Pasta alla Sud!

 When one thinks of pasta, one invariaby thinks of that aisle in the grocery store with the  boxes of dry pasta; spaghetti, fettuccine, little bowties or sea shells

Nice and convenient (that's how things are prioritized in The US), but not terribly flavorful.  Brittle sticks to  boil into incoherence and then plop some canned "ragu" sauce.  It's also wildly expensive. Well, you might think it semi-frugal tnly spend $3.50 to $4.00 for a pound of pasta to feed 3 to 4 people. 

There is another way.  Do it yourself for pennies.  

Yes you can.  it's the easiest thing ever and your pasta dishes will not only taste world's better, but that $4 box of brittle heat-dried pasta can be replaced by authentic home rolled pasta for more like $1, maybe $1.50.

But won't I need expensive tools and machines?  Sure, you can buy a pasta machine to  crank out and mechanize the rolling out,

but with a tiny bit of practice you can just use your common everyday rolling pin, or better yet, not even need a either for what I'm going to show you today.

All you need for some super chewy and tasty Southern Italian (Puglia) style pasta is flour, water and a small knife.  Today we're making Orecchiette (little ears) and cavatelli - 2 common eggless pasta from the Puglia region of Italy.  The heel of the boot.

So, what do I need to whip up a batch of Southern  pasta to feed  the family?  

1. Flour:  3.5 cups  (400 grams) of Grano duro di semola -  Semolina flour*
2. and water, 3.5 cups

* you can get this in  most supermarkets, even here in the bckwater US.  If your local doesn't have it,  a fine grade bread flour like  King Arthur will sub out just fine  The main thing is a finely ground high protein  (high gluten) flour so it results in the proper chewable yet firm texture and flavor.

The how to:

1. Place your flour on your work surface  (or in a large bowl) and using your fist create a lake in the middle. Pour in 1/ 3 of the water.  Using a fork or your hands sift the flour from the outside rim into the water and blend, adding a bit more water slowly until you have a rough and ragged ball of dough.

2. Knead this ball of dough with Nonna-like strength for  8 to 10 minutes until it is smoothy and shiny.  It should be slightly tacky but not wet.  if dough sticks to yoru fingers add a bit more water (a teaspoon at a time), or if it's too wet, add some flour.

3. Cover the dough with a clean tea towel and let it rest at room temp for around 30 minutes.

4.  Working in shifts, cut off  about 1/4ofthe pasta log  and ball it up, then press it flat to about 1/4" thick. cut it into half inch strips then roll each strip into a long snakes

5. Using  a pastry nife chop the snake into 1/4"  pieces.  Dust these with more semolina and toss gently.

6.  Here's the fun part, and take your time and develop your skill here slowly.  I guarantee it will get quicker and easier with each try.  Take the flat of your knife (small paring knife, or butter knife) press down and flatter the little cube of pasta and pull toward you, foldling the pasta circle of over the edge of the knife.  Pull the little folded pasta off the blade and quickly mold it over the tip of your thumb. 

For Cavatelli I just press down with my fingertips instead of a knife and roll it into a cylinder. 

7.  Toss each little "ear" or tube of pasta onto a drying rack (or just onto a plate dusted with Semolina) and continue the process until  you've used up all the dough. It's like a mediation and it's one of my favorite ways to spend a pleasant hour in the afternoon sun.

What you've just made is Orecchiette, my hands down favorite pasta; perfectly cupped to hold that ragu or pesto,  But there are endless varieties of Southern pasta shapes. Shown below are a fresh drying rack batch orecchiette and cavatelli - I alternated type snake by snake.  ;-)

The possibilities are endless.  If you ever find yourself in Puglia, Bari to be specific you can search out the Pasta grannies who line a few alleyways making fresh pasta and gossip every day of the week.  The Nonnas are friendly and will answer all your questions, show you their kitchens, and sell you bags of pasta them made on the spot.  If this is not on your bucket list, I'm not sure we can still be friends!!

So i made the pasta, what next?

You can eat it immediately  (pasta fresche) or dry it and store it in your pantry.  I generally leave it on the drying rack for 24 hours and then store it in glass jars.

Note: one nice thing is fresh pasta only takes three minutes to cook (in plenty of heavily salted full boiling water).

Godare!!