Lorraine Pascale Food

FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Dust a large flat baking sheet with flour.
• Put the flour in a large bowl and add the salt and yeast, then add the olive oil plus enough warm water to make a soft but not sticky dough. The dough should feel quite loose and not tight and difficult to knead. If the whole amount is added it may appear that the dough is beyond repair, but gently kneading by way of scooping up the dough, scraping any sticky bits on the surface and slapping it back down again for a few minutes, will see the dough begin to become "pillowy" and more manageable. The more water that can be added (the full 1 cup/9fl oz/250ml is great), then the lighter the bread will be. But it can take some perseverance. Also resist the temptation to add more flour, as it will make the dough too heavy.
• Knead the dough for about 10 minutes by hand on a lightly floured work surface or for 5 minutes if using an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. The dough will feel stretchy when pulled. To test if it is ready, make a ball with the dough then, using a well-floured finger, prod a shallow indent in the side (no more than 1/4in/3/4cm). If the indent disappears by way of the dough springing back, then it is ready to shape. If the indent
• stays, knead for a few minutes longer. Shape the dough into an oval and place it on the prepared baking sheet.
• Flatten it out to about 12in (30cm) long and 8in (20cm) wide. Cover the dough loosely with oiled plastic wrap, making sure it is airtight. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Leave the dough in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until it has almost doubled in size. With a floured index finger press holes in the dough at regular intervals, about 1 1/2in (4cm) apart in rows across the dough, pressing right down to the bottom. Take 1 1/4in (3cm) long sprigs of the rosemary and push them into the holes. Sprinkle some sea salt over the dough and place in the top third of the oven. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the bread is well risen, light golden brown and feels hollow when tapped underneath.
• Remove from the oven, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and let cool on the baking sheet. This is totally awesome when served warm as a starter or indeed as a meal in itself with fresh tomatoes, artichokes, and cold meats, or with a steaming hot bowl of soup.

PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Put the flour, salt, and chilled butter into a large bowl and rub them together with your fingertips until they resemble fine bread crumbs. Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in the water. Mix with a knife, then bring the dough together with your hands.
• Squidge into a ball, then wrap in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 25 minutes.
• Unwrap the dough ball and use a knife to score a large cross in the middle of it, cutting no more than halfway through. Lift all four corners from the middle of the cross, then pull them up and out to make the cross big enough to put the softened butter into.
• Add the butter, then fold the corners of the cross back to the center, covering the butter so it is completely enclosed. The corners should overlap in the center so no butter is showing. It is important that the butter is not too hard or too soft, otherwise it will escape through the dough when you roll it out and the resulting pastry will not rise as well. If it's too hard, let the ball of pastry stand at room temperature until the butter inside has softened; if it is getting too soft, pop it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to firm up a little before rolling.
• This next process is called "rolling and folding" (or "turns") and it creates the characteristic flaky layers of puff pastry. Begin by rolling the pastry out away from you on a well-floured counter to a rectangle roughly 3 times as long as it is wide (don't turn the pastry when rolling). Keep the corners square and edges straight by pressing a spatula or rule against them. Lift the dough occasionally to make sure it isn't sticking; flour the counter again if necessary and sprinkle with more flour as you go, dusting away any excess with a pastry brush. Take the short edge of the pastry nearest to you and fold it up a third, then fold the top edge down a third to give a rectangular block. Turn the dough 90 degree and then repeat the rolling and folding.
• You have now given the dough two "rolls and folds." Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator. Chill for 20 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator, then unwrap and give it two more "rolls and folds." Wrap and rest in the refrigerator for at least another 20 minutes. The block of puff pastry can at this point be kept in the refrigerator for a day or two, or frozen.
• Remove from the refrigerator, then unwrap and give the dough a final couple of rolls and folds. Roll it out to the size desired for your chosen recipe. Place on a baking sheet, then cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before using.

CRACKED BLACK PEPPER PASTA

Steps:

• Clean and dry a few coat hangers to dry the pasta on.
• Into the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, eggs, oil, and black pepper. Process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Put the mixture onto your work surface and knead it lightly for a few minutes until it is smooth. It should be quite stiff. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• To make in a pasta machine: Take a quarter of the pasta and pat it into a flat rectangle with your hands. Feed it through the widest setting on the pasta machine. Fold that piece in thirds into a rectangle shape and feed it through again. After you have fed it through on the initial setting, there is no need to keep folding it, just keep feeding it through, making the setting narrower each time.
• If the pasta rips while using the pasta machine, don't worry, just fold it back into a rectangle and feed it through the widest setting again. A rip may mean that there is an obstruction in the pasta machine between the rollers. If that is the case, just open the machine to the widest setting and let whatever was stuck in there fall out.
• If the pasta sticks to the machine, just flour the machine a little to help ease the pasta through.
• When you have fed the pasta through on the narrowest setting, sprinkle the top with a little flour and fold it in half, short end to short end, then again, and again and again until you have a smaller rectangle. With the folded edge facing you, cut vertical strips about 1/2-inch wide along the width of the pasta, then carefully take one strip, unfold it completely and hang it on the coat hanger.
• Repeat with the rest of the pasta, using a quarter piece of the dough each time.
• To make the pasta by hand: Dust the work surface very lightly with flour. Take a quarter of the dough and put it on the work surface. Pat the dough with your hands into a flat rectangle. Lightly flour a rolling pin and roll it out until it is a very long and thin rectangle.
• My rectangle was 5 to 6 inches wide and very, very long. The pasta is ready when it is so thin that if you lift it up and put your hand behind it, you can see your hand through it.
• Sprinkle the top with a little flour and fold it in half, short end to short end, then again, and again and again until you have a smaller rectangle. With the folded edge facing you, cut vertical strips about 1/2-inch wide along the width of the pasta, then carefully take one strip, unfold it completely and hang it on the coat hanger.
• Repeat with the rest of the pasta, using a quarter piece of the dough each time.
• Once all of the pasta is hung, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta, in one or two batches depending on how big your pan is, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the pasta is just cooked through. Using a pair of tongs, remove the pasta from the pan and, drain in a colander. If cooking the pasta in batches keep the first batch warm while cooking the rest.
• Once all the pasta is cooked and drained, drizzle with some of the olive oil, sprinkle a few basil leaves over the top and serve immediately.
• This is delicious used in the Creamy Pancetta Sauce with Mushrooms and Parmesan.