There's a classic Italian dish where pasta is cooked in red wine. SInce we had some leftover wine from a dinner party we decided to put in our pasta dough as a twist on the theme. The finished noodles had a nice flavor and acidity. They were aromatic, fruity and floral with a hint of tannin on the finish, all things we look for in a great glass of wine. Today we had a fresh batch of creamy ricotta cheese and we decided to bring two great things together. While the pasta cooked we crisped up a few lamb lardons and then tossed the cooked noodles with the bacon and a bit of the cooking water. Then we added a knob of sweet butter to emulsify the sauce. We put a dollop of ricotta cheese in the center and nestled in a soft egg yolk. It was a bit of an optical illusion because it looked like a fried egg and tasted like something entirely different. It was comfort food of the highest order, a dish we'd happily eat or serve again.
Red Wine Noodles
1800 grams semolina flour
200 grams cabernet grape skin flour
640 grams red wine
13 grams baking soda
Put the semolina, grape skin flour and baking soda into the pasta machine and mix to distribute in the hopper. With the machine running, drizzle the wine into the machine. Mix the dough for 6-7 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough after four minutes. It should begin to resemble course streusel. Squeeze the dough together in your hand. Break the dough apart. If it breaks cleanly the dough has enough hydration. If it crumbles add additional wine in 20 gram increments. After the dough is mixed you can begin to extrude.
Years Past
