flour | cabinorganic

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fettucini, flour, garlic, gremolada, hand made pasta, kitchenaide mixer, lemon, milled flour, pasta, pasta attachment, spelt, spelt flour

I have been making my own pasta for quite a few years now have been having a lot of fun experimenting with various recipes. Now that I am milling my own flours, my pasta will be even more fresh and flavorful. This spelt pasta was my first experiment using the spelt flour that we milled just minutes before with our WonderMill. If you’ve never tried fresh pasta (not including store-bought, which has preservatives), it is worth either making your own or taking a special trip to the farmers market to get some!

Spelt Pasta

about 2-¾ cups spelt flour

3 medium eggs

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Place the eggs and oil in the mixer bowl and attach the flat beater. Mix until thoroughly combined. Add the flour a little at a time just until the dough begins to form a ball (you may not need the full amount of flour). Exchange the flat beater for the dough hook and knead at medium speed for 5 to 8 minutes, and a smooth, elastic dough has formed. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces, wrap with plastic wrap and allow it to chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Attach the pasta roller to the mixer and adjust to setting 1. Pass the dough through the roller at low speed (dust with flour first if dough is sticky), then fold in half. Do this four or five times. When the dough is no longer sticky, adjust setting to 2 and roll the pasta through. Do not fold in half this time. Continue rolling the dough through four to five times at each setting until the desired thinness is reached. Place on a clean tea towel or over a pasta rack. Repeat with the other portions of dough.

Change pasta roller for the desired pasta cutter attachment. Feed the flat pasta dough through the cutter and place back on clean tea towels or over a pasta rack. Pasta dough can be frozen, dried or cooked immediately in a pot of salted, boiling water.

Gremolada

Grated zest from 2 large lemons (about 2 teaspoons)

Grated zest from 1 orange (about 2 teaspoons)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1-½ teaspoons lemon juice

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 pound pasta (linguini, fettuccini, capallini, etc.)

In a glass jar, add the grated lemon and orange zests, garlic, parsley, lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil. Cover the jar with the lid and shake vigorously to mix. Let stand until ready to use. (Can be made the day before.)

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until just done. Drain and toss with the sauce. If desired, add parmesan cheese, capers, olives, minced and cooked Italian sausage or anchovies. Enjoy!

Resources:

Halsey, K. (2003). The Essential Mixer Cookbook: 150 Effortless Recipes For Your Stand Mixer and All of its Attachments. London: Quintet Publishing Ltd.

Hill, J. (1996). Food & Wine Magazine’s Quick From Scratch: Pasta. New York: American Express Publishing Corporation.

Tags

breakfast, family, flour, maple syrup, pancakes, spelt, spelt pancakes, whole grain spelt

I have been in Winnipeg spending quality time with my family these past three days. It has been action-packed: playing with the children, hanging out with the teens, glasses of wine with the grown ups and getting all caught up on each other’s lives.

One thing I love about spending time with my sister-in-law, Laurie, is that she is an amazing cook and I always leave with recipes and new ideas for ‘natural living’. Yesterday, Laurie shared her spelt pancake recipe. She showed me how she makes it, right from freshly grinding the whole spelt grain just before making it.

Here is the bag of spelt:

Here is Laurie’s flour mill:

Using spelt flour is very easy as you can simply substitute it into your usual flour-based recipes. Here is Laurie’s pancake recipe- use spelt flour instead of the all-purpose flour. Sometimes you need to add a bit more spelt flour so just keep an eye on the consistency you want. You can also substitute almond milk with a bit of apple cider vinegar for the buttermilk.

Another special treat: some very fine maple syrup to make these delicious pancakes even more decadent! After this fun morning seeing how quick and easy it is to bake with spelt, I am looking forward to my own cooking adventures using this healthy grain.