Seattle Cooking Club

Spelt noodles with Walnut Parsley Sauce.

Sounds unassuming… right?  A good way of using up some walnuts that I had, some cream that may have otherwise gone to waste, and some parsley from the garden….(the only thing currently growing) Let me tell you- this was much more than a way to use up leftovers.

First off, the noodles were the BEST I have ever made.  Mark actually didn’t believe me when I said that I made them.  The best part- only three ingredients.  Half Semolina Flour and half Farro Flour.  I got the Farro flour at DeLaurenti.

These were the silkiest noodles I have ever made.  AMAZING.  Try them yourself.  You won’t regret it.  AND you can make them in advance and dry them on floured towels- see below.

The sauce is easy as pie.  Grind up some walnuts…

Combine the walnuts with some cream and garlic.  Simmer until reduced by half.

Add your additional chopped walnuts and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mix with your boiled noodles.  (I know I didn’t mention boiling the noodles- they only take a minute… literally.)

Sprinkle with a touch of additional parsley for color- and enjoy.  This might be the best pasta dish I’ve made ever.  So light.  So creamy.  Not heavy at all…

I don’t have enough good things to say about this recipe.  From Cooking with Italian Grandmothers.

Pumpkin Tortelloni with Brown Butter and Sage

from Cooking with Italian Grandmothers.

I will be the first to admit, I didn’t do a great job with photos on this one.  I got sort of caught up in the actual cooking, and where I remembered to take pictures of the mundane part of this assembly, the actual building of the Tortelloni escaped me.  Ahh well…

The filling for this Tortelloni is butternut squash, Parmesan, egg, salt, white pepper, pinch of nutmeg, and a very special ingredient that gives the dish a bittersweetness that is amazing.

First, roast a butternut squash.  You’ll need a couple of cups.  This then gets mashed.  I first tried it in the food processor with the cheese… didn’t work.  Moved it to a bowl with a potato masher- much better.  Sometimes easy instruments are best.

After you mash up the squash, you add the other ingredients- ready for the great reveal?

That’s right… Amaretti Cookies!  I got these at DeLaurenti in Pike Place, but you could probably get them at a regular grocery store?  Not sure.  Any excuse I have to shop at DeLaurenti I take it.

The recipe calls for about six tablespoons crumbs, which was half a bag.  That leaves me a half a bag to munch on while I cook.  It’s really win win.

These get mixed into the filling.

Next, make the pasta dough.  From shaggy mess / mass to smooth ball…

Divide into eight sections and run them through a pasta machine (no photos of this of course) When there are long strips, drop by table spoon two inches a part on the bottom of each strip.  Spray with a little water and fold the top half of the strip over to cover.  Try to get air pockets out and cut into squares with a rotary cutter or a knife.

This is where I remembered to pick up my camera again.  Oops.

These can be set aside on a floured sheet until ready to boil.

Boil five to ten minutes.

Meanwhile, brown some butter in a pan with some sage leaves.  This should be done slowly so the sage can get nice and crispy without burning.

When the Tortelloni is done, toss them with the browned butter.  Top with Parmesan and  fresh pepper.

Potato Gnocchi with Tomato-Beef Ragu.  Little puffs of heaven.

I’m not used to making Gnocchi with a red sauce, but I’m game for anything that has the word, “Gnocchi” in it.  Like a pillow for my taste buds.  Love it.

We’ll start by making the Ragu.

Melt some onions with parsley, bay leaf, garlic and olive oil.

Add some ground beef and brown.  When evenly browned, add tomato paste and a touch of sugar and salt- and water.  Simmer for about an hour and a half.

I have a tendency to use the pots and dishes that I like regardless of size constraints.  I’m living on the edge with this one- check out how full this pot is.  I managed a nice long simmer with no spills.  (Miracle)

Now for the Gnocchi- This recipe called for 2-3 russet potatoes (1 1/2 pounds) I got this potato on sale at met market for sixty cents… Have you ever seen a bigger potato?  It’s crazy.

Any way- boil your huge potato until tender (I cut it up because it was so big)

Peel and put through a ricer.  Let steam escape for about 15 minutes.  Dryer potato makes for better texture for Gnocchi.  Add a touch of salt and 1 1/2 cups flour.  This will combine to a crumbly mixture.

Knead the dough until it comes together and is smooth (about five minutes) but don’t over knead or it gets tough.

Divide your Gnocchi and create some ropes that are about 1/2 inch thick.  Then cut into about 3/4 inch segments.  (I am a horrible judge of size and they all turn out a little wonky.)

But for some reason, I love this picture.  To see them all on the counter gets me excited for the goodness to come.

This picture too.  Like a Gnocchi army looking to take over my bathroom scale.

After the Gnocchi is cut, boil for about five minutes, or until they rise to the surface.

Then, add them to your finished Ragu to tighten the sauce around the Gnocchi.  Simmer for a few minutes.

Serve with some fresh parsley and grated parmesan.

Come to Mama.

From Cooking with Italian Grandmothers.  Full recipe is here.

Saffron-Rice Pie with Spiced Tomato Jam.  Hello deliciousness.

This reminds me of a legitimate Heigh / Sollie family dish- Spaghetti Pie.  May be you have also had that in your family.  I will say, this is a more tasty version- and worth the effort… nothing against spaghetti pie of my youth of course… also delicious.  ahem.

Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
• 3 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon packed saffron finely crumbled
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 oz finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp dried Marjoram
• 2 tsp dried Oregano
• 1 cup boiling water
• 5 large eggs

Start by making the filling.  Cook rice, water and salt and simmer with lid slightly ajar for about ten minutes until water is absorbed.   Turn off the heat and add the cream.  Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle saffron over the top and mix thoroughly.  Incidentally, Saffron looks like this when you buy it.

I crushed mine.

Cook onion in olive oil over medium heat with a pinch of salt.  The onion should be melty in about 15 minutes.

Mix the onions into the rice.  Stir in the Parmesan, herbs, and a cup of boiling water.

Next whisk and stir in four of the eggs.

At this point the filling is done and we can move on to the crust.

Crust:

• 1 1/3 cups flour, preferably type 00
• Large pinch of salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup water

For the dough, mix the crust ingredients until they are shaggy.

(PS- this whole time I thought the book kept saying, “shaggy mess” it was really saying “shaggy mass”  I think I had more of a shaggy mess on my hands, but no bother…)

Knead for about five minutes (careful not to over-knead this one) and let it rest for about ten minutes.

Roll out the dough.  It should get very thin.  I thought I wasn’t going to have enough about a quarter of the way through my rolling- but it all worked out.

Put your dough in a greased pan.  9 x 13 if you are making the whole recipe.  I’m living on the edge and going smaller.

Dump the filling in the pan and fold any extra crust over the top.  Brush with a bit of mixed egg.

Bake at 400 for almost an hour- or until it gets puffy and golden brown.

Serve with a generous spoonful of the tomato jam.  I made the tomato jam previously- and let me recommend doubling that recipe- because it was delicious- and I found myself wanting more.

Take a bite.  And then another.  Wish you made more jam.  Oops, take a picture before it’s all gone!

This is another recipe from Cooking with Italian Grandmothers.

This is going to accompany a future dish, but I saw the opportunity to prepare something in advance, so I’m going to take it so I don’t end up with the fiasco I had with my last dish.

(remember this?)

I tend to work better and more efficiently in a kitchen that actually has counter space.  Crazy right?

Spiced Tomato Jam from Cooking with Italian Grandmothers.

• 3 lbs tomatoes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 plus 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes
• large pinch of ground cloves
• juice from 1/2 lemon

Super easy, just needs a touch of unaccompanied time.  Note, I am going to only make half of this recipe due to lack of self control- so the amount I use will be different than what is listed above (just to avoid confusion) (or may be just to add to the confusion)

Chop up tomatoes.  I’m going to approximate by using just one can whole tomatoes.  (in my opinion, much better than out of season fresh tomatoes)  These are going to just sit in a bowl with a generous pinch of salt and sugar for a couple of hours to get them super juicy.

After a couple of hours, strain them.  Take the juice and remaining sugar and put in a sauce pan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil and reduce for about ten minutes until it gets syrupy.

Add the tomatoes back to the pan, along with some cinnamon, hot pepper flakes and cloves.  Boil over medium heat for about 45 minutes until it looks like jam.  Nice and gooey.  Turn off the heat and add lemon juice.  Taste for salt and sugar and add more if you like.

Serve at room temperature.

mmm… not sure what the translation is here.  I can tell you it’s a big mess of buckwheat noodles, cheese, and leafy greens.

This is another recipe from Cooking with Italian Grandmothers.

I’m pretty sure I’ve never eaten a buckwheat noodle.  I don’t remember ever consuming anything that looked like this.

Combine 1 1/2 cups buckwheat and 1 cup all-purpose flour in a bowl.  Add three eggs and one tablespoon of milk.

Use a fork to mix it all together until it looks like a shaggy mess.

Shaggy mess… Check.

Kneed for about 20 minutes, or until all your aggression is worked out, and the shaggy mess will turn into something beautiful, smooth, and elastic.

After it rests for about a half an hour you can run it through your pasta machine and cut it into strips 3 inches long and 3/4 inches wide (approx.)

Then you can cry because your kitchen will look something like this:

For the rest of the dish, turn your oven on to broil and a pot on to boil.

Boil some peeled some 1/2 inch Yukon Potatoes cubes for about seven minutes.

In the same water, blanch some cabbage and swiss chard for about two minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside with the potatoes.

Meanwhile, melt some butter with some garlic and sage leaves in a pan with some of the vegetable water.  After a few minutes, remove the garlic and salt to taste.

Also, start grating and cubing your cheese.  Parmesan and Taleggio (but I used Fontina because I didn’t feel like searching for Taleggio)

Now time to cook your noodles- about two minutes in the same pasta water.  When it’s done, mix with all of the other ingredients, your sauce, your veggies, your cheese (reserving some parmesan for the top)

Put it in a casserole dish and sprinkle with extra parmesan.

Put in the oven just a few minutes until the top is melted and slightly browned.  Scoop out onto your waiting plate.

It tastes so creamy and melty.  Quite tasty.  As a testate to how good it was, even Mason ate it… and that says something.

Potato Pie with Prosciutto and Smoked Mozzarella.

What could be wrong with that?

This recipe from Cooking with Italian Grandmothers has everything you could hope for… potato, butter, cured meats, smoked cheese- delicious.

This is actually the main dish in a three part menu that I made over the weekend.

When cooking for just our immediate family, I try to cut down the recipe as much as possible because I have zero self control.  If I make something that is supposed to serve eight, rest assured that Mark will eat one serving and I’ll eat seven.  Mason will probably pick at his food and settle on a grape.

This is to say that sometimes my conversions get a little lost in translation… particularly when deciding what to cook something in… see for yourself.

At any rate, boil some yukon gold potatoes for about 15 minutes in some salted water.

Then realize- whoops, I was supposed to peel them first.  Crap.  Then kiss your potato ricer and apologize for all of the bad things you say about it (takes up too much space) and thank it for doing the peeling for you.

Once they are light and fluffy and peel free, add some butter, milk, and salt.  Mix it all together.

Next, separate an egg, whip the whites into peaks and fold into the potatoes.  Take out your smoked mozzarella and cut it into small pieces.  Revel in the fact that there is actual sunlight coming through the window.

Seriously, is there anything better than sun and smoked mozzarella?  I think not.

This is where it starts to get hairy.  You’re supposed to butter a 9×13 pan and spread an inch of the potato mixture on the bottom.  because I cut this recipe in thirds, I had to choose a substantially smaller pan.  I did some quick math, and the area of the pan was the same.

Geek check.

I should know by now that when in doubt, go for the larger pan- but I digress…

Here’s the potato in the pan- one inch thick.  Add some smoked mozzarella on top.

Follow that with a single layer of Prosciutto and a generous sprinkle of parmesan.  Don’t mind my over-large hand.  Remember this dish is small.  Ahem.

I repeat the layers, and it’s level.  I now have to add one more layer of potato.  I think I’m in the clear because mashed potato will hold it’s form, so even though it is now rising higher than the dish, I’m feeling confident…

…and then crap.  I realize I’m supposed to pour an egg with the additional yolk on top….Followed by breadcrumbs and more parmesan.  Too late to go back and start over because the layers would be messed up.  If I were on Project Runway, Tim Gunn would be telling me to make it work… so I’m going to.

Double pan it and roll with it.  It’s going to make a mess, but hey… could be worse.

Sprinkle the eggy mess with said bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, and pop it in the oven at 375 for about 40 minutes until it is puffy and brown.

Nice time lapse eh?

Again, this dish was quite tasty- did not however maintain the layers as I had hoped.  I figured it wouldn’t, but a girl can dream.  The photos in the book look so stunning- but I’m pretty sure it had to have been cold when they cut the gooey potato.  You can imagine.

My less than perfect creation turned out on my plate looking like this:

Could be worse, but certainly not the beauty and sophistication I had hoped for…

I told you this was the main, and Mark and I agreed that though we weren’t full after dinner, it seemed wrong to not have something more substantial on our plates.  What can we say?  We’re Americans.

He actually referred to this as his ‘vegan dinner’ and I had to remind him that it had two types of cheese, butter, milk, eggs, and prosciutto in it.

The full plate looked like this:

Quite lovely don’t you think?  I’ll tell you about the sides in a different post.

You can find the full recipe for the potato dish here.