulls or tears when passing through machine, simply sprinkle a little more flour over the dough, just before it's fed, to keep it from sticking. When finished, remove excess flour with a dry brush.) As the pasta sheet emerges, gently support it with your palm and guide it onto the work surface. Fold the sheet lengthwise into thirds. Repeat sequence twice with the same setting to smooth the dough and increase its elasticity. Then thin the dough by passing it through ever finer settings, one pass on each setting from widest to narrowest (machine settings differ -- some have as many as 10, others only 6). For ribbon pasta, roll remaining three portions of dough as soon as the first is finished. For filled pasta, it's best to roll and cut a single portion at a time, otherwise the dough will dry out.
• To roll by hand: Lightly flour a clean work surface. With a rolling pin, vigorously roll dough to a very thin circle; apply even pressure. As it stretches, roll constantly. Do not bear down, or it will tear. Roll for several minutes, until dough is as thin as possible, almost translucent. If it shrinks back as you roll, cover with a towel, and let rest 10 minutes before you resume rolling.
• To cut by hand: Lightly fold sheets one at a time into thirds. Cut with a sharp knife to desired thickness.

FRESH PASTA

Steps:

• Heap the flour, and make a well in it. Break the eggs into the well. Beat eggs with a fork. Stir into the flour from the bottom of the well with the fork until the dough in the center is smooth or shiny.
• With your hands, gradually incorporate the flour from the outside of the well toward the center, kneading gently until the mass of dough comes together. Knead the dough until it is smooth and resilient. You may need to add more flour, or you may not be able to incorporate all of the flour, depending on the humidity and the size of the eggs. If the dough is sticky or extremely pliable, knead more flour into it.
• Divide the dough into three portions, cover with plastic wrap or an overturned bowl, and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough out very thin on a lightly floured surface, one portion at a time. If you have a pasta machine, follow the manufacturer's instructions for rolling out the dough into sheets about 1 millimeter thick. Use as desired.

FRESH PASTA

Steps:

• Beat together the eggs, yolk and olive oil with a fork in a large spouted measuring cup.
• Combine the flour and a large pinch of kosher salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly to combine. With the food processor motor running, gradually pour the egg mixture through the feed tube and let it run until the dough forms a ball around the blade. (If the dough is too sticky to form a ball, add a tablespoon or so of flour and process again. If it is too crumbly to form a ball, add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and process again.) Once the dough forms a ball, process until smooth and springy, 20 to 30 seconds.
• Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead several times, until the dough comes together in a smooth ball.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. (The dough can be made 1 day ahead, wrapped and refrigerated. Let it come to room temperature before rolling.)
• Anchor a pasta machine to your countertop or secure the pasta attachment to a stand mixer. Set the machine to the widest setting. Unwrap the dough and cut it into 4 equal pieces. Wrap 3 of the pieces while you work with the fourth.
• Flatten the dough into a rectangle and lightly dust with flour. Roll it through the pasta machine at the widest setting. Fold the dough in thirds like a letter and feed it through the pasta machine. Repeat the folding and feeding of the dough through the machine 2 more times. (Rolling and folding in this manner will help strengthen and smooth the dough.)
• Set the pasta machine to the next setting (one setting thinner than the widest). Flour the dough as necessary and feed it through the machine. Repeat, feeding it through one more time.
• Adjust the machine to the next thinnest setting and feed the dough through 2 times as above. Continue changing the setting and feeding the dough through 2 times for each setting until you have fed the dough through the second-to-last setting. The dough should be thin enough so that you can see your hand through it.
• If you are cutting your pasta into noodles: Stop rolling the dough through after you have gone through the second-to-last setting.
• If you are making filled pasta, like ravioli: Change the machine to the final setting and feed the dough through.
• Cut the dough in half crosswise and cover it with plastic wrap. Repeat the folding, rolling and cutting process with the 3 remaining pieces of dough. Cover each piece of dough as you finish. You should have 8 pieces of dough total.
• If you are cutting your pasta into noodles: Affix the cutting attachment to the pasta machine. Choose the desired setting and feed the dough through. Lightly toss the noodles with a little flour on a baking sheet to prevent sticking and cover with a dry kitchen towel while you process the rest of the dough. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, 3 to 4 minutes.
• If you are making filled pasta: Proceed according to your recipe's instructions.

FRESH TACCOZZE PASTA WITH SEA BASS

Steps:

• To make the sauce: Pour the olive oil into the big pan, set it over medium heat, and scatter in the onion. Cook, stirring, for 3 or 4 minutes, until it begins to soften. Toss in the potato cubes, stir with the onion, and spread them out in the pan; cook for 5 minutes or so, tumbling them over occasionally, until they start to caramelize and stick to the pan bottom. Clear a space in the pan, and drop in the tomato paste; let it caramelize and toast in the hot spot for a minute, then stir together with the onion and potatoes.
• Drop in the celery and bay leaves, sprinkle on the salt, stir, and get everything sizzling, then pour in the cold water. Stir up the vegetables, cover the pot, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Adjust the heat to keep it bubbling nicely, and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes start to fall apart and thicken the sauce.
• Drop in the cubes of fish and tomatoes, stir to distribute them, and heat the sauce back to an active simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes or so, until the sea bass is cooked through and the tomatoes have softened and dissolved into the sauce.
• Before cooking the taccozze-right in the sauce itself-I shake the diamond shapes by handfuls in a colander or strainer, removing excess flour. Then I drop all of the pasta at once into the simmering sauce. Stir and lift the taccozze with tongs, separating the flat pieces if they are stuck together. Cover the pan, and bring the sauce to a boil over high heat; cook the taccozze for about 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until al dente. Serve immediately in warm soup bowls.

FRESH PASTA FOR MALEFANTE & TACCOZZE

Steps:

• To make the pasta dough: Put the flour in the bowl of the food processor, and process for a few seconds to aerate. With the food processor running, pour in the water through the feed tube. Process for about 30 seconds, until a dough forms and gathers on the blade. If the dough does not gather on the blade or process easily, it is too wet or dry. Feel the dough, then work in more flour or ice water, in small amounts, using the processor or kneading by hand.
• Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface, and knead by hand for a minute, until it's smooth, soft, and stretchy. Press it into a disk, wrap well in plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for at least 1/2 hour. (You can refrigerate the dough for up to a day, or freeze for a month or more. Defrost in the refrigerator and return to room temperature before rolling.)
• To roll out the dough with a pasta machine: Cut the dough in six equal pieces. Keeping them lightly floured, roll the pieces at progressively thinner settings, gradually stretching them into strips about 2 feet long and as wide as your machine allows, usually about 5 inches. For easier handling, cut each strip in half crosswise, so you have twelve strips about a foot long. Lay them flat on a lightly floured surface, and keep covered with towels.
• To make malefante: One at a time, slice the strips lengthwise into long ribbons, about 1 inch wide or a bit more, using a rotary pasta cutter or a sharp knife and a ruler to guide the blade. You should get four such ribbons from each of the machine-rolled strips. Next cut the ribbons crosswise into 2 1/2-inch-long segments, the malefante. Sprinkle and toss the cut pieces liberally with flour, and lay them out flat, not touching, in one layer on floured baking sheets. Leave the malefante uncovered, to air-dry at room temperature, until you cook them.
• To make taccozze: One at a time, slice the strips lengthwise into long ribbons, about 1 1/2 inches wide, using a rotary pasta cutter or a sharp knife and a ruler to guide the blade. Next, cut across the ribbons with parallel diagonal slices, spaced 1 1/2 inches apart, forming diamond-shaped taccozze. Sprinkle and toss the cut pieces liberally with flour, and lay them out flat, not touching, in one layer on floured baking sheets. Leave the taccozze uncovered, to air-dry at room temperature, until you cook them.