Handrolled Pasta (Cavatelli, Capunti & Lorighittas shapes) and homemade marinara & pesto sauces with Chris
Sunday, October 3rd at 7:00pm EST
Join us for a fall feast of homemade pasta with a recent culinary school graduate. Learn to make three different shapes and two sauces. Chris will teach us to create hand rolled pasta (cavatelli, capunti, lorighittas) with marinara and pesto sauces on Sunday, October 3rd at 7:00pm EST.
Recording
Our Chef - Chris
In His Own Words
Hi! My name is Chris and food has been a passion of mine since I was 14. I started working in a sandwich shop and was immediately hooked into the culinary world. Growing up, my mom always made sure our family had a home cooked meal on the table, and with Italian ancestors on both sides of the family, pasta a staple. Although ironically enough, I don't ever remember my mom or grandparents making their own pasta. While I started trying new recipes and cooking a ton in my early 20s, it wasn't until about 8 years ago that I started making pasta myself. I realized it was relatively easy, not as time consuming as I originally thought, and most importantly tasted so much better than boxed!
What I love the most about cooking is sharing it with others. Pasta is something where it's hard to make a small amount (or maybe I just didn't want to make pasta for 1), so in 2019 I decided to start a pasta club with my friends. The idea was for me to try new pasta dishes and host dinner parties once a month. I had a few pasta books that featured pretty extravagant dishes, but I wanted to get great at the classics (marinara, pesto, caio e pepe, carbonara, lasagne, etc.). And then 2020 came along, and well, we all know what that was like. But pasta ended up being a very bright spot in my life during the pandemic. I pivoted from in-person dinner parties to takeout dinners over Zoom. I continued to make pasta and put it in to-go boxes, my friends came by and picked it up, and we all got on a Zoom and had a virtual dinner party. For the first few months, I was doing this once a week! But it kept me connected to the important people in my life and was a great outlet to occupy my time.
In 2021, I took the next step in my culinary journey by enrolling in culinary school. It was something I wanted to do since I worked in that sandwich shop 24 years ago, and I recently finished my classroom work at the end of August. I'll be externing at a fine dining Italian restaurant in San Francisco for the next few months (with 2 Michelin stars!) and I want to keep exploring everything pasta has to offer. Long term, I don't know how I'll use my newfound education and skills, but I do know that I love to cook - especially for others - and I don't see that ever changing.
Ingredients and Recipe
Pasta
170g all purpose flour (roughly 1 1/4 cups)
170g semolina flour (roughly 1 cup)
175g water (roughly 3/4 cup)
Mix the flours together in a bowl to combine. One thoroughly mixed, dump out on a counter or cutting board and make a circular mound. Make a well in the center with your hand in a circular motion - it should like a volcano with a crater in the middle. Add your water to the well. With a fork, slowly work whisk in the flour from the walls of the well a little at a time. The mixture will start to look like pancake batter, and eventually get to a wet dough ball that doesn't run. At this point you can mix in the remaining flour and begin kneading by hand. Continue kneading ~5 minutes until the dough is smooth. You will know it's ready when you push a dimple in the dough with a finger and it springs back. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 20 minutes.
For Capunti (peapods). Cut off a portion of the dough and roll it into a rope until it's the size of a smaller cigar. Don't add flour to the surface as the friction will help it stretch. Slice the dough into sections about 5 centimeters long. Then round them out with 2-3 fingers. Begin by pressing your fingers into the dough and away from you, then rock it back and applying pressure pull back towards you. They should look like doughy little bean pods.
For Cavatelli (hot dog buns). Cut off a portion of the dough and roll it into a rope until it's the size of a smaller cigar. Don't add flour to the surface as the friction will help it stretch. Slice the dough into sections about 3 centimeters long. Using a textured surface (gnocchi board, a box grater, fork, etc), place a piece of dough and using your thumb, press in the middle of the dough and roll it away from you (it should kind of curl over your finger.
For Lorighittas (braided wreaths). Cut off a small portion and roll it into a rope - with one end being thinner than the other. It should be pretty thin, smaller than the size of a pencil. Take the thinner side and wrap the dough around three fingers two times. Pinch off the end to remove from the rest of the dough. Using your fingers, twist the two layers of dough around each other to make a braided ring.
For the Marinara
Whole, peeled tomatoes (28 oz can; preferably San Marzano)
1/4c Olive oil
1/4 yellow onion, diced (*optional)
Fresh basil (~5 leaves)
Fresh thyme (1-2 sprigs)
Fresh oregano (1-2 sprigs)
3-4 cloves of garlic
Add the oil to a sauce pan on low-medium heat. Once oil is heated, add herbs and garlic. *Note: you don't need to trim any of the herbs or even peel the garlic - you are just flavoring the oil and will remove herbs/garlic after a few minutes. Let the herbs/garlic sizzle softly to flavor the oil. Once they begin to change color and become fragrant, remove them from the oil and discard. Add diced onion and sweat over low heat until translucent (you don't want color). Once onions are translucent, add tomatoes and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until tomatoes easily break apart. Using an immersion blender (or transfer the sauce to a blender or food processor), pulse until sauce is desired smoothness. Season with salt/pepper to taste. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes more. *Optional to add in chopped fresh herbs like parsley, basil, oregano at this point. You can also add butter for richness and flavor.
For the Pesto
1 bunch of basil leaves (roughly 2 cups loosely packed
1/4 c spinach
~1/4c pine nuts of chopped walnuts
~1/4c parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic
zest of 1 lemon
salt/pepper
1/2c olive oil
Toast nuts at 250 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until fragrant (Note: nuts don't need to be toasted, they can be added raw). Add basil and spinach to food processor and pulse a few times. Add nuts, cheese, garlic, zest, and lemon juice and blend until a pasta forms and ingredients are well incorporated. With machine running, slowly drizzle in olive oil until desired thickness. Season with salt/pepper to taste.