For some, the celebration is done, for others, it is just beginning; in reality, when it comes to traditional holidays, we belong to the group that sits on two chairs (we celebrate whoever likes what).
Except for Christmas, which never changes its date and is one of the most treasured holidays, one of those holidays who are usually accompanied by the most exquisite meals. The food marathon in our house started right before the New Year's Eve, and it's still going on.
A little exhausting, but then again, we're largely celebrating the holidays with high-calorie cuisine that most of us enjoy (kudos to tho who stay faithful) - not me.
Not even cause I had a large portions or more than usual meals per day.
Certainly cause everything was so yummy, creamy, fatty, sweet, crunchy... now my tummy demonstrates!
I've got a spoon slap!
Soup didn't sound good enough, but thought of broth instantly warmed me up.
Free to say I'm openly blaming on my favorite dish for this bloating - dough in all forms and combinations, and part of blame stays on me and I just can't stay away from it! In order to skip a meal that requires white bread for one day, I made a compromise and dared to prepare homemade pasta for the first time.
(dough bonus spent for breakfast)
Warm aromatic tomato broth combined with silky pasta....yum!
All the offered recipes referred to only three ingredients needed, but I would like to mention that I didn't really go into the Italian cookbook, nor did I look at the tutorials on how to make tortellini or ravioli, I'm not sure what the result looks like, but one thing is for sure both types have stuffing in them and that is something I wanted to be combined with tomato broth.
as a whole, this kind of meal provide a feeling of satiety, no breed needed.
Recipe calls for 200 grams of whole wheat flour, two eggs, and a splash of water.
Measure the flour, if possible sift it afterwards, then make a nest in for the two eggs that you will add - beat the eggs with a fork until the dough start to mix in.
Even though the recipe calls for just one teaspoon of water, I still haven't added any, wasn't sure when should I - the problem is that I didn't know the texture or the softness of the dough, learning from mistakes.
After I put the dough on the surface, I realized that more liquid is needed in order for the dough to bind nicely, it is visibly dry, two timid pinches.
The journey from mixing to tucking in the dough consisted of a real struggle, man, this is not easy at all or am I used to only soft and puffy?
Kneading was never tougher!
The next step is to wrap the dough and leave it to rest for half an hour in the refrigerator.
Tomato soup ingredients
250 ml of tomato juice
300 ml water
medium head of onion
a bigger carrot
one bell pepper
three prices of garlic
basil, salt, pepper, allspice
As much as I love to cook and enjoy the process of preparing food, as well as tasting and photographing, there is often failure when it comes to soups and broths - rare attempts I am satisfied with.
I was scared that everything would wind up tasting like pasta with tomato sauce. We know that different ways/size of chopping ingredients contributes to the texture of the dish, but does it also affect the taste?
I prefer the onion to remain invisible when soupy dishes are served, for this reason, cutting it as finely as possible, sauté it on medium heat (this does not apply to garlic either, I love to run into it). On the other side of the carrot is a root vegetable and a coarsely chopped stew is mostly a fantasy hidden in every warm bite.
A bell pepper out of season cannot be THAT pepper; you will just sense the absence of that naturalness that we were able to enjoy until recently from the garden planted we had. If nothing else, this hybrid will give us solidity and juiciness.
Onion, carrot, pepper, spices - stewing in progress...
Soak over with tomato juice and continue simmering over medium heat.
Then, after half an hour, add half the measure of lukewarm water, other half will be added later.
The dough has taken a nap and it's time for muscle stretch.
After cutting the quantity and dividing it into two parts I noticed small lumps of flour that did not come together well, not good news. Still, I didn't want to give up and went for finishing the recipe, no matter how it turns out, I kneaded the dough one more time with the occasional addition of a pinch of water (hoping that the lumps would disappear).
/lumps remained, till not thick enough, heavily rolling out.
And then I flipped over to the other side of the dough that looked smooth as paper, and with a couple of light spreads of water I was able to (although still not enough) thin the dough.
(no home pasta making without that dough ironing thing)
The shape, I really deeply apologize to Italy but I still have no idea if this is ravioli or tortellini, at first I thought that the shaping would be the easiest part of the job, however it's not!
This requires a real pasta knowledge.
Few failed attempts got me to simply fork shell shape.
Fold the circle in half, making sure the filling is completely tucked in; my chosen filling combination is crumbled cow's cheese mixed with a little salt and dried basil. Press the edges with a fork so that they stick to each other.
From one half of the dough, I had more than enough for two people, of course, if you want a larger amount, it's enough to just insert the ends again and develop the bark again/ not for me again today SATAN, rest is packed in bag stored in fridge, perhaps I'll use it for lasagna, rolling it out manually noooooo thanks.
The broth is ready, well cooked and already enticing with its aroma, add the pasta, after first signs of boiling, add the rest of the water and let everything cook together.
Tasting and testing, under the fork it would say that it was not as hard as I thought it would be, my opinion changed after short chewing, it will take more time to cook - broth taste was on point!
It's serving time!
I sprinkled pepper on the bottom of the plate, so that when the broth is added, it will stay longer to release its wonderful aromas while warmth is melting it.
Proudly announcing that this is one of my rare successful attempts to cook something that requires a spoon/leaving tortellini out, they were half successful. The taste was actually more than surprisingly nice, even the cheese stayed on without leaking, but the thickness of the dough was obvious and too heavy for the whole combination.
Definitely, no bread required.
Bon appetite!