Mastering Pasta by Marc Vetri

Mastering Pasta by Marc Vetri

Author:Marc Vetri [Vetri, Marc]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-60774-608-9
Publisher: Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony
Published: 2015-03-17T04:00:00+00:00


Fit your pasta extruder or stand-mixer attachment with the chilled paccheri plate. If using a pasta extruder, set it to medium speed. If using a stand mixer, with the machine running on medium speed, feed the dough into the hopper in marble-size clumps, using a pushing tool to push the clumps into the auger, being careful not to overload it. As the pasta is extruded, cut it into 2-inch (5 cm) lengths and immediately dust it with semolina to prevent sticking. You should have 18 to 24 paccheri.

Dry the pasta by placing it on wire racks that will fit in your refrigerator and refrigerate it uncovered for at least 8 hours or up to 4 days. The pasta will get drier and harder as it sits. I like the texture after 2 days in the refrigerator. For more bite, dry the pasta with a humidifier as described on this page and then store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month.

To clean the octopus, insert your fingers into the body and turn it inside out. Scrape away and discard the ink sac and other innards, and then rinse the body well. Turn the body right side out. Remove and discard the eyes and black mouth, or beak, located at the center where the tentacles meet the body. Scrub the tentacles very well with rock salt, rinse, and repeat until you are sure the tentacles are clean. Scrubbing with salt also breaks down the muscle fibers a bit to make the octopus more tender. Measure out 1¼ pounds (567 g) octopus.

Fit a meat grinder with the large die and grind the octopus into a saucepan. (You can instead finely chop the octopus in a food processor using short pulses. Just make sure you don’t make octopus puree.) Add the yellow onion, carrot, celery, and ½ cup (118 ml) of the water to the pan and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Turn down the heat to a very gentle simmer and cook the octopus until it is tender and the liquid has reduced by about two-thirds, about 1 hour. Taste the mixture, adding salt and pepper until it tastes good to you. Set aside.

Remove the chard leaves from the stems and coarsely chop the leaves (reserve the stems for another use or discard). Heat the oil in a large, deep sauté pan over medium heat and add the white onion and chard. Cover and sweat the vegetables, lifting and turning the chard leaves with tongs now and then, until the onion is soft and the chard has wilted, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the remaining ½ cup (118 ml) water, cover the pan, and braise the chard over low heat until it is very tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, 25 to 30 minutes. Stir the octopus ragù into the chard in the sauté pan. Keep the mixture warm over low heat.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.



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