As promised, a step by step recipe for our latest pasta hit! The original idea came from a post on the Salt & Lavender blog. It was good, though for our tastes, not enough punch, and too much heavy dairy in the cream and cheese. We played.
Whole Wheat Pappardelle with Roasted Radishes & Zucchini
Pappardelle: 1.5 cup each (6 oz) whole wheat flour and semolina; 1 Tb pure gluten; 4 eggs; 1 Tb olive oil; 1 tsp salt – mixed together, add water if needed to bring together and knead until smooth. Rest, roll out, cut into strips about 3/4″ wide.
Cut the radishes in thick rounds, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Roast in the oven for about 40 minutes until lightly browned, mixing them up every now and again.
Cut a couple of small white onions in plumes and saute in olive oil with a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of smoked chili (we use our local merquén) until soft.
Add a couple of small zucchini, cut in half moons, a pinch of salt more, and a teaspoon of ground coriander. Continue sauteeing until they start to color.
Add a large tomato cut in small dice, and a 1/4 teaspoon each of dry oregano, thyme, basil, and rosemary. Cook for five minutes, stirring regularly. At about this point is a good moment to put the pasta in boiling salted water for about 3-4 minutes.
Add a half cup of cream and about a cup of the boiling (and now starchy) pasta water. Bring to a simmer and toss well to combine. Adjust salt if needed (it probably won’t be, remember the pasta water is salty, so don’t adjust until after this step).
Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce along with a handful of torn basil leaves. Toss well to coat the pasta and distribute the sauce.
Eat. The original recipe also called for grated cheese to be added, but we found that it both made the dish to salty and added a flavor that just wasn’t needed. Personal preferences… maybe a different cheese, something less salty, and added in to melt at the same time as the cream is added….
I have always known that if you add salt to your pasta, it will brittle more easily. However, several recipes mention to add salt. Personally, I salt my water and that is enough for me. Oil in fresh pasta? Never heard of it. I think you could do without it just fine.
I will try to use gluten – the flour here is not very gluten-rich, don’t you think? My first pizza experiments were made adding gluten to regular flour, however I have been using another recipe with a highly hydrated dough where gluten is not that much relevant. Also, this week I made it with dried yeast for the first time (instead of the fresh one) and I found my pizza easier to digest. [Sorry for the pizza digression 😉 . I haven’t been making pasta for a while now]
Oil works particularly well, just a splash, in whole grain pastas. I don’t know the science behind it, but it’s what I was taught by the Italian chefs I worked with – and it does work. Salt, optional – some pastas I use it, some I don’t, it’s not at all unusual though in Italian pasta traditions.