“A woman who knows how to make pasta to perfection has a prestige that even today resists any other call of the times”
And what do you think of this phrase from the national Sofia (Loren) ? We at Cucina IN think that nowadays it is still a highly appreciated talent - as demonstrated by the bread and pasta marathons during the lockdown times - and it has also become a more democratic given that there are many men who have dedicated to this practice?
Do you think it's difficult? In reality it is less than you think…
Here is the recipe by chef Gualtiero Villa:
Semolina Orecchiette with tomato sauce? and Basil ( which CHILDREN also do at Cucina IN?)
INGREDIENTS for 4 PEOPLE
- re-milled durum wheat semolina 400g
- water 200g
- datterini or cherry tomatoes 400g
- basil leaves 10g
- poached garlic 1 clove
- parmesan or ricotta or pecorino 20g
- extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper
Procedure:
- Wash and clean the cherry tomatoes, remove the sprigs. Cut them into four pieces and place them in a bowl with the washed and hand-chopped basil leaves. Lightly oil and add the crushed garlic. Cover well and let flavour.
- In the meantime, mix the flour with the lightly salted water to form a firm and elastic dough. Knead the dough for a long time, then roll it into a ball and cover it with a tea towel until kneaded but at least for 15 minutes.
- To package them, make a cylinder of dough 1 cm thick and from it cut small pieces of dough also 1 cm long. With the tip of the knife, scrape the dough on the pastry board, maintaining the same inclination of the blade and pressing well. The average size of the ears obtained is approximately 2.5 cm. The fact of pressing forcefully with the knife allows you to create a typical edge and a thin and typically rough interior.
- Now heat the pan and lightly oil the surface, when it is hot add the tomatoes with the garlic and basil, sizzle quickly over a high heat, add the salt and lower the heat, remove the garlic and let it cook slightly.
- Now you can throw the orecchiette into boiling salted water.
The orecchiette are cooked in boiling salted water for about four minutes, then drained and seasoned with the hot tomato and basil sauce, throwing them directly into the pan to sauté!
Serve with a sprinkling of cheese to taste.
BUT what if you think you need a little help ? in the next few weeks there are 2 unmissable events to literally get your hands ✋ in the dough:
-
Italian pastas... Cult shapes and dishes with chef Riccardo Cominardi (Monday 12 October at 8pm) – click here for info or to write
-
The ABC of fresh pasta which will be held by chef Gualtiero Villa (Monday 19 October at 8pm) – click here for more info or to register
⏰ These 2 appointments are part of our series of lessons called KITCHEN BASIS . In addition to participating in a single lesson, we remind you that you can purchase PACKAGES of 5 or 10 lessons which allow you to ? SAVE on the cost of a single lesson?
We remind you that in our online shop packages of 5 lessons are also available for MASTER courses and 3 lessons for children's and teenagers' courses .
? To see all the packages on offer you can click here
And more…
✔ With the packages, it is not necessary to participate in all the lessons in the order in which you see them but you can attend, even registering from time to time, only the lessons that interest you, skipping those for which you perhaps already feel prepared or for which you are not you can come for other commitments.
⏳ The packages do not expire! So if you can't attend that lesson that you liked so much and that perhaps we only schedule once a year, you can even use the lessons from your package the following year!
? You can also come and try a first lesson one evening (so you get to know us) and decide after having done it if you want to continue with the package instead of the single lesson. Send us an email if you want to sign up this way!
