Until I made this the other day, I was under the impression that successfully made fresh pasta was firmly the domain of Italian matriarchs. I was so wrong. This is not only very easy to make but it is also incredibly rewarding and fun. There are two stages to making this dish. First, go forth and gather any and all of the locally grown vegetables you can find. We’ve listed what we have in season at the vineyard but really anything goes here. Asparagus? Fantastic. Found some artichokes? They’ll work a treat too. The second part is rolling up your sleeves and having fun with it – preferably with a kitchen full of friends and family.
Orecchiette
Grab a large bowl and stir together the semolina and flour and form a well in center. Add water and a generous pinch of salt too. Work till a dough is formed and then knead on a work surface until smooth and elastic (exercise!), about 8 minutes. Divide dough into 8 pieces and wrap separately in plastic wrap – chill if doing ahead of time. Line 2 trays with a dry kitchen towel, sprinkle with semolina and also dust your hands with some at the same time. Remove plastic wrap from a piece of dough and roll into a rope-like sausage several feet long and ½ inch wide. Cut dough into ½ inch discs and then, the fun part. Put each cut piece of dough, a cut side down, in palm of hand and form a depression by pressing thumb of other hand into dough and twisting slightly. Try to make a ‘little ear’ shape. Put finished orecchiette onto the trays and chill, covered, until you are ready to cook.
Spring vegetables
The selection of vegetables you have to work with will dictate the cooking order. First of all, get your pasta water boiling (splash of oil and shake of salt once rolling), and add orecchiette, cooking until al dente. At the same time, get a large sauté pan heated medium to high. Into this pan goes a splash of olive oil, then pancetta (don’t burn) followed by little carrots until they start to soften. Leeks, onions and garlic go in next (all roughly cut – nothing too small) and another splash of oil until they start to take on some nice color. The chard can go in just before you deglaze the pan with a splash of wine (Medlock Ames Chardonnay!) to incorporate all those tasty caramelized juices and then finish with cream, parmigiano, parsley and arugula and season to taste. Simple. The cream should thicken nicely and stick lavishly to little ears of pasta when you combine the two. Serve hot and enjoy with a good glass of Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc or even rosé.
Call 707.431.8845 | Reservations
