Today I had in mind to make something completely different for lunch. I have no idea why I ended up with this recipe. Mysteries of the brain. It certainly made my day. This is vegan, not that I am vegan but sometimes I like a clean, no-animal dish. It just depends on what I had during the week and this week, I think I had too much fish/seafood. My body clearly communicates with me on what he wants, and today he said no dairy and no animals please. So I had to listen. The body knows.

Originally, I was thinking to eat a potatoes or yams mille feuilles as a main dish (literally translated into “thousand leaves”, not sure what the English translation is, and I am not motivated to Google it). Usually mille feuille is a famous traditional French pastry made with layers of puff pastry with layers of vanilla custard. In this case, since it’s a multi layer vegetable dish, we can also call it mille feuille.

Then I thought ok, yam mille feuille sounds great but what do I eat with it…since it’s more of a side dish than anything else. One thought is always leading to another one, and another one, and finally I decided on tofu.

I used heirloom tomatoes because they have a less seeds and not watery like the other tomatoes. Besides, they have sweet delicious flavors.

This dish is simple. What I mean by simple is in terms of flavors, it’s subtle and nothing strong or overpowering, or pungent. Nothing like that, just simple, a few herbs, no spices or chili. Mellow and very pleasant. I enjoyed myself, and ate many portions that I was not suppose to. Tant pis!

Ingredients for 2

For the mille feuilles

• 1/2 large yams, peeled and sliced thin using a mandoline
• 2 zucchini, sliced thin using a mandoline
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 2 tbs basil (or mixed herbs such as parsley, chives, etc…), finely chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the tofu

• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 2 tofu steaks (3/4 in thick, 2.5 inches x 3.5 inches)
• corn starch (enough for dusting two sides of the tofu)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 tbs soy sauce (reduced salt)
• 1 tsp mirin

For the mushrooms/tomato fondue

• 1 tbs olive oil1
• 1 large shallot, finely diced
• 1.5 cups mixed wild mushrooms (maitake, trumpet royale, pioppini, forest nameko, etc…)
• 2 medium heirloom tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 2 tbs dry white wine
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the mille feuilles

Preheat oven at 375F.

Using a mandoline, slice yams and zucchini into very thin slices. Place in a mixing container and combine the two vegetables. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, garlic and basil (or mixed herbs). And add salt and pepper. Mix well to coat the vegetable slices.

Using a muffin rack, place one slice of yam, then a few slices of zucchini, alternating until you reach the top.

Bake in the oven until cooked and browned on top (about 15-20 min)

For the tofu steak

Heat vegetable oil in a pan. Coat tofu with corn starch and remove excess starch. Brown tofu on both sides until golden brown and crunchy. Remove oil from the pan. In a bowl, mix soy sauce, sugar and mirin. Add this mixture to the tofu and reduce heat. Cook for a few minutes until tofu is caramelized and sauce reduced.

For the tomato-mushrooms fondue

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add shallots and cook until soft. Add mushrooms and cook stirring for a few minutes, then add tomatoes and wine. Adjust with salt and pepper. Cook until water evaporates and drizzle with olive oil.

Serve mille feuilles on the sides with tofu steak in the middle topped with tomato-mushroom fondue. Sprinkle with basil and serve hot.

]]> http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2016/09/yams-and-zucchini-mille-feuilles-saute-tofu-steak-wild-mushrooms-and-tomato-fondue/feed/ 0 http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2016/06/no-flour-pizza-cauliflower-crust-pizza-with-mushrooms-fontina-cherry-tomatoes-and-basil/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=no-flour-pizza-cauliflower-crust-pizza-with-mushrooms-fontina-cherry-tomatoes-and-basil http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2016/06/no-flour-pizza-cauliflower-crust-pizza-with-mushrooms-fontina-cherry-tomatoes-and-basil/#comments Sun, 05 Jun 2016 21:03:41 +0000 silvia http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?p=17931 La pizza senza farina – Pizza con impasto al cavolfiore, funghi, fontina pomodori e basilico

I wanted to take more different pictures of this pizza with a more close up on a cut slice but unfortunately, my battery went off, so all I had time to take was a whole pizza uncut.

Since everyone has been talking about this pizza from a friend in Island to another friend in Italy, I wanted to try it out for myself. The particularity of this pizza is that the crust is made out of ground cauliflower, cheese and eggs, no flour. The first time I made it, the crust was a bit soft and soaked, due to the fact that I did not squeeze enough liquid from the cauliflower, but with a delicious flavor, so I wanted to make it right with a decent textured crust. The secret is to squeeze all water from the cauliflower after it’s been microwaved.

I am used to Italian pizza, the way they’re served in Italy. Usually, they don’t put any garlic, or onions, the ingredients are simple and of good quality so I like to keep simple. Of course, you can put any toppings of your choice, the focus of this pizza is primary its crust, not the toppings.

For the tomato sauce, I like to use whole San Marzano tomatoes, that I crush in the mixer, make sure you don’t buy the kind with added basil or garlic, or onion. They tend to be acidic and with a strong unnatural flavor.

I was skeptical at first, then after tasting it, I was amazed at the crust texture, it was so delicious that you forget that there is no dough…no flour, no yeast, just cauliflower. Now it’s an all time favorite in this house!

Ingredients for a large pizza

For the crust

• One large cauliflower, finely grated
• 120 g hard mozzarella, finely grated
• 50 g parmigiano reggiano, finely grated
• 2 eggs
• salt

For the toppings

• 1 small can of plain and whole San Marzano tomatoes
• about 10 large crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 50 g Italian fontina cheese, thinly sliced
• 100 g mozzarella, sliced
• 1 box of cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
• dried oregano for sprinkling
• 4-5 large leaves of fresh basil, chopped or en chiffonade
• extra virgin olive oil for sprinkling

Instructions

For the toppings

Cook mushrooms in a little olive oil and salt, until water evaporates. Keep aside. Cook crushed tomatoes with a little salt in a pot until you obtain a thick sauce, with no water (about 10 minutes). Set those aside.

For the crust

Microwave ground cauliflower in a large container for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from microwave and let it cool. Place cauliflower in a cheese cloth or a large cotton towel and squeeze firmly until the water comes out. You need to remove the excess moisture from the cauliflower. In another container, mix cauliflower, cheeses, eggs and salt. Mix well until you obtain an homogeneous dough.

Pre heat oven at 420F. Cut parchment paper the size of your pizza pan. Spread the dough evenly on top of the parchment paper. The crust should be about 3-4 mm thick. Form a nice a smooth round circle with your dough.

Place in the oven for about 15 minutes until the dough gets lightly golden. Remove from the oven and start adding the toppings.

Spread tomato sauce first, then add mushrooms. The next layer is the cheese, place cheese slices evenly on top, add cherry tomatoes, and finish with oregano.

Cook in a pre heated oven at 420F until cheese has melted. Add basil and drizzle with some olive oil. Serve hot

I cannot believe that my last post goes back to one month ago. Shame on me. I have no excuse, so shame on me twice. I have been back from France, then I got sick, then I have been busy working and busy working out, so one thing added to another, voilà, my blog is being neglected. Quelle honte!

In the vegetarian series, here is a good one. These mushrooms make a great presentation, have a lot of flavor and are light as a feather.

Since I found out that portobello mushrooms are just cremini mushrooms grown to an exaggerated size, I have not been as excited to cook them…yes, hélas the excitement is gone.

Yesterday, strolling around the vegetable section, some fresh and pretty portobello caught my attention. I have been ignoring them for a while, and since I felt like eating mushrooms, I bought them not really knowing how to prepare them. It ended being a light stuffing with finely chopped vegetables, basil, pine nuts and goat cheese. They are ridiculously light so if you are hungry, I suggest eating two with some side dish. I loved the light texture and flavor of the stuffing…so I would say portobello are back in my kitchen. I don’t know for how long, but so far, they’re in.

Ingredients

• 2 large portobellos
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 zucchini
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 4 mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 2 tbs basil, chopped
• 1 tbs pine nuts
• 2 tbs goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 tbs kalamata olives, chopped
• 2 tbs panko breadcrumbs (plus extra for topping)
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the stuffing

Chop in a mixer zucchini, onion and bell pepper. The texture needs to be fine but with some pieces.

Heat olive oil in a pan and add mushrooms, let them cook until the water evaporates. Remove from pan.

Chop mushrooms as finely as the other vegetables.

In the same pan, heat olive oil, add zucchini, onion and pepper mixture. Let them cook at medium heat for a few minutes (no water should be left in the pan). If there is still water, remove excess water with a towel or squeeze using your hands when the mixture has cooled down.

Remove from pan and in a mixing bowl mix vegetables with mushrooms. Let it cool. Add the rest of the ingredients (except oil), leaving the goat cheese for the end. The goat cheese needs to keep some crumbly texture so mix carefully all the ingredients.

For the mushrooms

Sprinkle mushrooms with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Broil for 5 minutes.

using a paper towel absorb mushroom water if necessary and pat dry.

Pre heat oven at 375F. Divide the stuffing on each mushroom, sprinkle with some bread crumbs and cook for about 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve hot with a green salad.

I am wondering why some people don’t like cauliflower, is it the texture? the flavor? what is it that some people really hate cauliflower? I find it to be such a delightful vegetable, and so versatile.

I decided to call this a steak simply because it’s as thick as a steak and is cooked like a steak, “juste poêlé” but most of all it does replace meat. Here I have also used cauliflower purée in the rice, which gave it a smooth and creamy texture, brown rice tends to remain firm and not as creamy as arborio, so the purée added a more delicate texture to the brown rice.  It’s somehow a cauliflower celebration.

I would have preferred to use arborio “integrale” which is brown arborio, but did not find at the store, I’m not sure they carry it in the US.

I am always trying to develop new ideas and recipes for vegetarians. I don’t know what is going on in other parts of the country, but in the Bay Area, there are so many people with different nutrition requirements or restrictions, that as a chef, you always need to create appealing and nutritionally interesting dishes…and to be honest, I really do like this one. It’s colorful, nutritious, light and very flavorful, so what else do you need? just a fork.

Ingredients for 4

For the risotto

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 shallot
• 70 g brown arborio or any brown round rice
• vegetable broth
• 1 dose saffron
• dry white wine
• 12 tbs cauliflower purée (use milk to cook cauliflower)
• 4 tbs freshly grated parmesan
• truffle oil for drizzling
• salt and pepper

For the carrot purée

• 6 large carrots, peeled and cut in slices
• 1 tbs crème fraȋche
• salt and pepper

For the cauliflower steak

• 1 large cauliflower
• 2 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the basil jus

• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 small bunch basil
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Preparation

For the risotto

Proceed like you would for a regular risotto but make it thicker. Infuse saffron in worm broth. Heat oil in a pot, add shallots, let them soften then add rice and coat it with the oil for a a few seconds. Add wine and broth gradually until the rice is cooked and absorbed (you need a thicker texture than regular ristotto). Add 4 tbs cauliflower purée, adjust with salt and pepper. Add parmesan, stir well and truffle oil at the end.

For the carrot purée

Boil carrots in salted water. When soft, remove from heat, drain and place in a mixing container (or in the same pan they have been cooked). Mash with a potato masher to desired consistency (I like it when the carrots are not too fine and smooth, so I can feel some texture). Place back on slow heat and add cream, salt and pepper. Mix well and keep warm.

For the cauliflower steak (and purée)

Cut the cauliflower crosswise, four 1 inch thick slices. One slice can be used for 2 people. Heat olive oil in a pan, cook cauliflower steak on both sides until they turn brown. Use the leftover cauliflower to make into a purée. Boil cauliflower in half milk/half water, when soft mash into a purée.

For the basil jus

For the basil jus, bring broth to a boil, add basil and cook for 30 seconds, remove from the pot and pat dry. In a blender, mix basil with broth to make it into a very fine mixture. Remove from blender into a bowl, add olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper if needed.

To assemble the dish, using a rind, place some risotto as the first layer, then add a carrot layer, finish by delicately placing the cauliflower steak on top. Decorate with a few tbs of basil jus around the risotto. Serve hot.

This is truly a fun way to eat Brussels sprouts. In case you thought they were a tiny intimidating or boring, or just unappealing, you can play with them so they become exciting. It’s true they tend to have a strong flavor, but I don’t find this “déplaisant” (literally translated into depleasing, a word that does not exist).

The saltiness and sweetness of the cooked prosciutto contrasts quite well with the strong soft sprout. I think I must have consumed them in any shape and form, shredded, chopped, quartered, whole, roasted, steamed, pureed or any way they can be eaten, so I figured why not wrap them for a change. I rarely use meat when I cook, but in this case, I made an exception. You can use pancetta if you’d prefer, or thin bacon would work too. In France, sprouts are often combined with lard fumé (similar to bacon), like most types of cabbages.

Mâche being so tender, delicate and almost naturally “greasy” when you eat it, tones down the powerful flavor of the Brussels sprouts.

So give Brussels sprouts a chance, after all, they’re not really boring!

Ingredients for 2

For the Brussels sprouts

• 6 Brussels sprouts, cleaned
• 2 slices prosciutto, cut in 2 strips lengthwise
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 cup mâche salad

For the vinaigrette

• 1/2 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and diced
• 4 tbs olive oil
• A few drops of lemon oil (to drizzle at the end)
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 1 tbs parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp basil, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Cook sprouts in salted boiling water. Drain and let cool. Wrap 1 strip of prosciutto around each sprout, and using a toothpick close the extremity so that it won’t open while cooking.

Heat olive oil in a pan, and cook wrapped sprouts until golden on all sides. Remove toothpick

For the vinaigrette, combine all ingredients together in a bowl, mix well.

Divide mâche on each plate, top it with three sprouts and pour vinaigrette on top, drizzle with some lemon oil. Serve at room temperature.

Nouille in French means noodle of course, but if you call someone a “nouille“it’s not really a compliment and means you are calling this person an idiot. So today, I do feel like a nouille, because I keep buying soba noodles and never eat them. Actually, I rarely think of preparing or eating soba noodles, probably due to my Italian upbringing…even though my pantry is filled with all kinds of soba.

I see them every day, but no… the idea of eating them, does not even cross my mind. I look at them and think, oh wow! I have so many soba in there. That’s it…the thought stops there. Isn’t that strange? It’s funny how we get stuck into habits. Well, today I decided to make a change, free some space in the cabinets = EAT SOBA. Of course, soba being Japanese, I didn’t want to prepare them the Italian way, and offend them. I tried to be faithful to their essence. For whatever reason, soba reminds me of Geisha, something delicate, and complex at the same time.

Since I have been cooking a lot of vegan meals lately, I can assure you that this dish would please any vegan out there. I combined some Eastern-Western flavors and everything made sense in this dish, from the textures, to the flavors, the colors. Yes, everything. The herbs make it fragrant, taste fresh, the lemon gives it a clean aftertaste, and all combined with the natural nuttiness and sweetness of the buckwheat make it a perfectly balanced and delightful dish. As we say in French “Essayer, c’est l’adopter“, to try it, is to adopt it…so just try it.

Ingredients for 2

• 220 g buckwheat soba
• 1 cup edamame, frozen
• 2 zucchini, sliced
• 4 Chinese cabbage leaves, thinly chopped
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1.5 cups basil leaves
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

In a blender mix garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Blend to a fine consistency. Add lemon zest. Set aside.

Grill zucchini on both sides using a grill pan. Cut in 4 pieces. Boil edamame in boiling water for a few minutes or place in microwave to defrost. Saute cabbage in 1 tsp olive oil.

Cook soba for about 5 minutes in a slightly salted boiling water. Rinse in cold water. Combine all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Add pesto and toss well. Eat cold or at room temperature.

Crushing these gorgeous baby artichokes into a pesto broke my heart. I have always wanted to make artichoke pesto but never really managed to turn the artichokes into a paste. They’re so cute and delicious as hearts that really putting them through a mixer, is something I hate to do. Today, I got the courage to do it. Here, we got something different and quite delicious. Honestly, I am not sure I will have the courage to to this again. I simply love to bite into an artichoke heart, I love the crunchy bite, it’s that simple. You could use this pesto on pasta of course, or as a sauce for grilled meats…or even to spread it on some country bread.

When you’re eating spaghetti squash prepared this way, you almost forgot, it’s not pasta. I undercooked the squash to get a crunchy bite, to get the “al dente” feeling. I loved this pesto. Now for the vegan crowd, you can omit the parmesan and add more walnuts. I use very little parmesan to enhance this pesto a tiny bit. You don’t want to add too much cheese either and overpower the natural delicious flavor of the artichokes.

This pesto tends to be lighter than regular basil/pine nuts pesto, its texture is more dense too, so I added a few tablespoons of water to make it creamier.

I am flying tomorrow for France, to go see my father who had a stroke last December, so I will try to post a few local recipes, in the meantime, have a nice and colorful June.

Ingredients for 2 as a main course

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 1 lb artichokes, trimmed and cleaned
• 1/2 cup parsley
• 1/2 cup basil
• 2 tbs raw unsalted walnuts
• 1 garlic clove, crushed + 1 chopped
• 2 tbs parmesan (optional)
• 3 tbs olive oil
• water
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Cut the squash lengthwise, wrap in parchment paper and cook in a pre-heated oven at 400F for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Remove seeds first, then the spaghetti pulp. Set aside and keep warm. Save eight artichokes quarters for decoration

Heat up a pan, add the crushed garlic, stir and add baby artichokes cut in quarters. Adjust with salt and pepper, add 2 tbs white wine, and cover, decrease heat and let cook until tender. Let it cool.

For the pesto, mix  artichokes with all other ingredients a mixer. Adjust with water if the pesto is too thick.

Add pesto to the spaghetti squash and mix well using your hands, to coat the squash with the pesto. Serve with an extra tablespoon of pesto on top and four artichokes quarters on each plate.

It seems like the traditional British dessert arrived in France and turned savory. Crumbles are becoming very trendy in France and quite popular, I can understand why, they’re just really delicious. So, yes, we stole it from the British and somehow made some transformations to it. I don’t know much about British cuisine, but I know crumble comes straight from the other side of the Channel.

This is my third post featuring a savory crumble, and I will continue to explore them. Crumbles are so good, most of all very easy to make, and certainly always appreciated among guests. They make wonderful appetizers. I just love to nibble on the crust and dig to get what’s underneath. The goat cheese has melted and infused with the garlicky tomato and eggplant, so you can dip some toasted walnut bread in the juices.

I had taken tons of photos yesterday and for whatever strange reason, when I downloaded them on my computer, they had disappeared from the memory card, and by that time my meal was long gone and digested. I was really disappointed – I still don’t know where the problem came, either from the card or the camera. I Certainly did not want to eat the same dish today and honestly, I am a little tired of carbs, on arrête les féculents, let’s stop the carbs before I turn into a giant noodle!!! I have been eating more pasta and rice than usual, so I figured this crumble would fit perfectly my nutritional needs.

Ingredients for 3-4 individual crumbles

• 5 medium size tomatoes, peeled and seedless, cut in quarters
• 1 small eggplant, sliced crosswise
• 4 tbs goat cheese, crumble
• 2 tbs basil, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the crumble topping

• 4 tbs white flour
• 5 tbs plain bread crumbs
• 1 tsp herbes de Provence
• 1 1/2 tbs almond meal
• 1 tbs parmesan, grated
• 2 oz (or 50 g) butter
• a little salt and pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a pan, add 1 garlic clove chopped, then add tomatoes, cook for about 5 minutes until the tomatoes are starting to become soft but not mushy. In a grill pan, grill eggplant on both sides. You can also sprinkle them with olive oil, salt and pepper and broil them under broiler.

Start making crumble topping. In a mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together, then add butter and mix from tip of the fingers to make a crumbly dough.

In individual molds, add tomaotes, eggplant and basil. Top with goat cheese and crumble topping.

Cook in a pre-heated oven at 370F for about 30 minutes or until the top has turned golden.

Serve hot with a green salad.

After this Thanksgiving celebration, it’s good to go back to a healthier kind of cuisine. The turkey ended up so dry, due to a guest arriving over an hour late, and my new oven with circular heat that cooks three times faster than traditional oven. I think I am so done with the turkey anyway. Arriving 20 minutes late to a sit down dinner when food is served is fine, but one hour is somehow rude. Don’t you think? everyone has its “acceptable” time and for me 20 minutes is the limit. An unforeseen circumstance might also happen but that’s not something that happens on a regular basis.

Malfatti or Gnudi is a traditional Tuscan dish…I make them often but never think of posting them. It’s basically ravioli without dough called “gnudi” in Tuscan meaning “naked” or also “malfatti” meaning “not well made”, they’re either served with a gorgonzola sauce, a béchamel or tomato sauce and baked in the oven. I like it with a light and spicy tomato sauce, then you can just play around with them and see what you prefer. There is no meat just vegetables and cheese, so it’s quite a light dish.

I like traditional and rustic dishes like this one, because they’re peasant food and you cannot find them in the stores nor in restaurants, so it’s basically recipes you find only at people’s houses. Tuscan and Marchigiana cuisine are quite similar with slight variations since they’re two regions in Central Italy. Growing up on Marchigiana cuisine, Tuscan cuisine is not completely foreign to me. Even after living half of her life in France, my mom still cooks traditional Marchigiana cuisine and barely makes French food. She would make quiches or choucroute once in her while but that’s it. I guess no matter where you move, and for how long, you are still attached to what you are used to eating growing up.

I did not put the flour quantity, you need to add enough so that the spinach/ricotta mixture is no longer soft but still a little sticky. If you put too much flour, the ravioli will get heavy and chewy. You just have to play with the flour. It took me a few times before making them just right.

Ingredients about 20 ravioli

For the ravioli

• 1/2 lb ricotta
• about 1/2 lb fresh spinach
• 6 tbs parmigiano reggiano, grated (+ 2 for sprinkling on top)
• 2 eggs
• flour
• salt and pepper

For tomato sauce

• 4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seedless, crushed
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 basil leaves
• chili powder
• 2 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the sauce

Heat olive oil in a pot, add garlic, stir to get the flavor out, add basil, tomatoes, chili pepper, salt and pepper, and cook until the tomato is cooked for about 15 minutes.

For the ravioli

Cook spinach in a large pot of boiling and salted water for about 5-10 minutes, depending if you use baby spinach or regular ones. Drain, let them cool and remove excess water by squeezing with your hands. Chop them.

In a large mixing bowl, mix spinach, ricotta, parmesan, eggs, flour salt and pepper. At this point, you need to play with the flour, try getting a soft mixture not too sticky, but not too thick. It still needs to stick to your fingers a little bit.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Start making the gnudi. Add about 1 cup of flour to a plate, and start forming small balls with spinach/ricotta mixture the size of a big walnut. Coat them well with flour.

When water is boiling carefully, add gnudi to the water, it’s better to cook about 10 at one time, so they have enough water and space too cook. When gnudi come out at the surface, remove them, and drain. Proceed the same way for the second batch.

Place in a oven tray and pour some sauce on top, sprinkle with parmigiano and olive oil, then cook in a pre-heated oven at 375F for about 20 minutes or until the top turns golden brown. Serve hot.

More on the homemade vegetable pasta chapter… I am in my Italian cooking phase, I left French food aside and going back to my roots. Playing with pasta is a lot of fun. I love making homemade pasta, and having my hands in flour. Kneading the dough, relaxes me, it’s like a therapeutic anti-anxiety session. So I guess it’s better than taking Xanax!

I Found my pasta machine after searching for an hour, it was stuck at the bottom of a drawer, hidden with hundred of other kitchen utensils. I did not feel like using rolling pin (mattarello) this time, the beet tagliatelle were quite time consuming and I did not have time. Making those carrot tagliolini took a lot longer than when making regular pasta with plain flour and no vegetable, because the dough was somehow soft, due to the carrots and the water they contain. So I had to add flour constantly to prevent dough from sticking.

I’m not sure how to translate tagliolini in English, maybe angel hair? I think angel hair are thinner than those. My grandma used to make tagliolini in a tomato broth and we would eat them in a soup-based consistency. Tagliolini are a typical traditional pasta, larger than capellini but narrower than tagliatelle. When made fresh, they cook fast and usually they’re served with light sauces.

If you have a regular pasta machine (I have an Imperia one), it comes with that particular cut, it’s the thinner one (the other one is the tagliatelle cut). If you make the pasta with rolling pin, it needs to be about 2mm large

Zucchini pesto is quite tasty with a lighter texture than regular pesto since it mostly contains zucchini, you can slightly taste the flavor of zucchini which tends to be bland, but enhanced with basil, and parmesan.

Ingredients for 4

For the pasta

• 3 cups white flour + more flour
• 2 eggs
• 200g pureed carrots

For the pesto

• 2 zucchini
• 3 tbs walnuts, chopped
• 3 tbs freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
• 2 garlic cloves
• 10 basil leaves
• 3 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the pasta

Cook carrots in water until well cooked all the way through. Drain, let cool and puré with a potato masher, or a mixer so that you get a smooth and thin cream.  Place in a mixing bowl, add flour, egg and mix to get a homogeneous dough. Remove from bowl and start kneading on a flat surface. At this point, you might need to constantly add flour, so that dough does not stick to the working surface. Proceed like you would make regular pasta sheets with your pasta machine.

For the pesto

Cut zucchini in medium size pieces. Place in a blender with the other ingredients and blend to a medium consistency. Adjust with some additional olive oil if the pesto is a little thick and blend a little more.

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water for one minute and drain. Toss with pesto and serve hot.