About pasta

Pasta starts with the same basic elements flour and water as bread: only the proportions differ, bread is 60% water, pasta 40%. It originated in two countries, China and Italy that used the different characteristics of their wheat production to best advantage. Italians manufacture dry, long conservation products capitalizing on the high-gluten durum of their wheat, whereas China uses its soft low-gluten wheat for fresh last-minute pasta and wrappers. Now is as good a time as any to refute the story of Marco Polo bringing back from his travels the art of making pasta. Chinese noodles and dumpling production date back as far as the 3rd century before Christ. Around the Mediterranean Sea, pasta presence is documented as early as the 6th century after Christ. Couscous merits a special mention, as knead-free pasta invented by the Berber people around the 11th century. Due to its dry climate, Naples became the center of the Italian pasta industry: in the 18th century ambulatory pasta vendors crowded the streets of the city. Many clients preferring their food cooked rapidly, the al dente pasta (an expression used after WWI) was born. Shanghai’s noodles are still a tourists’ show. Chinese cooks start with a thick rope of dough they tease acrobatically into a thinner longer thread before folding it together to obtain two lengths. They repeat the process 11 times to end with the magic number: 4096 noodles.
To cook pasta, a large quantity of boiling water is needed to insure both the absorption of liquid by the dough and the dissolution of the excess starch. Because tap water tends to be alkaline, the addition of a little lemon juice will reduce the stickiness of pasta, as will a tablespoon of olive oil. Stir the pasta to coat them with the oil. Once cooked the pasta will once again stick together because of the starch rising to the surface. To prevent this phenomenon, you either rinse the pasta, or coat them with sauce and continue the cooking in this new medium. It will have the added advantage to maintain their temperature longer: according to the first principle of thermodynamics, two bodies put in contact tend to reach the same temperature!
Making lasagna from scratch can seem daunting at first and if you don’t feel like it, you can buy the ready made kind. If you decide to take on the challenge the following four tricks should help: cut your dough once you have kneaded it in more parts than is usually advised, keep on flouring all surfaces and roll the parts with a rolling pin before stretching the dough with the pasta rollers. Finally follow carefully the resting time in between the different operations.

Green egg pasta dough (1 lb= 500 g)*
(Delicate, Preparation time: 60 minutes, resting time: 30 and then 20 minutes, Cheap)
Ingredients:
2½ cups (390 g) all purpose flour, quite a bit more flour for dusting
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 cup (250 g) washed, dried and shredded chards
Material:
Food processor with the pastry blade attachment and then with the lasagna rolling attachment well floured
Parchment paper
Rolling pin

Place 2 cups of flour in the food processor. Add the chard. Crack the eggs into the food processor. Add the olive oil. Process until a ball forms. Add flour if it is too sticky.
Flour the parchment paper and place the dough in the center.
Knead the dough for about 1 minute, alternating using your palm and folding.
Shape it into a ball and cover it up with a transparent salad bowl for at least 30 minutes or until it relaxes.
Separate the dough in four sections. Change the attachment of the food processor from the hook to the lasagna rollers.
Place the dial on the first position and run the machine at low speed to roll out the first ball. Then fold it three times and roll it out again. Repeat several times until the dough is smooth and shiny. Repeat with the other balls. Use dusted flour as needed.
Using the cranks 2 to 5, roll progressively the dough into sheets and form long bands. Measure the length of the ovenproof dish and cut the lasagna to fit two long sheets at a time. Insert paper towels in between layers and let the sheets dry for 20 minutes. If you wait any longer before boiling the lasagna, refrigerate the sheets in the fridge.
*This dough is good for lasagna, ravioli and fettuccini
Fall vegetable lasagna
(Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 2 hours, Cheap)
1 cup basic tomato sauce unfrozen (9/18/07)
1 cup béchamel (8/14/09)
½ cup Parmesan cheese
1 lb (500g) spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup (250g) ricotta
1 butternut squash
2 eggs
Juice of a lemon
Material
Colander
Large stockpot
Wok
Set of tongues
Paper towels
Ovenproof rectangular dish 9 x 13 inches (23 x 33) buttered

Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C)
Halve the squash. Scoop out the seeds and bake in the oven for an hour.
Wash and dry the spinach. Stir-fry in a little olive oil. Drain well and place in the food processor with the blade attachment on. Add the ricotta cheese, a teaspoon of salt and blend well.
When the squash is soft, scoop out the flesh and place in the bowl of the food processor, blade attachment on. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and crack the two eggs in. Mix well.
Bring a large quantity of water to boil. Add the lemon juice, 2 tablespoon of salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Plunge two sheets at a time. Wait until the boil resumes and cook for another minute. Place in a colander under running cold water. Place the cooled lasagna onto paper towels. Repeat until you are out of lasagna sheets.
Place two overlapping sheets at the bottom of the buttered ovenproof dish. Pour 1/2 of the tomato sauce on top. Add ½ of the pumpkin purée. Cover with two sheets 1/3 of the béchamel ½ of the spinach purée. Repeat the process twice, ending with the final two sheets. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese mixed with the last 1/3 of béchamel.
Bake the lasagna for 40 minutes, covering the top with aluminum foil for the 20 last minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before cutting it.
Serves 8 with a salad as a main course