Fresh Herb Pasta Dough Food

FRESH PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Mound the flour on a clean work surface. Hollow out the center making a well in the middle of the flour with steep sides.
• Break the eggs into the well. Add the salt, and olive oil to the hollow center and gently mix together with a fork. Gradually start incorporating the flour by pulling in the flour from the sides of the well. As you incorporate more of the flour, the dough will start to take shape.
• With your hands or a bench scraper continue working the dough until it comes together. If the dough is too dry, add a little water; if too wet or sticky, add a little flour.
• Begin kneading the dough and keep kneading until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. At this point, set the dough aside, cover it with plastic, and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. You can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, but allow it to return to room temperature before rolling it out.
• Divide the pasta dough into 4 even sections. Keep each section covered with plastic wrap or a clean towel while you work with each one. Flour the dough, the rollers of a pasta roller (or your rolling pin), your hands, and the work surface.
• If using a pasta machine: Flatten 1 of the of the dough pieces between your hands or with a floured rolling pin until it forms a thick oval disk. Dust the disk, the roller, and your hands with additional flour. Flour a baking sheet to hold the rolled out finished pasta.
• With the roller on the widest setting, pass the pasta through the machine's rollers a few times until it is smooth. Fold the dough over into 1/3, and continue to pass through a few more times until the pasta is smooth again. Begin adjusting the pasta machine settings to become thinner, passing the dough through a few times at each setting.
• If rolling the pasta by hand: Flatten a dough piece into a thick oval disk with your hands. Flour a baking sheet for the rolled out finished pasta. Place the oval dough disk on a floured work surface, and sprinkle with additional flour. Begin rolling out the dough with a floured rolling pin working from the center of the dough outwards, constantly moving the dough and lifting it to make sure it's not sticking.
• Flavor and color variations:
• Cook's Note: All color additions should be added to eggs before incorporating into the flour. Keep in mind that you will need to add a little bit of flour to your basic pasta recipe to compensate for the additional liquid added
• Spinach Pasta Dough (green hue): Blanch 8 ounces (about 3 cups) spinach leaves. Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Press the spinach puree through a small strainer or chinois, removing the liquid before mixing with the eggs. Add 3 tablespoons spinach puree to the eggs before mixing. If the dough feels too sticky, add additional flour until a soft, silky dough is achieved.
• Tomato Pasta Dough (orange hue): Add 2 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste to the eggs before incorporating into the flour.
• Beet Pasta Dough (pinkish-red hue): Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roast 1 large beet in aluminum foil, about 45 minutes, or until tender. Peel the beet and puree in a food processor. Add the beet puree (about 4 tablespoons) to eggs before incorporating into the flour.
• Herb Pasta Dough (speckled): Mince 1/2 cup fresh herbs and add to eggs before incorporating into the flour.
• Squid Ink Pasta Dough (black hue): Add 1 tablespoon squid ink to the eggs before incorporating into the flour.

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:

• 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 HERB PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Wash and dry your fresh herbs. Basil, chives, spinach, arugula, green onion, baby salad greens, or any combination of fresh herbs/greens will work well.
• Coarsely chop the herbs with kitchen shears or a knife. Place in a sturdy bowl and sprinkle with the coarse salt. Use a pestle, dowel or even the handle of a whisk to grind the salt and herbs together into a wet paste.
• Add the flour and eggs to the bowl and mix well. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until a rough dough forms and there's no dry flour in the bowl. The dough will be fairly stiff, and firmer than bread dough.
• Turn the dough out onto your work surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and springy. Wrap well in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes. Note: you may also choose to do this in a stand mixer, or in your bread machine set on the dough cycle. If you use your bread machine, cancel the cycle after about 10 minutes of kneading, and remove the dough.
• Following the instructions on your pasta machine, roll the dough to the desired thickness. Allow the sheets to dry for 15 to 20 minutes before cutting into strips. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Cook the fresh pasta for 3 to 4 minutes, testing for doneness after 3 minutes. Drain the pasta and serve as desired. A simple dressing of melted butter and fresh Parmesan cheese is outstanding, and lets the flavors of the herbs shine through.

HERB PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a food processor combine the flour, salt, eggs, oil and 1/4 cup water; process until dough begins to form a ball. Add more water, only if needed, 1 teaspoon at a time. Process 30 seconds more to knead. Remove dough from processor and rest, covered with inverted bowl, at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Divide dough into 4 pieces. Set rollers of pasta machine at widest setting. Flatten 1 piece of dough into a rectangle (cover other pieces with inverted bowl). Lightly dust rectangle with flour and feed through rollers. Fold rectangle in half and feed through rollers 6 to 8 more times, folding in half each time and dusting lightly with flour to keep it from sticking to machine. Turn dial down one notch and feed the dough to last setting. Repeat with other 3 pieces.
• Cut sheets of dough into equal lengths. Cover surface of one sheet with fresh herb leaves (stems removed). Top with second dough sheet. With lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough sheets to seal. With pastry wheel or knife, cut dough into large shapes and dust very lightly with flour. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet and dry slightly.

PASTA WITH RICOTTA AND FRESH HERBS

Steps:

• Blend ricotta cheese, milk and Parmesan in processor until smooth. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; sauté until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 2 minutes. Add ricotta mixture, basil, chives and parsley to skillet; stir until heated through, about 5 minutes. Mix in rotelle. Season with salt and pepper.