Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Two San Pedro High students consult each other om making pasta.

San Pedro High Italian Teacher Takes On The Flour And Teaches Students How to Make Pasta From Scratch
Scores of San Pedro High students learned to make  fresh egg pasta from scratch last week and promised the Italian teacher running the program they would go home and make it for their parents.
Mixing up flour and eggs, students blended, cut, pasted and chopped during an after school cooking club and throughout the day, said Ida Lanza, the teacher who taught it.
“It’s wonderful,” Lanza said. “The kids absolutely love it. They are so enthusiastic. It’s a simple dish. It’s not that complicated.”
Want to try it? Here is the recipe.

Pasta Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups of flour
3 eggs
Pinch of salt
½ egg shell of water if necessary

Preparation
1.     Place the flour in a bowl or on a clean surface
2.     Make a hole in the center
3.     Put in the eggs and salt
4.     Beat the eggs and incorporate the flour a little at a time until all the flour has been added
5.     Take the dough out of the bowl and put on floured surface.
6.     Knead for 15 minutes
7.     Cover with Plastic wrap
8.     Cut a small piece and work it through the pasta machine
9.     Start on the widest setting and pass the pasta dough through until smooth
10.            Reduce the width of the rollers one number at a time until you reach the lowest or highest number
11.            Cut the pasta in half and then pass it through the tagliatelle cutter
12.            Make a small nest with plenty of flour so it does not stick to itself

Marinara Sauce

Ingredients
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
3 sprigs of parsley chopped
5 leaves of basil chopped
2 cups of tomato puree or diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
Salt and pepper
Chopped red pepper (if desired)
½ cup of water to clean out the tomato cups

Preparation

1.     Heat the oil in a skillet over medium hear
2.     Add the chopped onions
3.     Stir and cook for 5 minutes
4.     Add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes
5.     Add the parsley and basil
6.     (If you are adding meat do it at this point and brown the meat completely – no pink showing)
7.     Add two cups of tomato puree or diced tomato
8.     Add the tomato paste and ½ cup water
9.     Salt and Pepper
10.                        Stir continuously and make sure all the paste has dissolved
11.                        Cook for 15 minutes (1/2 hour at least if you added meat)
12.                        Set aside and wait for pasta to cook

Pre-heat large pot of water well salted
When it come to a boil, add pasta and cook for 1-2 minutes NO MORE.
Drain well in a colander over the sink and add to marinara sauce
Stir well to cover all the pasta with the sauce and serve.
Sprinkle parmigiano cheese on the pasta if desired