Springing back in time...
a short and sweet newsletter with a recipe for durum wheat pasta 3 ways
Welcome to A standing reservation! Thanks for reserving your table. If you’ve found your way here via pure luck and haven’t already reserved your standing reservation, pencil yourself in the book and we’ll be sure to serve you up something good:
A bad backache…
My creativity is lagging these days. Which is a shame because it makes it difficult to write, as one can imagine. The space for imagination is being taken up mostly from the stress of waiting for my work visa in order to move to Rome and start my job. In the wait of my visa, I’m also without a passport which means any and all plans to travel outside of the UK (also back home to family in the US) are halted. And since it’s been two months of relentless emails, phone calls, and help from great friends who have also tried their hand at sorting out my visa with Italian consulate, my positivity surrounding the situation is losing strength.
BUT we persevere and push forward and try to be hopeful. Unfortunately, all that stress combined with my old age has completely wrecked my back. And mixed with making about 10kg worth in weight of meatballs for a catering job today…I think it’s safe to say that I’m hurting.
Now that we’ve moaned and groaned and that’s out of our system…let’s move onto tastier and happier things.
Spring 2020, 2021, 2022…2023
Is it just me or does it feel like the spring of 2020 - you know the one I’m talking about - was yesterday? These years have been a time warp. Some of my OG followers (original followers - Gianluca HATES acronyms so that one was for him) will remember my cooking classes from the pandemic days and beyond. We zoomed, we sipped, we cooked…it was a time. I figured I’d highlight some of my favorite quick and easy fresh pasta recipes that I’ve pulled from my spring archives to help spring us into the present day. Too many springs? Probably. Like I said, loss of imagination.
Also, let’s discuss if you’d like to see some pasta classes and or cooking workshops again - either in person (if you’re in the London area) OR online. Private cooking classes with friends, dinner parties, you name it…I’m your gal for all things food.
Past cooking classes at our virtual table looked a little something like…orecchiette making, pici pasta and it’s history, carciofi and cocktails, aperitivo hour. Let me know what kind of cooking classes you’d like to take in the comments section. Or, if you’re ready to get cooking, email me at paige.woodie@gmail.com and we’ll plan your own private class!
Durum wheat pasta
Here’s a recipe for durum wheat pasta that you can dress up 3 different ways and in 3 different shapes and sauces. It’s so simple so give it a try and impress your people at your next dinner party!
This recipe is super straight forward. The dough is a 2:1 ration which means 2 parts flour to 1 part water. 200g of semolina and 100g of water will yield enough for about 3 people. Size up or down depending on your group. Always nice to have leftovers so the more the merrier!
Ingredients
Durum wheat pasta
200g - Semolina flour
100g - Lukewarm water
Dish towel
Mixing bowl
Method
Mix your flour and water together until you have a shaggy ball of dough. If you feel you need more water, wet your hands and spray the dough with some extra water, little by little. Kneed the dough until you have a smooth ball. Cover with either a dish towel or mixing bowl and let it rest for up to an hour. Shape your pasta using the methods mentioned below.
Option 1 // Orecchiette with sausage, asparagus, and sage
Ingredients
Bunch of sage - use about 10-15 leaves chopped or cut into ribbons
Bunch of asparagus - roughly chopped
Italian sausage - 4 links
Olive oil
Clove garlic
Method
To make your orecchiette, cut off a piece of dough from your dough ball. Roll into a snake shape about 1 inch in diameter. Cut into pieces about 1 inch in length. Take a serrated knife and push your knife down into the small piece of dough, drag it towards you and use your thumb to flip it inside out into a little ear shape. Continue to shape your pasta.
In a pan, heat olive oil and 1 clove of crushed garlic. Be careful not to burn your garlic. Remove the casing of the sausage and add to the pan. As you allow the sausage to brown, break it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Add your roughly chopped asparagus and sauté until the asparagus are bright green but still al dente. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, drop your orecchiette. Fresh pasta cooks quickly and will only need about 2-3 minutes to cook - they will float to the top of the pot once they are finished. Take a spoonful of pasta water and add it to your sausage and asparagus mixture - give this a stir to start creating a creamy sauce from your starchy pasta water.
Once your pasta is done cooking, spoon your orecchiette out of the water using a slotted spoon so to keep the starchy pasta water - or reserve a mug of the cooking water after you’ve strained your pasta. Sprinkle some of your sage leaves into the pasta mixture (reserve some for garnish). With the heat on very low, mix your pasta, sausage and asparagus. Add a splash of water and mix again. Use your reserved pasta water if you feel the pasta looks dry. Turn off the heat and flip your pasta making sure to create that creamy emulsion. Plate and garnish with remaining sage leaves.
Option 2 // Cavatelli with zucchine, lemon, and mint
Ingredients
3 zucchine
3 sprigs of mint or mentuccia if available to you
Olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
1 clove of garlic
Method
Using almost the same method as above, to make your cavatelli, cut off a piece of dough from your dough ball. Roll into a snake shape about 1 inch in diameter. Cut into pieces about 1 inch in length. Using the back of a fork or small wooden tool, push your thump into your piece of dough and roll away from you. Creating a curled dimple in the dough. The pasta will resemble an olive seashell (one of my favorite seashells and just so happens to resemble an olive and be called an olive shell - always about the food for me).
For the sauce, follow the same method as the above. In a pan, heat olive oil and 1 clove of crushed garlic. Be careful not to burn your garlic. Add the chopped zucchine to the pan and gently sauté. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, drop your cavatelli. Fresh pasta cooks quickly and will only need about 2-3 minutes to cook - they will float to the top of the pot once they are finished. Take a spoonful of pasta water and add it to your pan with your zucchine - give this a stir to start creating a creamy sauce from your starchy pasta water.
Once your pasta is done cooking, spoon your cavatelli out of the water using a slotted spoon so to keep the starchy pasta water - or reserve a mug of the cooking water after you’ve strained your pasta. Sprinkle some of your mint leaves into the pasta mixture (reserve some for garnish). With the heat on very low, mix your pasta and zucchine. Add a splash of water and mix again. Use your reserved pasta water if you feel the pasta looks dry. Turn off the heat and flip your pasta making sure to create that creamy emulsion. Plate and garnish with remaining mint leaves and a grating of lemon zest. Drizzle with a touch of olive oil and enjoy.
Option 3 // Pici cacio e pepe with spring peas
Ingredients
100g - Pecorino
100g - Parmigiano
100g - shelled or frozen peas
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 Tbsp of butter
Method
Using almost the same method as above, to make your pici, cut off a piece of dough from your dough ball. Roll into a snake shape about 1 inch in diameter and about 12 inches in length. Repeat until you’ve shaped all of your dough.
Bring a pot of salted watet to a boil Once the pot comes to a boil, drop your pici into the water. The pici should take about 4-6 minutes to boil. Have a pan ready on the stove top for tossing your pici with your cheese and peas. Crack about 15 twists of black pepper into the pan and begin to toast. Add butter to the pan with the pepper. Ladle about one spoonful of pasta water into your pan of pepper and butter. Let this simmer and emulsify. Add your peas. Once your pici is done cooking, use a spider strainer to pull your pici out of the water and toss into the pan of black pepper and butter. Save a mug full of pasta water. Let the pici marry into the butter, pepper, and pasta water. Turn the heat off and layer the grated cheeses over the pici and stir quickly, tossing the pici to coat. Don’t worry if it’s not coming together at first, keep whisking and it will create a creamy sauce. Add more pasta water as needed.
Serve immediately - grate with more cheese and a few cracks of black pepper. Enjoy!
Until next time at a standing reservation…
With love & snacks,
Paige
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Need a happy moment?
During the pandemic, I started a movement called #DoughGood. I basically turned my parents home into a micro-bakery - baking up to 12 sourdough loaves of bread per day out of our home oven. For every loaf of bread someone purchased, a loaf was donated to those in need, the elderly, healthcare workers, teachers, EMS…All the money I raised from purchases was donated to my local food bank (food banks in New Jersey only take non-perishable items and donating to their cause was always a top priority). I purchased over 300 pounds of flour, baked over 200 loaves and donated over 100 loaves. The delivery driver would drop off 50 pound bags of flour and shout from one end of the driveway (Covid times) what the heck are you going to do with all that flour! CBS found out about my story through Instagram and interviewed me on their Saturday morning show. It was such a blessing for me during a time that was so uncertain for all of us.
But what truly brought #DoughGood to life was the creation of my mascot. Dough Girl was brought to life by Gianluca’s sister, Enrica. Enrica is so special. Not only is she the sweetest and most kind person I know, but, she’s also a doctor who, during the height of Covid was on the front lines in Italy saving lives. And apart from being a doctor (as if that weren’t a great enough achievement) she’s an extremely talented artist! Dough Girl was drawn into creation by her hands, the same hands that heal so many (whether it’s through her infectious smile or healing doctors hands). Dough Girl is me and I can’t help but smile every time I look at her. There’s more to her than meets the eye, but I’ll save that for another story.