Chef Annes All Purpose Pasta Dough With Squid Ink Food

CHEF ANNE'S ALL-PURPOSE PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Put the flour on a clean dry work surface. Make a hole (this is also called a well) in the center of the flour pile that is about 8 inches wide (bigger is definitely better here). Crack all of the eggs and the yolk into the hole and add the olive oil, salt and water.
• Using a fork beat the eggs together with the olive oil, water and salt. Using the fork, begin to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture; be careful not to break the sides of the well or the egg mixture will run all over your board and you will have a big mess! Also, dont worry about the lumps. When enough flour has been incorporated into the egg mixture that it will not run all over the place when the sides of the well are broken, begin to use your hands to really get everything well combined. If the mixture is tight and dry, wet your hands and begin kneading with wet hands. When the mixture has really come together to a homogeneous mixture, THEN you can start kneading.
• When kneading it is VERY important to put your body weight into it, get on top of the dough to really stretch it and not to tear the dough. Using the heels of your palms, roll the dough to create a very smooooooth, supple dough. When done the dough should look VERY smooth and feel almost velvety. Kneading will usually take from 8 to 10 minutes for an experienced kneader and 10 to 15 for an inexperienced kneader. Put your body weight into it, you need to knead! This is where the perfect, toothsome texture of your pasta is formed. Get in there and have fun!
• When the pasta has been kneaded to the perfect consistency, wrap it in plastic and let rest for at least 1 hour. If using immediately do not refrigerate.
• Roll and cut the pasta into desired shape.
• How smooth and supple!

SQUID INK RISOTTO

Steps:

• Coat a large saucepan generously with olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and salt and sweat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Bring the pan to a medium-high heat. Add the rice and cook, letting the rice slightly stick to the bottom of the pan and scraping it off, until it sounds crackly, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the wine to the pan until it covers the surface of the rice. Season with salt and cook over medium-high heat, stirring continuously, until the wine has absorbed into the rice. Add the chicken stock to the pan until it covers the rice, about 4 minutes. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring continuously, until the stock has absorbed into the rice, about 6 minutes.
• Repeat this process two more times with the hot chicken stock. When the third addition of the stock has absorbed and the rice is very creamy, bite a couple grains of rice to test how it is cooked. Add the squid ink and mix to incorporate. If the rice is still a little crunchy, add a little more stock and cook the rice for another couple of minutes. Add the calamari and allow to cook until tender and the rice is creamy but still flows and holds its own shape, 5 to 7 minutes. When the rice is cooked perfectly, remove it from the heat.
• Toss in the butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano and fold to combine. Garnish with chives or micro bull's blood if using, and a big glug of good extra-virgin olive oil.

SQUID INK PASTA WITH CALAMARI AND CHORIZO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook until well browned, breaking up the sausage as it cooks with a wooden spoon. Add the onions and garlic and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the white wine and continue cooking about 30 seconds; the mixture should not be dry. Turn off the heat and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook about 1 minute.
• Turn the chorizo mixture back on. Add the calamari and red pepper flakes and saute until just cooked through. Drain the pasta and add to the pan along with 1 ounce of the pasta water. Cook for 1 minute on high heat to coat the pasta and finish the cooking process. Add the scallions and toss.
• Place in a bowl and finish with another drizzle of oil and serve.
• For the squid ink pasta dough: On a large, clean work surface, pour the flour in a mound. Make a well in the center about 4 inches wide. Pour the whole eggs, egg yolks, squid ink and salt into the well and, using a fork, beat thoroughly. When combined, gradually incorporate the flour into the eggs until a wet, sticky dough has formed. Fold any additional flour into the dough as needed while kneading, turning the dough roughly 45 degrees each time, for 2 to 5 minutes.
• Wrap the ball of dough tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest on the countertop for 30 minutes.
• To roll the noodles: Place a sheet of parchment paper on a tray or cutting board and dust lightly with flour. Unwrap the rested dough and cut into quarters. Set one quarter on the work surface and re-wrap the remaining dough. With a rolling pin, flatten the quarter of dough into an oblong shape about 1/2-inch thick.
• Set a pasta maker to the widest setting and pass the dough three times through the machine at this setting. Narrow the setting by one notch and repeat. Repeat once more (the dough should now have passed through the third widest setting). Continue passing the dough through the rollers, reducing the thickness by one setting each time, until it reaches the desired thickness. It should now be very delicate and elastic to the touch and slightly translucent.
• To cut the noodles: Adjust the pasta machine to the noodle setting of your choice. Working with one dough segment at a time, feed the dough through the pasta cutter. Alternatively, cut the folded dough by hand with a chef's knife to desired noodle width. Yield: 4 servings.

SQUID INK TAGLIATELLE WITH SQUID AND WHITE WINE-TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Add the olive oil, smashed garlic and red chile flakes to a large saute pan. Turn the heat to medium-high and allow the garlic to become fragrant and the oil heated. Once heated, add the tomatoes and oregano, and season with salt. Stir to combine. Cook until the tomatoes release their water, 2 to 3 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Cook until the wine is bubbling and has begun to reduce, about 1 minute. Add the squid, stir to combine, and cook until the squid becomes opaque in color--be careful not to overcook it! Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the tagliatelle and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove the pasta from the water and add it directly to the sauce along with about 2 tablespoons of the pasta water, some more oregano, some grated parm and a drizzle of big fat finishing oil. Gently toss to combine.
• Plate and garnish with more grated parm.

SQUID INK PASTA

Steps:

• Combine the flour, squid ink, eggs and 5 ounces water in a stand mixer until a dough forms. Use a pasta machine according to the manufacturer's instructions and make tagliolini.
• Steam the clams in a large pot in 1 inch of water until they open wide. Remove the clams to a bowl. Add the garlic, Fresno chile, olive oil, wine, butter, cherry tomatoes and parsley and cook until it reduces.
• Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Toss with the sauce, then divide among 4 plates. Top each with some sea urchin and clams and serve immediately.

CHEF ANNE'S ALL-PURPOSE PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Mound the flour on a clean, dry work surface. Make a big hole (called a well) in the center of the flour pile-bigger is definitely better here. Crack the eggs into the hole along with the extra yolk, olive oil, and 2 tablespoons water; season with salt. Using a fork, beat the eggs together with the olive oil, water, and salt and begin to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture. Be careful not to break the well or the egg mixture will run everywhere and you'll have a big fat mess on your hands (and your board). When enough flour is incorporated that you can handle the dough, use your hands to combine everything really well. If the mixture is tight and dry, wet your hands a bit. When the mixture is homogeneous, start kneading . . .
• To knead the dough, it's VERY important to put your body weight into it, to get on top of the dough, and really stretch it. Be careful not to tear it-the idea is that you stretch the dough, not rip it. Use the heels of your palms and roll the mixture over itself. When it's done it should be smooth, supple, and velvety and look like the head of a preemie Cabbage Patch doll. Kneading will take anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes, depending on how experienced you are. (Don't hold back: This is where the perfect, toothsome texture of your pasta is formed. Get in there and work it!)
• When the pasta is ready, wrap it in plastic and let it rest for at least an hour at room temperature before rolling. If you're making the dough ahead of time, wrap, refrigerate, and bring to room temperature before using.
• To roll out pasta, you need to run the dough through the pasta roller a bunch of times to get it long and thin. To start, cut off about a quarter of the dough (remember, the bigger the piece you start with, the longer your dough is going to get), keeping the rest wrapped up so it doesn't dry out. Squish the dough to flatten it-this will help it run through the pasta roller more easily. Where do we start? We start at the beginning! Run the dough through the pasta roller starting on the widest setting, number 1. Then dust the dough with flour, fold it into thirds, and put the dough through this setting two more times. If the dough ever feels sticky or tacky, give it a little dusting of flour. Now adjust the setting to number 2 and repeat the process again-changing the setting each time until your dough is the desired thickness. Once the dough is rolled out, be sure to keep the pasta sheets covered so they don't dry out. Depending on what I want to use the pasta for, I usually stop around number 5 or 6. For long noodles I keep it thicker, and for ravioli or stuffed pasta, I keep it thinner. All pasta machines are different, so you need to judge how your pasta machine works and adjust your rolling accordingly. Once you get the thickness you want, repeat this process with the remaining pieces of dough.
• For whole wheat pasta, substitute 2 cups of whole wheat flour for 2 cups of the all-purpose white. Whole wheat flour is really dry, so you'll likely have to add some water. Start with 1/4 cup water and see how it goes. You don't want tight, nervous-feeling dough, but how much water you need to add depends on what the flour is telling you that day.
• Pasta needs to be cooked in lots of water that's salty like the ocean. Every single time I cook pasta I taste the water to make sure it's correctly seasoned. This step is imperative; if you don't season your pasta water correctly, it doesn't matter how good your sauce is, your pasta dish will never recover.
• So here's what you need to do: Season your pasta water abundantly (as I said, like the ocean-not the Dead Sea!), bring it to a boil, add the pasta, and give it a good swish to make sure the pasta doesn't stick together. Don't crowd your pasta; it needs plenty of room to swim around.
• You want dried pasta cooked al dente, which means "on the tooth," so cook it about one minute less than the package directions recommend (it's going to cook more once you add it to the sauce). When you bite into any well-cooked dried pasta, you should see a little nugget of hard pasta on the inside. It shouldn't be crunchy, but it should definitely have a toothsome bite.
• Fresh pasta is a different story. It has not been dried so it's impossible to get that dry white center, and a limp noodle is no fun. Fresh pasta cooks very quickly, so it's essential to pay attention. What you're looking for is a noodle that's tender but also has that toothsome texture when you bite into it.
• Once the pasta is cooked, whether fresh or dried, you need to perform the marriage of the pasta and sauce by draining the pasta and cooking it in the sauce for a couple minutes, until the sauce hugs the pasta. It's a good idea to always reserve a little of your pasta cooking water; you never know when you're going to need to loosen up your sauce, and this is the way to do it. As the pasta and sauce cook, give them a sprinkey-dink of grated Parm, a drizzle of big fat finishing oil, and stir or toss VIGOROUSLY. This is the glue that holds the marriage of the pasta and sauce together-they should cling to one another! Serve the pasta immediately, and know that proper etiquette is to start eating right away-don't wait for everyone to be served.
• Type of Pasta: Ravioli / Machine Setting: Approximately 6-7 / Desired Size/Shape: Thin pasta sheets
• Type of Pasta: Pappardelle / Machine Setting: Approximately 5-6 / Desired Size/Shape: 1-inch-wide ribbons
• Type of Pasta: Tagliatelle / Machine Setting: Approximately 5-6 / Desired Size/Shape: 1/4-inch-wide ribbons
• Type of Pasta: Tagliolini / Machine Setting: Approximately 4-5 / Desired Size/Shape: 1/8-inch-wide ribbons