Homemade Pasta

My sister gave me a pasta machine for Christmas and I couldn't wait to try it. I knew I wanted to save it for an evening where I'd have time to devote to it and have a special meal, so things kept coming up and I didn't get to use it until late February. This was well worth the wait and yielded the most perfect pasta. This recipe is a combination of tips from a couple food blogs I regularly follow - Annie's Eats and Life's Ambrosia. The whole process took a very enjoyable hour and a half.

If you don't have a pasta maker, you could still achieve similar results by using a rolling pin and hand cutting, so no excuses!

Homemade Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Olives, Parmesan and Pine nuts

1 cup all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup semolina flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
8 sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
1/3 cup pitted olives, diced
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup shredded parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

To make pasta, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the middle and add eggs. Thoroughly combine, then turn out on a floured surface and knead about 8 minutes, until it's nice and elastic. Divide into 4 balls and cover with a damp cloth. Let set for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prep the pasta toppings. Mince the garlic and slice the sun dried tomatoes and olive. Shred parmesan and set all ingredients aside.

Once dough has set for 20 minutes, lightly flour one ball and pass it through the pasta maker several times until you reach desired thickness, adding extra flour as needed to avoid sticking. Set aside for at least 10 minutes and continue with the 3 remaining balls.

Now, pass the stretched dough through the cutter for the desired shape. Lay out to dry out a bit, or hang on a pasta dryer if you have one (I don't and it worked out fine).

While pasta is drying out, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. In a large nonstick skillet, warm olive oil. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds. Add sun dried tomatoes and cook about 2 minutes. Stir in olives. Keep warm. Cook the pasta about 4-6 minutes in salted water until desired consistency is reached. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Toss in olive oil, tomato and olive mixture and add pasta water as needed for moisture. Add 3/4 cup parmesan and pine nuts and toss to combine.

Serve with additional parmesan for serving and enjoy!

Parmesan Tortellini Salad with Pancetta

Apologies for the long absence. I have an exciting announcement that I'll post about shortly which held explains my month off.

So Whole Foods was holding a recipe contest for Parmigiano Reggiano on their blog the Whole Story, so I figured why not try and participate? I was a finalist in their budget recipe challenge back in 2008, so it can't hurt right? My fellow Austin foodblogger MisoHungry made a Bacon & Parmigiano Reggiano Wassail Apple Turnover that sounds DELICIOUS. Check it out :)

This recipe is great because it's simple with really big flavors - a really fabulous weeknight meal.

Parmesan Tortellini Salad with Pancetta

1 (20 ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini (I used Buitoni)

1/3 pound pancetta, cut into 1/3-inch cubes

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

8 ounces spring mix greens

6 sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano, plus more for serving

Cook tortellini to package instructions, drain and set aside. While tortellini cooks, heat a large nonstick skillet on medium heat and saute pancetta, about 6 to 8 minutes, until crisp. Add balsamic vinegar to pan and stir to combine; set aside.

In a large bowl, toss spring mix, sun dried tomatoes, salt and pepper, tortellini and pancetta. Add 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano and toss. Serve with additional parmiagiano reggiano and enjoy!

Pesto Turkey Burgers

After a long separation due to travel, my roommate Rachel finally returned. Naturally, I had to make a meal utilizing her favorite ingredients to welcome her back- pesto and sun dried tomatoes. I know I know, my last post included those two ingredients as well, but this is much different and just as delicious!

I love making chicken and turkey burgers- it's one of my signatures that I can make 1,000 different ways. Tonight's is an Italian turkey burger that I have to admit is one of my best :)

Italian Turkey Burgers

1 pound ground turkey breast

1/4 cup diced red onion

1 teaspoon Italian seasonings

8 sun dried tomatoes, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon pesto

1/4 cup light mayo
5 ciabatta rolls
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
olive oil

Heat a grill pan on medium high heat and coat with cooking spray. Combine turkey, onion, seasonings, tomoes and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Shape into 5 patties. Place patties on grill and cook about 5 minutes on each side.

In the meantime, combine pesto with mayo for a pesto aioli of sorts, add a little lemon juice for extra zing.

Slice ciabatta rolles in half lengthwise and drizzle a little olive oil on the cut side. Sprinkel rosemary on and broil for 2-3 minutes, until lightly toasted. Slather on some pesto aioli and include a patty.

I served these with Sofrito Mashed Potatoes, a recipe from Guy Fieri of Food Network. My friend Emily said I simply HAD to try them, and she was right-- these potatoes were the most interesting ones I've ever had! Granted, sofrito doesn't really go with Italian I realize, but both dishes were so good nobody cared :)

Sofrito Mashed Potatoes

2 tablespoons salt

2 pounds potatoes (recommended: Yukon gold)

3 tablespoons canola oil

1/4 cup chopped red onions

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

3 tablespoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 cup white wine

3 ounces tomato sauce

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons salt

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves

Fill a large pot with water, salt and potatoes and bring to boil. Cook until fork tender.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium sauce pot over medium heat. When oil is hot add onions and peppers and saute for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until it begins to brown. Lower the heat and add tomato paste and stir for 3 to 5 minutes. Deglaze with white wine and reduce by half.

Add tomato sauce and bring to simmer for 5 minutes. Then stir in butter and cream and set aside, covered to keep warm.

When potatoes are fork tender, drain water and mash slowly adding the sofrito mixture. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with cilantro.

I toyed with the idea of putting the sofrito mixture in the food processor, but in the end the chunkier potatoes won out and were delicious! I might try that method next time to see how it compares though.

Question: What's your favorite kind of burger?