The parties over!!

Black pasta made with coffee served with a walnut cream and a dash of Whisky

Yesterday, in Italy, the Christmas holidays were officially over. On January the 6, Epiphany day ,it is  tradition for a witch with cape and broom to bring lots of sweets to the children (if they were good during the past year) or charcoal, made ​​of sugar (if they were bad). These delicacies are left by the mystery witch in a large sock and children normally devour everything in one day. The next day  most are  left with a bad  belly and many cavities … … but that’s another story! When I was small my brothers and I received  a good mixture of sweets and charcoal, plus in the great sock there were always lots and lots (too many) of Clementine’s  !!!!!! The message behind the Clementines is still not clear to me ,but maybe the witch that came to our house was obsessed with  healthy fruit ? Who knows, but we were not too impressed about it!

Anyway,  back to 2012. This weekend, although we could have happily  carried on with the idle festive life, Nick and I  decided to be productive, there are 10 kilos of olives to put in  jars with garlic and chili, we need to build a safe area for the new chickens that are arriving next week (new friends for Hilda the lonely goat) …yes, in short, a lot of country stuff waiting to be done! We also have some new ideas and  projects for this coming year, so  it is time to roll up our sleeves and start working … … ..BUT the problem is ….who has the energy or inclination to do all this after spending nearly two weeks  celebrating???

So to get the ball rolling I decided to make this ,my new recipe, on Friday for dinner :  Black pasta made with coffee served with a walnut cream and a dash of Whisky! I have called this creation “Pasta al caffè corretto” . It was really very good but as yet we have not noticed any great desire to continue with this active creativity over the weekend.

However, although a bit delayed we do hope your new year has had a good start and  will continue to be good to you.  Ciao.

Serve 6:

HOME MADE PASTA

Ingredients serve 6

300 gr Flour (Try to get Tipo ‘00’ flour – this is a very finely sieved flour which is normally used for making egg pasta or cakes. In Italy it’s called farina di grano tenero, which means ‘tender’ or ‘soft’ flour)200gr wheat flour (Semola di grano duro)

4 eggs

1 tablespoon of Evo oil

½ teaspoon salt

3 tspoon of ground coffee

How it  works:

Mix the two flours and place on a board . Make a well in the centre and crack the eggs into it. Add olive oil and a pinch of salt and coffe. With a fork, first mix the ingredients in the hollow together and start to mix in the flour from the edge.

Gradually incorporate more of the flour until a viscous paste begins to form. Put the fork to one side and, using both hands, heap the remaining flour from the outside over the pasta in the middle. Work the flour in to the paste. If the paste does not absorb all the flour, and if the ingredients cannot be easily worked, add a little water.

Push out the dough with the heels of the hands, then form in into a ball again. Repeat this kneading action until the dough has a firm but slightly elastic consistency and no longer changes shape when you remove your hands.

By machine:

Put the strip of dough through the machine’s smooth rollers several times, narrowing the setting each time, until the desired thickness is achieved.

Start at 6 and finish at 2 for:  Tagliatelle. Then cut by hand.

WALNUT CREAM:

150 grams of walnuts,
50 grams grated Pecorino cheese
100 grams grated Parmesan cheese
50 grams of bread (soaked in water and squeezed)
1 pinch of nutmeg

How: In a blander mix all the ingredients and put a side.

Plus you need for your dish: nub of butter , clove of garlic and a dash of Whisky.

How it works: In a pan  melt the butter with a clove of garlic. Cook one minute and remove garlic. Drain the pasta (very much al dente)  and add it to the butter directly in the pan. Add a few tablespoons of pasta cooking water, add the cream with walnuts and a dash of whisky. Mix  for a few minutes and serve.