This weeks topic for Hive top chef is pasta. This was the perfect reason to use the semolina flour that I purchased a while back. I've never used it before. I've heard that it is ideal for pasta.
I was planning to make ravioli for a while so this time I used half all purpose flour, half semolina to see what all the hype was about.
I didn't want to use only semolina in case of failure. I didn't know what to expect. Fast forward. It was definitely worth it and next time I'll try just semolina.
Pasta dough
1 cup all purpose
1 cup semolina
1 plus cup warm water
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Mix dry ingredients and make a well in the center. I put it on a board but I've done it in a bowl before.
Pour the water and oil into the center.
Slowly drag the flour into the center mixing gently until it can be turned into a dough ball. Add more water if necessary.
Form into a ball then gently knead until it is smooth. Cover and put it aside.
When I started making the dough for the ravioli, I hadn't yet thought of the filling so I looked in my fridge and found some kale that needed to be used. I have used spinach before. I also had some walnuts that I thought would be good to grind up with the kale.
I steamed the kale first enough to soften but not to lose the color which also keeps the flavor. In a blender or processor grind until it's pasty. I added salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.
After portioning the dough into four pieces it was rolled out as thinly as possible. Then add a spoonful of the kale mixture leaving space around it.
Roll out another sheet and cover pressing down gently on the seams.
Cut around the edges and around each spoon of mixture.
I put it in the freezer while I made a simple tomato sauce.
Tomato sauce
Five tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cloves garlic minced
1 onion diced
1teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon chili pepper
Salt and pepper
Splash of red wine
Saute onions and garlic in olive oil then add the rest of the ingredients and
let it cook then blend. Keep it warm while you boil water and cook the ravioli until it's tender like you would any other pasta.
The added semolina flour made a much more tender pasta then regular flour. Perhaps it's a different story if it had eggs in it but I wouldn't know.
The last time I made ravioli I used ravioli cutters. I found that this method was much quicker, however you have to be more careful when cutting around the filling to make sure the edges are properly sealed.
It may sound like a pain to make your own pasta but if you can find the time, it is really therapeutic. I look forward to finding the time to do this again.
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!
