Chef Michael Salmon - Join me in my Kitchen
Gnocchi was never really “my thing” until I started pan-crisping them. Lightly caramelizing the cooked gnocchi in olive oil so that they gain a little crunchy texture, transforms the soft blobs of cooked dough into a delightful foundation for an amazing pasta dish. In this recipe I cook fresh seafood, using their juices as the base for the sauce, and finish it with a creamy tomato-basil sauce.
Pappardelle is a wide noodle that creates a very rustic looking pasta dish. The sheer volume of pasta in each fork full makes pappardelle one of my favorite pastas to eat. Pesto is a perfect match for flat pasta since it will stick to anything, while a nice thin cream sauce would run right off. When tomatoes are oven-roasted, the flavors become concentrated and very intense.
This is winter comfort food at it’s core. The sweet potato filling is simple and quick to make and with a small investment of time, you can have ravioli’s made for a few meals. Place extra raviolis on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the freezer until firm. Then, transfer to ziplock bags and keep up to 3 months in the freezer until needed.
Agnolotti is a stuffed pasta that comes from the Piedmont region of Italy. Agnolotti are similar to ravioli, but they have a unique shape with two large dimples that assist in “trapping” sauce. I find them much easier and faster to make than ravioli, once you have mastered the technique. The filling in this recipe is a spinach-ricotta mixture, but they can be filled with everything from roasted vegetables and cheese, to braised meats and seafood.
Adding puréed spinach to pasta dough transforms it into a brilliant green color. Use the Spinach Dough to make any shape of pasta from Fettuccini and Pappardelle to Tortellini and Ravioli. When you use a colored (beet or spinach) dough for a stuffed pasta like ravioli, use a contrasting colored filling (like goat cheese) for a dramatic effect.
The base of this lasagna is a wild boar Sugo. As wild boar can be difficult to come by in some areas, ground pork and/or veal or beef can be substituted. Sugo is a meat sauce made primarily with stock (instead of tomato) so it makes for a lighter and “meatier” lasagna than the typical bolognese base which is rich in tomatoes.
Pasta Dough is fun and easy to make. In this post, Pasta 101, I will discuss the basic steps to follow in making your own pasta at home. The recipe I have included in this post is for basic egg dough and is great for all shapes and types of pasta. Spinach, beets, tomato paste, herbs and spices are some common additions that can turn this plain dough into something special. I will include those recipes in my blog also.
Gnocchi are small Italian dumplings usually made with potatoes. I have added fresh dill to the gnocchi dough which pairs nicely with the Maine lobster and cream sauce.
Pappardelle is one of my favorite pastas. The thick, wide noodles provide a hearty bite of pasta that can stand up to any sauce. Truffles are an elegant and rewarding addition to this dish and quite necessary to be authentic, however, they are quite costly, hard to find, and can be omitted from the recipe.
Join me in my kitchen as I prepare recipes from my two cookbooks, European foodie trips and explore new inspirations.
