Summer Bella Baita Highlights 2015

Bella Baita and View of the French Border Along with Our Vegetable Garden

Time flies and the spring and summer season has passed me by in a blink. I had great intentions of keeping up on sharing the goings on of our life here in the alps, but alas that was not to be. We have had a great season this year with incredible hot sunny weather and friends visiting from around the globe. There are always so many directions to go when there are gardens to plant and tend, meals to plan, make and serve and new and old friends to enjoy visiting with. So here it is the end of August I guess I will share some of the highlights of this past season and savor the moments with you now that I have the luxury of time to do so. Naturally there is still plenty to do around here, but the pace has slowed and the season is changing. I  hope you like photos cause I am going to let them do most of the talking.

My childhood friend Denise and Me (Marla) What a great visit!

Unlike last year when the summer weather was less than stellar, this summer we have had blue skies and very warm temperatures, scorching and record breaking in parts of Italy. Even our little slice of heaven in the alps has been so warm that we've been sleeping with all the windows open for weeks now. Usually we tend to only have a short period of heat as the mountains seem to cool off quickly when the sun goes down but this year has been different. Warm days, warm nights, garden bounty with gelato and sorbet applied liberally and frequently.

Home made Strawberry Sorbetto

The summer not only brings friends out to tramp around our forests, sample our cooking and discover this little known part of the Italian Alps, it also brings us a variety of volunteers that work along side us during the season. Whether we are preparing the garden or tending it, chopping and stacking wood for the winter, weeding around our house, cleaning between stones on the old family home that is being reborn, whilst cooking together when we have cooking classes and cleaning up after meals, we always have time to learn more about other peoples lives from different parts of the world, and that is an enjoyable bonus to the season and extra hands helping out is always a big bonus. We thank all of our volunteers for all their hard work and companionship that made this season and every season such a success.  You guys rock!

Some Woofers and Workaway Volunteers 2015

A lot of our life here revolves around food as we are keen gardeners, cooks and market shoppers.
The twice weekly market in Pinerolo is one of our favorite stops. I love buying directly from the people that produce the food we buy and putting the money directly into their hands that are often gnarled and usually rough. It is a good feeling. We have become friendly with so many of them over the years and two of my favorites have finally been retired from the market by their daughter. At 86 years young they have been coming to the Pinerolo's farmers market for well over 60 years, 6 days a week, bringing everything on their bikes as neither ever drove a car. Luigi always had a trailer behind his rattle trap bike that he filled with recycled crates out of dumpster bins that overflowed with fresh picked fruits ad vegetable with the occasional chicken or rabbit to boot whilst he maneuvered his bike and cargo with ease, come rain or shine.  Their vitality in their older years amazed me and I admire their frugality and ingenuity. His gnarled hands tied up bundles of greens and carrots with lengths of flexible willow.  No twist ties for them. They had green beans so slender and tender and the most delicious figs that makes you want to sing.  But with the advancement of age and a few tumbles with thier bikes they are no longer coming to the market. It is hard for me to see their spot at the market empty or slightly taken over by the nearby vendors and I have no doubt it has been a difficult adjustment for them. Here's a small collage of some of my photos of them.

Laura and Luigi our favorite Pinerolo market vendors. Fabrizio and Marla are with them in the bottom corner

 So between our garden and shopping in the market, we manage to serve some wonderful food throughout the year. We love featuring our local Piemontese specialties with whatever  is in season and looks inviting. 

Our mountain garden

Our tempting array of culinary treats.

Picture left to right top to bottom...involtini with garden green beans, selection of local cheeses, peach and blackberry rustic tart, agnolotti del plin (meat ravioli), gifts from our garden, grilled aubergine and zucchini with dried tomato hazelnut pesto

We also love making pizza and baking my wild yeasted bread in our wood fired oven. There's nothing quite like the food that comes out of that oven. It's flavorful and fun to cook with.

Our home canned tomatoes make our pizza sauce all the more delicious

One of the highlights of our summer too is cooking together with our friends and doing a bit of wine tasting of local varieties, like Barbera, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, and Arneis. Pasta and raviolo making as well as gnocchi as well as bread and desserts, is a wonderful way to spend some of your holiday time with us. 

       One of the highlights of our summer too is cooking together with our friends and doing a bit of wine tasting of local wines.

It might seem like it's all about food, it isn't even though that is a large part of of our focus.
There are however mountains to see and climb or ride up on a ski lift during the summer.

Bella Baita View of the French Border

Prali Ski lift

There is the largest fortress in Europe, often referred to as the "Great Wall of Piedmont", to see.

Fortezza di Fenetrelle

 Quaint villages to explore.

Street scene in Usseaux

Music and events to catch.

And so much more to discover. 

We hope you'll come and visit with us and discover a part of the Alps worth finding. 

More stories and recipes coming up now that we have moved into the next part of the year. 

ciao for now....Marla

Winter Gifts from the Garden: Savoy Cabbage and Cheesy Potato Bake Recipe

Savoy Cabbage Layered with Taleggio Cheese and Potatoes

It is finally spring and for those of us in the mountains it comes just a tad later than it does for most folks. I still have ample supplies of some of our winter staples like potatoes and savoy cabbage that we are using for a delicious result these days before all the spring delicacies take over. I thought I would share one of my favorite dishes combining these pantry staples. I am sure most of you are thinking of Easter with asparagus and peas and those sorts of veggies, but we are still having cooler temperatures here and sounds like we are not the only ones and this dish is one that I think is sure to please as it has just the right amount of comfort foodiness to it. Let me know if you agree.  

I made it the traditional way the first time in an oven proof pan in the oven and it was like a variation of scalloped potatoes, which will always make me think of my mom and growing up in southern Illinois. I added some parma ham once when I had some that need to be used up and I had some mozzarella as my only cheese, which worked out well with the ham giving it some needed salty element to the dish. I naturally have used all sorts of local cheeses because this is a recipe that lends itself to variations and innovation, so by all means feel free to add your own special touch.  My latest change has been to make it in a skillet on top of the stove without turning the oven on to great success. I do miss that crispy top crunch, but not enough not to make it when the oven is not part of the plan. This recipe is based on Antonio Carluccio's recipe that he used for one of his Italian sojourns that featured Piedmont. By chance it was one of the possible entertainment selections that was on offer on my flight back from the U.S. a few years back.  It was a great episode and a great reminder of a dish that is comforting to anyone and especially those of us from the former kingdom of  Savoie, where Savoy cabbage hails from. 

Savoy Cabbage from our garden and the stove top version 

Oh yes and if you are not familiar with Savoy cabbage, it is the one that is green and wrinkly. I find it to be mild and tender and certainly one of my favorites. It hails from this part of Europe and is a winter time favorite as it will keep under the snow for when you are ready to harvest it when needed. My in laws have always kept some all winter for not only our eating pleasure but also for salad for the chickens when she used to keep them. We aren't the only ones who like some greens in the winter. You can make this dish with regular smooth cabbage as well it just is a slighty different flavor and texture, but it will be almost as good, so do try and find the savoy cabbage if you can. but don't not make it if you can't.

I thought I would also share with you a little video I put together from our harvesting of the last of our cabbages a few weeks ago. We still have patches of snow dotted around now, but the "foehn" (warm strong) winds that have been howling for the past few days have helped the big patches evaporate rather quickly.   

This is me filming Fabrizio harvesting our Savoy cabbage a few weeks ago.  I hope you enjoy my second attempt at making a movie from my videos.

Savoy Cabbage and Potato Bake

(Cavolo Piemontese con Patate)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

650g / 1 1/2 lb Savoy cabbage, cut out the tough main rib* of the leaves leaving two halves of the leaves.

8 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (medium sized floury potatos, although red ones will work as well)

300g / 10oz Taleggio cheese, thinly sliced (or any other melty cheese, fontina, mozzarella and a little parmesan)

Some grated Parmigiano cheese to sprinkle on top and maybe between layers if you are using mozzarella

150g / 51⁄2oz butter for greasing your pans ( I didn't use it when I finished it in the skillet, although I did use a bit of olive oil.

salt 

black pepper, freshly ground

**I have added a layer of prosciutto crudo on occasion and used mozzarella and liked the results

Preparation:c

• Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F.
• Boil some slightly salted water in a sauce pan. 
• Cook the potatoes for about three minutes,in the salted water, then scoop the potatoes out with a large slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Plunge into cold water if you want to hurry them along and make them easier to handle when layering.
• Cook the cabbage for about five minutes in the same potato water until tender. Drain well*.

*You can retain the cut out cabbage rib and the boiling water for a soup if desired or you might want to use it for adding a bit of moisture to your dish as it cooks if needed or dispose of both as you see fit.

You can finish this dish in two different ways. 

• You will layer the cabbage, potatoes, cheese in a ovenproof pan or skillet depending on how you prefer to finish cooking this dish.
• The original recipe calls for baking it in a 9"/ 23 cm(approximately) oven proof pan, which will give you a nice crispy top when you bake it.
• You can also layer it all in a skillet and cook it gently covered adding milk or your leftover boiling water if needed, till all is bubbly and cooked through. 
• Grease the ovenproof dish generously with some of the butter.
• Arrange half of the potato slices, slightly overlapping, on the bottom of the dish, dot with some more butter
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Arrange the cabbage and half of the cheese on top of the potatoes 
• Season with salt and pepper. 
• Top with the remaining potatoes and cheese. 
• Dot with the remaining butter.
• A generous sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese is a nice finish as well

Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes, removing the foil five minutes before the end of the cooking time. Remove from the oven and serve.

Or cover your skillet with a lid and gently simmer on top of the stove until all is soft and smooth through. If you find the dish is too soupy, you can uncover it for a bit to evaporate some of the liquid. If too dry add some liquid as needed when cooking. 

I have made it both ways and enjoyed both. Sometimes you just don't have enough reason to want to turn on the oven and I am happy with the stove top results too. 

Hope you enjoy this dish.

Her's a stovetop version I served with some chicken strips I made

Hope you and yours will enjoy this hearty Piemontese dish. From our home to yours!

Lemon Verbena Panna Cotta, a Piemontese Treat

What a funny summer we have had here in the Alps. I don't know about you, but I am just a tad disappointed in the lack of hot glistening days so far this summer. However, there is one Italian dessert that I am certain will lift your spirits or top off a perfect hot summer day and that would be the crown jewel of Piemontese desserts that is panna cotta. This simple ending to a meal is perfection on a plate. It's light and yet indulgent. The name "panna cotta" literally translates as "cooked cream". Piedmont, one of Italy's northern regions in which I live, and that borders France, is famous for it's dairy rich cuisine and oftentimes overlap of  French culinary influence. Piedmont was once the kingdom of Savoy, whose royal house spawned many a tradition both culinary and culturally that have passed down through the ages and households of its loyal subjects.  This dessert will win your heart with its simplicity, versatility and easy preparation.  

Poued into cups before they have been refrigerated

The most traditional way of eating this dessert is just plain relying on the goodness and quality of the cream, however it certainly lends itself to many variations of sauces to accompany it or various liqueurs, or herbal infusions that if done with a light hand, adds layers of intrigue. 

I love this version of infusing the cream with a small amount of fresh lemon verbena leaves for the summer as a lighter version from my winter version that utilizes my homemade walnut liqueur called nocino. Both are winners and only a stoping off point to vary this lucious creamy dessert that you can whip up in the morning and enjoy for dinner that evening or the next. I have noticed that a few restaurants are starting to serve their panna cotta in a clear glass jar that insures that they don't have to worry about the dessert setting up on time or being anxious that the delightful little wiggle that a well made panna cotta has when turned out onto your plate and carried to the table, that insures a few oohs and aahs from your adoring dinner guests.  

I have added a subtle amount of lemon verbena and so you may find you want to add more or less, as it could depend on how large your leaves are or whether or not they are fresh or dried. When infusing the cream, just make sure to taste your cream a while after it has sat in order to insure you have as much flavor as you want. If not strong enough, add more crushed leaves and reheat if it has cooled took much. It's up to you.

Colle di pesce geletin and lemon verbena leaves

Lemon Verbena Panna Cotta

with a Blueberry Compote

6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 long gelatin sheets, long sheets or 4 short sheets (place in bowl of cold water)
• 400 g of heavy cream (2 cups)
• 120 g whole milk (½ cup)
• 70 g sugar (6 T vanilla sugar is nice)
• 8 or so lemon verbena leaves, fresh (approximately 2 T  or so)
  
  
  Method

1. In a saucepan add heavy cream and milk along with the lemon verbena leaves
2. Heat till it is hot to the touch and turn off heat and let the milk cream mixture infuse with the lemon verbena for about 1/2 hour. Test the mixture after about 10 minutes to see how the flavor is coming along and perhaps adjust by adding a few leaves if needed. 
3. Place your gelatin sheets in cold water to soften while your cream mix infuses. 
4. Strain out the leaves once your cream is flavored to a good strength but not too strong. Remove leaves earlier if you think it is getting to strong for your taste. I prefer a more subtle flavor but still to be strong enough to know it is there. 
5. Once the mixture has cooled some and flavor has developed, I usually strain the leaves out into a bowl and clean out the bottom of the pan to make sure it won't stick when warming up the cream and sugar.
6. Sprinkle the sugar over the bottom of the pan and pour the infused milk and cream mixture back into the pan.
7. Gently squeeze the sheets of gelatin dry and add sheets to the cream mixture.




8. Stir until sheet of gelatin has dissolved, reheating if necessary to dissolve the gelatin if the cream has cooled too much..Pour into cups and let set at room temperature until cool to touch. Refrigerate  or several hours until gelain has set and ready to serve.  (at least a couple of hours or overnight is good)

Suggestions: Any liquor or flavoring(vanilla, amend extract, Amaretto, Frangelico, Gran Marnier, Nocino, you get the idea) may be substituted for variety or taste preference.

Blueberry or other berry Compote

2 c.  fresh blueberries (200g)
4-5 T sugar (50 - 70 g) (can a bit more or less depending how sweet you want it to be)

Combine berries and sugar in a sauce pan and cook gently till the berries pop and make a soft creamy  compote for the panna cotta.

To Serve:
Unmold the pannacotta by running a small blunt knife around the edge of the cup.  Place a plate over the panna cotta and flip over. Tap gently on the bottom of the cups. (I have used plastic yogurt cups before and they have a little give when you are tapping that helps) The panna cotta should come right out. If not you can let gravity help you or place your plans over as the heat of your hands will help encourage the panna cotta to come out. Spoon your room temperature berries on the plate by the panna cotta.

Panna cotta with fresh cherry compote

Bagna Cauda Season

It is well and truly full on autumn now. If I really admitted it I would say we are well and truly on our way to early winter. Sigh. I love all of the seasons, but I always am reluctant to see summer and autumn leave us as the color of those seasons slip away for another year.
 I took this photo on Sunday November 2, Oggisanti, All Saints day. It was quite stunning and lasted a  long time. One of our friends across the valley from us said he saw a double that day too. Must have been a blessing from all of our loved ones.

Anyway, the wind kicked up good and fierce and blew all the color away. Double sigh. What to do?
Well, one of the perfect antidotes for Piemontese mountain people to chase the blues away, is to make Bagna Cauda. This means hot sauce in local dialect. If it doesn't chase away your blues it will certainly scare away any errant vampires that might still be lurking around, as it has a pretty healthy dose of  garlic, and anchovies too for that matter. I know a lot of people don't like anchovies, and I didn't either growing up, as I never really had it well presented. Once I came to Italy, I have become rather fond of the little darling fishes. I've always been intrigued as to why they are such a big part of mountainous and land locked Piemonte. One story goes that  back in the day when salt was  in high demand and extremely expensive because it was such a precious mineral, it was common to buy salted fish to have a little change ones diet and have some salt as well. When the main diet in the mountains consisted of what you could grow, you ate a lot of dishes with potatoes, cabbage, onions, leeks, eggs and cheese, repeat.  Add salty anchovies and your routine diet is lifted to the next level or two.  It helps too that they will sit in the pantry for quite a while till needed and it was a great way to obtain expensive salt as a more reasonably priced staple.
Anyway, we have been enjoying a round or two of this local specialty with friends and guests lately. It's kind of festive to have a large platter of all sorts of seasonal vegetables, cooked and raw, laid out ready to be dipped or drizzled. It's gone over well, so I though I might as well share the local valley version here.
Enjoy with a friend or two while chasing those harbingers of the blues far, far away. We certainly have been.

Bagna Cauda Val Chisone

Enough for 6

Ingredients

2 T olive oil (27 g)

6 anchovies, salted variety preferred, (12 fillets)

6 garlic cloves medium (crushed)

7 T cream (100 g) (optional )

2 T plain flour (12 g)

½ cup milk (118g)

Method

• Wash the anchovies removing salt and scales.
• In a small to medium saucepan, add olive oil, cleaned anchovies and crushed garlic.
• Cook on low heat until the anchovies have melted and all is combined.
• Add the cream, whisk together.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together milk and flour.
• Whisk in the flour mixture with the anchovy mix, in a steady stream.
• Bring to a boil and gently simmer until the mix begins to thicken, being careful not to boil hard.
• Remove from heat and keep warm until you are ready to serve.

Serve with grilled eggplant/aubergine, peppers, and zucchini.

• Prepare the peppers by roasting in the oven or on the stovetop burner.
• Peel the skin off and cut into serving pieces.
• Peel the eggplant/aubergine and slice into lengths or rounds, medium thickness.
• Slice the unpeeled zucchini into long slices, medium thickness.
• Lightly salt the vegetables drizzle with a bit of olive oil
• Grill on a stovetop pan or an electric or outdoor grill.

To serve

Arrange prepared vegetables on a serving dish and drizzle warm bagna cauda sauce on top.

Cooks Suggestions:

Other vegetables that can be included, boiled sliced potato, steamed cauliflower, baked onions, Cooked beets, raw cabbage, cardoons, fennel, turnips, radicchio, and Jerusalem artichoke.

A little history

Traditionally bagna cauda dipping sauce, is garlic, anchovies, and olive oil only, served in a small ceramic pot heated by a votive candle, accompanied by with a great variety of vegetables. This version is a more luxurious variety, popular in our valley. It was a specialty of Fabrizio’s family’s restaurant, “La Baita” , and was served as an occasional special evening. It was the main and only offering, as was the tradition, for those special “Bagna Cauda” evenings.

Back in the U.S. of A and Bagnèt Verde

As you can see, I have been away for awhile from my poor little neglected blog. I have been visiting in the US trying to see everyone and everything that I can as my visits are few and far between. As much as I love living in Italy and all of my friends and family here, I do miss my American family and friends. With my hectic schedule attempting to take it all in, I didn't seem to find any time to share here on my Bella Baita View, so today I will remedy  that. 

Snowshoeing in Frisco and Skiing Copper Mt Colorado

I have three brothers and their children scattered throughout the states and I was blessed in that I was able to see most of them. Along the way I was also able to spend some time in Summit County in Colorado, which I still consider my last home in America. Fortunately for me, I still have a lot of friends making the visit all the more sweet. I got to do a little snowshoeing and skiing as well as chatting and sipping beverages with friends. The world around,  we all do enjoy our "catching up" over food and drinks. This trip was no exception. My friends Mary and John, were kind enough to open their home to my friends for a potluck one night so we could all do a bit of catching up while we sampled each others food and drink.

Friends at the potluck

Since my hosts were working the day of the party I took the opportunity to do a bit of cooking, using seasonal vegetables and making some dishes vegetarian and vegan with some traces of  Piemontese influence in the various dishes. To provide a protein or meat dish that I could make ahead so as not to be busy when everyone arrived, I braised a beef roast and served up the room temperature slices with a classic Piemontese sauce, salsa verde. I also made green cabbage rolls filled  with spicy sausage and covered with a marinara sauce. Vegan cabbage rolls made with Chinese cabbage, as it was more similar to Savoy cabbage, which I couldn't get, and filled with mixed quinoa, tempeh bacon and a sweet fruit and vegetable relish begging to be used up in the fridge. I grilled some eggplant slices and filled the with firm tofu that had been sautéed up with garlic and 2 colors of kale  and covered with the marinara sauce. I added some of my home made focaccia to go along with a great selection of Wisconsin cheeses, many made by small producers from the Devils Head area, thanks to a great gift from my Wisconsin friend Marcia. We had met up in Chicago for lunch and she gifted me with a fabulous treasure trove of artisan cheeses. Everyone loved them. There were a lot of great dishes brought along to share but I got so busy chatting I forgot to take photos, so you'll just have to believe me. 

Potluck buffet

A great dish for Easter lunch or brunch, plated or on a buffet anytime, is the braised beef slices warm or room temperature, served with the salsa verde. This green sauce is a garlicky punch that usually finds itself served alongside the beloved bollito misto, or mixed boiled meats that is so popular here in Piiedmont and other parts of Italy. Often when we enjoy Easter lunch with my in-laws, the evening meal, after the traditional "passeggiata", or walk in the neighborhood after groaning through lunch, we have a simple bollito misto accompanied with both green and re sauce.  So here is my version based on my mother in-laws, which can vary depending on taste or what's on hand. It's great on any type of simple meat that adds just the right amount of zip and brightens up the plate. Adjust the amounts to suit your palette to make it your own.

 Bagnèt Verde Piemontese or 

Green Sauce or "Bath" Piemontese Sauce

1-2 large fistfuls of parsley, washed and dried

2 garlic cloves

2 whole or 4 fillets of anchovies in salt, cleaned  (in oil if you can't find those in the salt)*

1 T capers in salt, washed to remove the salt

1 hard boiled egg **

2 c (bicchieri) olive oil

1/2 c (bicchiere) vinegar, white wine, red wine or apple cider all are nice 

salt if needed to taste

The easy way would be to buzz it all up in the food processor, but my mother in-law would not approve as it would not have enough texture. 

I hand chop all the various ingredients fine or sometimes I use a mezzaluna (curved knife with two handles) to get a uniform texture. 

I place all of the chopped ingredients in a bowl and mix the oil and vinegar in to taste adjusting any of the ingredient quantities if I feel it needs more or the flavor isn;t well blended.

Serve at room temperature. This will keep a few days in the refrigerator also, so you could make it ahead of time. 

Spoon liberally over your cooked meats and enjoy. 

** Some make the sauce with the egg yolk only and use a slice of soft white bread chopped uo to thicken. Our family is more practical and we add the whole boiled egg, chopped fine.

* Anchovies and capers that are preserved have more flavor once the salt is removed than the anchovies in oil or capers in vinegar. You may need to adjust the seasoning depending on which variety of these two ingredients you use. Do not add any salt without tasting first and you might want less vinegar if your capers were preserved in vinegar. 

Farro Tajarin Pasta with Artichokes and Leeks

There are days when pasta is the only thing I crave. I don't know about you, but for me pasta is a comfort food that is so easy to dress up or down. We had a last minute, impromptu luncheon guest yesterday, so what to do? Lucky for me I had some home made farro, as spelt flour is know here in Italy, pasta dough in my freezer. Between that and some fresh artichokes and leeks ready to jump into the pan it made for a very easy choice. As with much of my cooking, ingrediens and amounts vary depending on what's on hand and how much of it, so this recipe is a guideline and open for much improvisation. You knew you would improvise anyway, so be my guest.  As I said I had pasta dough in the freezer and it didn't take long to thaw and roll out. The smallest setting for cutting pasta on my machine is a specialty of our Piedmont region called tajarin. Classic tajarin dough is very rich in eggs and yolks, but I made this one on the leaner side. You can, of course, use dry farro pasta or any of your favorite shapes. We get a great dry farro pasta by the brand name od Alce Nero. I have found all of their organic flours to be of excellent quality. Feel free to use any variety of pasta that appeals to you.

I feature a lot of farro pasta in my recipes I have noticed. I think it is because I tend to add recipes during our slow period and I try to eat a lot more whole grains that isn't always possible during our season when we are cooking for a wide range of tastes. Rest assured we eat lots of white pasta and rest assuredneither of us are very fond of straight whole wheat pasta. It's a texture thing for me. So suit yourself and enjoy what tastes best to you. 

For the pasta

Farro or Spelt Pasta

Yeilds: about 800g of pasta dough 

or approximately 8 servings (depends on your appetite and if it is part of a multi course meal)

80-100 g per person per serving

Ingredients:

140 g (3/4- 1c) faro or spelt flour, your taste

100 g (1/2c) semolina flour

260 g (2-21/4 c) plain flour, as needed

4 eggs, lg. room temperature

60- 120 ml (¼-1/2c) water, this will vary depending on the size of your eggs and absorption of flour

Pinch salt

Method:

Mix your flours together in a large bowl.

Make a well in the middle.

Crack your eggs into the well

Add ¼ cup water to start with.

With a fork, whisk your eggs to break them up, and emulsify.

Gradually pull the flour into the eggs in a circular motion little by little incorporating the flour into the eggs until you have workable dough.

If you find the dough too dry, add a bit more water, but you do want stiff dough.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.

Cover and allow to relax for about 20 minutes

Cut into 8 portions keeping the pasta pieces covered as you work with one piece at a time.

Roll out all 8 portions ( or save have in one lump, wrap well and freeze for another time)

Roll out each piece by hand or by machine. On my machine it goes to number 6 and I stop at 5 as it needs to have some body to it.

Let the strips dry slightly before cutting, usually about 15 minutes. Dust liberally with flour if your dough seems too wet, other wise dust with a little flour so it doesn't stick together when rolling and then underneath the strips on the table. 

I used the thinnest width on my machine to cut the tajarin shape or angel hair, as it is know in the US. 

I hang the strips on a pasta holder, but if you don't have one a broom handle between to chairs works just as well. 

Separate the pieces so that they don't stick together. Let air dry for 15 minutes to keep from sticking together when they are boiled. 

Cook for 5 minutes or less when cooking fresh. You can let any extra hang overnight to dry and use at another time. Depening on your humidity level, completely dry pasta will last for quite a while, weeks, but humidity will make it go off if you are not too careful. That's why I prefer to store extra dough in the freezer and roll out when needed. 

Once cooked add to your hot sauce, toss together.

Serve with fresh grated parmigiano. 

For the sauce:

 Fresh Artichoke and Leek Pasta Sauce

Serves about 4

4 medium fresh artichokes, cleaned and trimmed up, choke removed

2 medium leeks, sliced into 1/4 inch half moons, 

using some of the green as long as it is tender

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

Olive oil, I generally use all olive oil

2 Tb butter, optional

1/4 c white wine, or brandy if you like

1/2 c chicken or veggie stock

4oz  yogurt or sour cream

Salt & pepper

Fresh chopped chives and parsley of you have any on hand.

*For a heartier version add 150g (4 oz) prosciutto crudo cut into slender 1"baton lengths

 Add the parma ham when the vegetables are about cooked halfway

Method:

Clean and slice the artichokes into ½ rounds, cutting from the base up toward the tips discarding tough leaves if you haven't been  ruthless enough earlier when cleaning.

In a medium to large sauté pan (better if it has a bit of a side to it),

Add the olive oil/butter.

Sauté leeks, adding the artichokes  and garlic

Continue cooking until they start to pick up a little color. Add the ham now if desired. 

Sauté over a medium to low flame a minute or two more.

Deglaze the pan with your wine, cooking until all the alcohol has evaporated.

Add the stock. Stir and cover letting it simmer for a few minutes till the artichokes are soft.

Reduce the stock a bit, removing lid if necessary or add more liquid if needed. 

Add the yogurt or sour cream and whisk in.

Tastes ad season the sauce with a bit of salt and pepper, a few snipped fresh chives or flat leaf parsley would be nice as well

Warm through.

Add cooked pasta.

Toss together and serve immediately garnished with fresh grated Parmigiana.

*Recipe easily scaled up or down.

Panna Cotta al Nocino

Happy Valentines Day!  
If you are looking for a simple but utterly divine dessert to make for your Valentine tonight, do make this   early enough today to serve tonight. It only takes a few minutes to pull together once you have some high quality cream and sheet gelatin. It doesn't need the hazenut liqueur as this traditional Piemontese delight is all about showcasing the ultra smooth creaminess of this sensuous delight. I have been asked for this dessert a number of times, so here you go. Just make sure you use the absolute highest quality of cream you can find, for dreamy dessert that literally melts in your mouth. I have found that oftentimes this dessert is made with far too much gelatin and it really doesn't do this dessert justice. It will be a wobbly quivering mass when you unmold it onto your plate, but be fearless. Don't let a little wobble scare you. I usually unmold it into my hand briefly on its way to the plate as it sometimes can be slightly stubborn releasing from its mold. It's well worth a moment or two of anxiety for the pleasure of this sumptuous silken grand finale that ensues.
Enjoy this with soft candlelight, music, Moscato wine and someone that you love!

Panna Cotta al Nocino

8 generous portions 

You can make these smaller portions as well

The recipe can be halved or even quartered with good results

Ingredients

850 g heavy cream, here we like to use Elena, a thick local brand
250 g milk
150 g sugar
7-8 g (2 ½ long sheets) sheet gelatin (fish gelatin/colla di pesce)
60 g Nocino, walnut liqueur, or hazelnut or chocolate

MethodSoften the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water.
Meanwhile heat the cream, milk and sugar to just under the boiling point.
Use the highest quality of cream that you can find, as it is the main ingredient and inferior quality will make for a disappointing result. The higher the butter fat content the richer and creamier the panna cotta.
Remove the cream mixture from heat.
Drain the gelatin and squeeze excess water from the gelatin which will now be a jiggly mass.
Add the gelatin to the cream and stir until dissolved. If you have allowed the cream to cool too much, just put it on the heat again and stir till the gelatin dissolves.
You do not want it to boil at this point, just to insure the gelatin dissolves.
Add your walnut or desired flavoring to the mixture and stir to distribute.
Pour into metal panna cotta cups/cyclinders (ungreased, no preparation to the cups other than being clean) to cool to room temperature before putting them in the refrigerator to set up.
To serve, run a thin knife around the edges and turn onto your plate.
Garnish, or not, and enjoy every dreamy bite as you are  transported to a higher place.

Cooks notes*
I must confess, that I haven’t found or bought proper panna cotta cups, as they are either too tall, too large a serving or whatever, so my little secret is I use a heavy plastic reused container, like individual yogurt cups. We use to use small plastic drinking glasses when we use to do large catering functions and needed hundreds of cups. They work great.
The panna cotta needs to chill for a good while. It will vary with the temperature of your refrigerator and the thickness of your cream, etc. It can be 4 hours or over night and will hold for several days in the refrigerator to serve as needed.
When serving, make sure to unmold just before serving because it is a bit wobbly and you don’t want it to melt. The wobble is a good thing.

Also, if you use any sauce, even though it really doesn’t need anything,  as it is quite rich and creamy dreamy melt in your mouth. You don’t want to detract from the simplicity and subtle flavor of this dessert, but if you do add a sauce  for a lovely presentation or contrast in flavor, make sure you do not pour it over the top of the desert, as it will split the cream in two.