Recipes: Very Merry Pasta

Prep Time 30 min    Cook Time 2 min    Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Red Pasta Noodles
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1/8 cup, 25 mL Disaronno (or other amaretto liqueur)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon crystallized ginger, crushed
10 drops red food coloring

Green Pasta Noodles
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1/8 cup, 25 mL Disaronno (or other amaretto liqueur)
1/2 tablespoon sage
1 tablespoon thyme leaves (about 8 sprigs)
10 drops green food coloring

Pasta Sauce
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup egg nog

Tools
Roma by Weston Electric Pasta Machine

Techniques
Using a Pasta Machine (see below or follow the link)

Put two separate pots with 3 cups of water each on to boil.

Sift together 2 cups flour and cinnamon in one bowl (this will be your red pasta) and 2 cups flour and sage in another bowl (this will be your green pasta). Mix crushed crystallized ginger into the red bowl and thyme leaves into the green bowl. Mix in eggs and amaretto liqueur. Knead each ball of dough until uniform.

Put each ball into a separate plastic sandwich bag. Add in respective food colorings. Knead dye into each ball of dough for about 5 minutes each. The dough will not be a uniform color after this point, it should just be marbelized most of the way through.

Watch the video below for help with using an electric pasta machine:



Feed a palm-sized chunk of red dough through the pasta machine, folding it over several times. By setting four, the dough should be completely red. If not, fold it over and feed it through in setting seven a few more times, until it is completely red. This pasta recipe can be used for any type of pasta, but for this particular recipe, I use fettuccine and so I only roll the dough out to setting four.

Feed the pasta sheet through the fettuccine cutter, then hang the strands on a Roma by Weston Pasta Drying Rack. Repeat these steps for the remaining red pasta dough.

Inspect the machine for any leftover red dough. If there is any red dough left on the rollers, the green pasta will end up with red spots. Repeat the above steps for the green dough.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg nog and whipping cream over medium heat until sauce is thick.

Drop the red pasta into one pot of boiling water and the green into the other. Boiling them separately ensures that the dyes do not mix - you don't want brown pasta. Cook for two minutes, strain, and then toss with a little olive oil (to keep from sticking together; do not use the old cold water trick, it steals some of your starches from the noodles).

Toss the pasta with the cream sauce and serve.

Recipes: Ginger Pumpkin Roulade

 Ginger Pumpkin Roulade

Serves 6-8  Prep Time: 45 min  Bake Time: 10 min

Ingredients
Filling                                                                       Cake
1/2 pound fresh pumpkin, cubed                         1/2 pound pumpkin puree             
(preferably a Cinderella Pumpkin)                        1 cup flour
12 ounces mascarpone cheese                             1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons unsalted butter                              1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons heavy cream                                   1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar                                    1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons cinnamon                                 1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg                                  1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger                                    3 eggs
1 tbsp crystallized ginger                              1 cup brown sugar

To cube a pumpkin, see the page for Cutting an Acorn Squash. Simmer the cubed pumpkin in 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter until soft. Pour half into the Roma by Weston La Petite Food Strainer with the remaining ingredients. Chill in the refrigerator while you prepare and bake the cake. Then, puree the remaining pumpkin without any other ingredients.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Beat together eggs and brown sugar. Add in the dry mixture and the pureed pumpkin. Pour it onto a baking sheet with a Weston Baking Mat on top and bake ten minutes or until an inserting toothpick comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and roll up in the baking mat. Allow the cake to cool completely. Once it has cooled, carefully unroll it. Spread the chilled filling over it and remove from the baking mat. Carefully roll it back up, creating the roulade. Spread the remaining filling over the top and sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon and crystallized ginger. To preserve, store in a Weston Vacuum Dome and place in the refrigerator.

Techniques: Chopping Ginger Root

• First, cut the ginger root into three or four smaller pieces.
• Peel off the skin with a potato or vegetable peeler.
• Cut into slices
• Then, chop into smaller pieces

Recipes: Crystallized Ginger

Crystallized Ginger
Makes about one cup
Prep Time: 20 min
Dehydration Time: 4 hr.

Ingredients
Half of a ginger root, peeled and chopped
3 cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon




Preheat your Weston Dehydrator. Bring water to a boil and stir in sugar until dissolved. Add in chopped ginger (for a How To on chopping ginger root, visit the Cooking With Weston Recipe Book) and simmer for ten minutes. Remove from heat and let sit another ten minutes.

Strain the ginger and dab with a cloth to remove excess moisture. Place on a netting roll in the Weston Dehydrator and dehydrate for four hours, or until ginger is dry but still chewy. For help on using a dehydrator, visit the Cooking With Weston Recipe Book. Toss in 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon to coat. To store, use a Weston Vacuum Sealer.