Time: 20 minutes to roll out and cut the pasta, 5 minutes to cook it, and 5 minutes to make the sauce.
This is as easy and satisfying a homemade pasta dish as you'll ever make or eat. The pasta itself has outstanding handling properties and cooks quickly without losing its bite. It is never tough, but also never mushy.
Equipment Mise en Place
For this recipe, you will need a 2-quart saucepan; a wooden spoon; a rimmed baking sheet; a pasta machine; a bench knife or chef's knife; a rolling pin; a ruler; a large, deep braising or sauté pan; a colander; and a pair of tongs.
Ingredients
for the sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups Bionaturae Organic Strained Tomatoes
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
for the pasta:
1 tablespoon durum semolina
1 recipe Fresh Sheet Pasta
Anson Mills Farina di Maccheroni ‘oo’ Crema to roll out the dough
Table salt
Vegetable oil spray
Grated Parmesan Reggiano for serving
Directions
1. Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a 2-quart saucepan over low heat. Add the garlic and stir it around in the oil until it is fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add the tomatoes, pepper flakes, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors come together, 4 to 5 minutes. Cover the pan and set it aside off heat.
2. Roll out the fazzoletti: Sprinkle a rimmed baking sheet with the durum semolina and set it aside. Set up the pasta machine. Cut the pasta dough into six pieces with a bench knife or chef's knife (View Photo. Click on photo to close) , and return five of the pieces to the zipper-lock bag. Lightly flour the sixth piece and, using a rolling pin, roll it out on a lightly floured work surface into a band about 4 inches long, 3 inches wide, and about 1⁄3-inch thick (View Photo ). Beginning with the widest setting and stopping after the penultimate setting, run the dough once through each setting of the pasta machine (View Photo ), flouring as needed. Pass the dough through the penultimate setting once more, for a total of two times (View Photo ). The band of dough will be about 20 inches long. Trim away the tapered ends with a bench knife and, using the bench knife and a ruler, trim the long edges to straighten them. Then, cut the dough band into 4-inch squares (View Photo ). Transfer the squares to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. You will end up with about 24 handkerchief squares of pasta.
3. Cook the fazzoletti: Fill a large, deep braising or sauté pan with water and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add about 2 teaspoons of table salt for every 2 quarts of water, and then reduce the heat so that the water simmers (View Photo ). Using a skimmer, gently lower all the fazzoletti into the water, adding 6 at a time. Simmer until the pasta is tender but still firm, about 2 minutes, turning once about halfway through. Drain in a colander.
4. Sauce the fazzoletti: While the fazzoletti cook, return the sauce to a simmer over medium heat. After draining the pasta, stir the butter into the sauce. Toss the pasta with the hot sauce using a warmed bowl and a pair of tongs. Taste for seasoning. Serve in warmed bowls with grated Parmesan Reggiano passed at the table.
Serves 4 as a main course
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