Blog Post 3 2/16 Spicing it Up

Hello all!

This post will wrap up our pasta unit by going over some simple but effective ways to season your pasta! Whether that be prepping the dough or a simple sauce, I’ll show you some of my all-time favorite ways to make your already amazing pasta somehow more amazing. We’re going to start off from the last post assuming we have pasta dough ready and for the basic sauce even cooked noodles! That being said make sure you check out my last posts on making pasta dough and then cutting and cooking noodles. The first technique we will go over is laminating, the second is a dish called Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, a widely known traditional pasta dish known for its simplicity and utilization of inexpensive, readily available ingredients.

Lamination

Laminating dough is a super-easy way to make your pasta more interesting textually and flavor-wise. It is done by picking out a fresh herb of your choice ( today we’ll be using basil leaves ) and laying them out between 2 sheets of pasta. Instructions:

1. Begin with 2 sheets of pasta, with 1 side of each not floured.
2. Arrange a fresh herb of your choice on one side of either dough sheet, then place the other dough sheet sticky side down on top of the herb layer.
3. Run this “Pasta Sandwich” through the machine or roll it once more to seal the herbs into the dough.
4. Now that you have a sheet of usable pasta dough, you can make this herb-infused pasta into noodles, lasagna, or any shape or variant you choose.

Note: Cook the laminated pasta the same you would for the basic dough we made two weeks ago, and be prepared to blow your friends and family away with this amazing but easy trick! Next, I’ll cover one of my go-to easy but delicious recipes to flavor your spaghetti.

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

This pasta dish is native to Naples, Italy, and is famous for its use of widely available, inexpensive ingredients. We will walk through the ingredients and instructions below to create this quick and tasty dish.

Ingredients

1-2 Cloves of Garlic, minced ( to taste )

1 Tsp Red Chili Flakes ( or more if desired )

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated ( to taste )

Salt and Pepper ( to taste )

Instructions

1. In a large pan add the oil, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes.
2. Heat on medium until garlic starts to sizzle. Note: Adding the garlic and chili to the cold oil heats up the ingredients with the oil, preventing burning and infusing the oil with the flavors.
3. Using tongs after the garlic is golden brown, add cooked fresh spaghetti and toss to coat with the olive oil.
4. Let simmer with ingredients for a couple of minutes to incorperate the flavors but not overcook the pasta, then remove from heat.
5. Top with fresh grated parmesan to taste, salt, pepper, and enjoy!

I hope you find these fun and easy ways to spice up your pasta exciting and interesting! With our pasta unit coming to a close with this post, I want to say how much I enjoyed writing this pasta trilogy, as the food is so dear to me and I love making it. Thankfully, our next unit will be on Japanese Sushi, another food that I thoroughly enjoy and hope you will too! Thanks for following along with me, happy cooking, and I’ll see you next week!