Join us December 2nd at the Queensborough Community Centre at 7:30pm to get chocolatey with the Drunken Chocolatier! We will be learning how to temper and mold chocolate truffles, plus so much more. Whether it’s an early gift for a loved one, some know-how before you go make your own chocolate presents or just a gift for yourself, get your ticket for our workshop now before they’re all gone!

Tickets: $25

As a home cook, I enjoy trying new recipes and challenging myself with techniques and cooking styles that I’m not familiar with.  Some foods are more challenging in technique, but I often seek out recipes that are the opposite, and pasta is one of those. Homemade pasta is simple at its finest. The experience of making pasta is extremely tactile and very rewarding. It takes time but is worth it in every way. The best part is that you can make it with minimal equipment, just a rolling pin and sharp knife, if you don’t own a pasta roller. The pasta roller definitely doesn’t tone your arm muscles the same way as using your hands, so there are benefits to a minimalistic method.

Cooking has unwittingly become a form of stress relief and source of relaxation for me. It hones my focus, and since I am terrible at sudoku or any other mind building puzzles, I choose the kitchen. In the lead up to cooking and hosting a big Thanksgiving dinner, I was pretty desperate for some ‘me’ time in my kitchen, so pasta was the perfect choice. I went a bit overboard and made 3 different colours of noodles and a variety of shapes. I was so carb loaded that I ignored the creamy mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving! 

~ Alyssa

Notes:

In my pasta, I use a mix of 50% semolina and 50% all purpose flour to achieve my preferred texture. The semolina flour is low in protein and elasticity with high plasticity and results in a smooth, firm pasta noodle that holds its shape well after rolling. By combining it 50/50 with all purpose flour, the pasta ends up with a slight roughness that holds sauce well while holding its shape and texture effectively. Semolina flour can be found at most grocery stores locally. For this recipe I bought a fine grind semolina, 00 semolina, at Donalds Market, in the River Market. 

To make different coloured noodles, the water in the recipe is substituted with 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable puree. Carrot puree will add a warm yellow tone, tomato paste is a, orange colour, beet puree make a beautiful purple colour, and spinach makes green pasta. Adding a teaspoon or 2 of turmeric is an easy way to make a bright yellow pasta! 

Basic Pasta Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup AP flour

1 cup 00 semolina flour

3 large eggs

1 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tbsp water

Pinch of salt

Directions

Combine the flours and salt in a large shallow bowl, and make a well in the centre.

Crack in the eggs, then add the oil and water (try with 1 tbsp to start). With a fork, start mixing the wet ingredients, slowly mixing in the flour.

A shaggy dough will form fairly quickly.

At this point, flour your working surface and knead the dough for at least 10 minutes.Knead the dough until completely smooth and elastic (it will be stiff). Lightly coat the ball of dough with oil and wrap with plastic wrap.

At this point, the dough should be left to rest for at least half an hour. I leave it on the counter for this but you can rest it for longer in the fridge. If you do not let the dough rest, it will not roll properly. 

Take the rested dough and cut it into 4 pieces. With the remaining 3 covered, its time to roll the pasta. When rolling pasta by hand, it takes patience. I have done it many times, although it is much easier now that I have a rolling machine. Using a rolling pin, roll the pasta until it is very thin. According to the ‘pasta professionals’, the pasta sheet should be transparent enough to read words through. Keep the surface and your rolling pin floured to prevent sticking. 

Once the pasta sheet is rolled, flour it again and fold it into quarters, then cut to make long noodles of your preferred thickness. Unwrap the noodles and either lay them flat, or wrap them into a little nest until you have rolled the rest and are ready to cook.

When using a machine, ensure the rollers are floured and start at the widest setting, rolling through at least twice on each setting. For cut pastas like spaghetti or linguini, roll it to setting ‘2’ or the second from the smallest, and for filled pasta, roll to 1. 

This pasta freezes well, and I have dried it as well to preserve it. Properly dried pasta can be stored for up to a year, frozen pasta should be used within 3-6 months. 

To cook the noodles, bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil, and add the pasta. Fresh pasta should take only 1-2 minutes, frozen takes approximately 1 minute once the water returns to a boil, and dried pasta takes 5-10, depending on the cut.

I love making pie. I also love eating pie. Therefore, I only make pie when I have people to share with (and my 4 year old does not count). Last month I participated in the Pie for Pride contest and fundraiser at the New West Farmers Market and I made this recipe, apple-strawberry pie, and that led me to make it again to share. My 4 year old had other ideas, unfortunately. While he doesn’t like sweets and pie much, he does like strawberries, and the local market strawberries are irresistible to him. I made the pastry and had it resting in the fridge, and was beginning to prep the fruit when I noticed the berries had been raided.  I’m kind of used to a certain degree of chaos and this was a very minor blip, so I took the raspberries I froze a few weeks ago and kept on baking, substituting those for what were eaten. 

Strawberry (or raspberry) Apple Pie

Serves 8

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients

Crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup cold butter, cut into cubes

5-6 tbsp ice water

Filling: 

3 cups apples, peeled, quartered and sliced

3 cups berries (strawberries sliced, with tops removed)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp corn starch or tapioca 

1 tbsp lemon juice

Egg Wash:

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

Directions:

Mix the flour, sugar and salt together and add the butter. Cut it in with a pastry cutter or 2 knives, until the butter pieces are no larger than a pea. Using a fork, mix in 1 tbsp of ice water at a time until the dough forms a ragged ball. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead 5-8 times, until it comes together. Divide into 2 pieces, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Remove from fridge and roll into 2 12” circles. Line a 10” pie plate with one of the rounds and trim the excess dough. 

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Place all the filling ingredients into a medium saucepan and heat over medium until it starts to boil, then lower the heat slightly and cook for 5 minutes. Let cool slightly and pour into the pie shell.

Cover with the second pastry round and trim the excess, leaving approximately 1”, Crimp the edges, and pierce the top to let steam release in the oven. Brush the crust with an egg wash and bake for about 40 minutes.

And enjoy!