Homemade pasta. Macaron cake. Spaghetti with tomato paste

I recently looked at my catalog of recipes and, without surprise, emphasized once again that my blog is mostly "Italian": pasta, risotto, pizza... even sweets are mostly Italian. It’s not surprising, because Italian cuisine is beloved in our family and has long become homely and dear. Favorite restaurants are also Italian. The most delicious family Sunday lunch... Italian of course! I can confidently say that on my blog the number of Italian dishes will now increase for three reasons:
1. I have increased the number of cookbooks on Italian cuisine.
2. Italian dishes, or rather recipes and ideas, I dream about at night or suddenly appear in my head when, for example, I am walking down the street or driving a car...
3. Ta-dam! I now have KitchenAid Pasta Press Attachment. Today I’m telling you about her miraculous nature! I will also tell you about my experiments with pasta dough, share recipes and tips so that you, too, will be inspired by the idea of making homemade pasta!

So, let's take a closer look at this miracle attachment.

The most important thing I want to note is universal nozzle and fits both the new mixer with a 6.9 l bowl and the mixer with a 4.83 l bowl. The function of the attachment is to form a variety of pasta from the dough. The set includes six plates for forming different types of pasta: Spaghetti, Bucatini, Rigatoni, Fusili, Large Macaroni, Small Macaroni.

The principle of operation of the nozzle is this: the dough is simply passed through the press, and at the end all that remains is to cut the products to the desired length. Assembly of the nozzle is simple and the instructions are provided with detailed pictures. As always, KitchenAid has no unnecessary parts, everything is accessible and functional. A simple example: a part such as the Combo Tool simultaneously serves as a wrench for tightening the attachment and a press for pushing the dough. The kit includes a special brush for cleaning the plates, because... You can't wash them!

The process of installing the attachment on the mixer will also not take much time. The nozzle is installed in the “socket” and then tightened with the fastening handle. All.

The most important what a housewife should do before preparing pasta, choose the right dough. It would seem that everything is simple - there are many recipes for pasta dough. Yes, of course it is. But, having tried more than one pasta dough recipe, I can assure you that not all of them are ideal and for each specific task (preparing lasagna sheets, ravioli dough, curly pasta, etc.) there is a “perfect” recipe , and most likely, each housewife has her own recipe. So, experiment! I have already tried several dough recipes, and I have plans for at least 5 more, or even more. There is no limit to imagination here. Actually, only bold ideas from you, and KitchenAid will do the rest.

1. Form the finished dough into balls the size of a walnut.
2. Place the required plate on the pasta attachment. Secure the nozzle.
3. Set the mixer speed (6-10) depending on the type of paste and recommended speed. For Fusili, speed 6 is recommended as the maximum. In general, the shorter the paste, the slower the speed. So, Spaghetti can be cooked at speed 10.
4. Place the balls one at a time into the “funnel”, pushing with the back of the “key” if necessary. In general, the machine is smart and “picks up” the dough perfectly.

How long should the finished pasta be?

My personal opinion is whatever you want. But in general, recommendations regarding the length and speed of kneading are as follows:

Spaghetti - speed 10, length 24 cm
Bucatini - speed 10, length 24 cm
Rigatoni - speed 6, length 4 cm
Fusili - speed 2-4, length 24 or 4 cm
Large Macaroni - speed 6, length up to 5 cm
Small Macaroni - speed 6, length up to 4 cm

As I already said, there can be thousands of pasta recipes and it is possible that you will invent your own unique recipe. Therefore, the recommendations are general and it cannot be said with confidence that they work in all cases without exception. You can use different flours, make the dough with or without eggs, add water, olive oil, puree... All this will affect the result. But anyway:

1. Practice. At the beginning, it is better to prepare the dough with a reserve to see how it behaves when using different plates. I noticed this peculiarity for myself - the dough that is ideal for spaghetti does not seem ideal to me in the case of rigatoni. You may have a different opinion.
2. As a rule, in the case of egg paste, you don’t need a lot of liquid; you can do without it at all. In order for the finished products to “keep their shape” well, the dough must be very tight. The correct consistency of the dough is this: you take a small piece of dough from the mixer bowl (for example, at the moment you change the flat mixer to the hook) and squeeze it with your fingers. The right dough sticks together without sticking to your hands or crumbling. Then look: the dough is dry, crumbly - add a little water, the dough is sticky - add flour.
3. The pasta dough should be kneaded well. At least 10 minutes by hand and at least 5 minutes in a mixer. During the process of kneading the dough, gluten threads are formed (gluten swells), thanks to which the dough holds its shape. However, if you knead the dough too long, the bonds will break, so it is important to stop kneading when a homogeneous, elastic mass has formed.
4. After kneading, leave the dough covered with a damp towel or wrapped in cling film for at least 30 minutes to an hour.

1. Pasta can be cooked immediately after cooking. As a rule, in this case, 2-4 minutes of boiling is enough (depending on the type of pasta and dough). Cook dry pasta for about 7 minutes.
2. To dry the pasta, place the pasta in one layer on a towel placed on a flat surface.
3. You can store the paste in a vacuum container in the refrigerator for about 5 days. The paste can be frozen and stored for up to 4 months. Frozen pasta is boiled immediately, without prior defrosting.
4. For easy storage, the long paste can be dried in a "nest" shape.

To get started, you have a choice of 4 simplest pasta dough recipes. I've tried every dough with every attachment, so I'm making recommendations based on what worked for me.

1 dough - BASIC, egg dough (universal, but works somewhat worse with curly pasta, for example, rigatoni and fusili)

Ingredients:

300 g white flour type OO
3 eggs
a pinch of salt

How to do:

1. Install a flat mixer. Pour the sifted flour and salt into the mixer bowl. At mixer speed 2, start mixing, adding eggs one at a time. Knead for 30 seconds. The mixture will look like cookie crumbs.

2. Install the hook attachment. At second speed, knead the dough until elastic. The longer you knead, the tighter and more elastic the dough will be. So, it is recommended to knead by hand for at least 10 minutes. 5 is enough in the mixer. But this is individual and depends on everyone’s preferences. The dough turns out quite tough. If you find the dough too dry, add a little olive oil while kneading.
3. Form the finished dough into a ball with your hands, wrap it in cling film or cover with a damp towel and leave for 30 minutes to an hour. After a while, you will notice that the “ball” has become soft and elastic.

4. Form the “rested” dough into balls the size of a walnut.
5. Place the required plate on the pasta attachment. Set mixer speed (6-10) depending on the type of paste and recommended speed. Next, lower the balls into the “funnel” one at a time, pushing them with the back of the “key” if necessary.

Bucatini

Spaghetti

2 dough - Egg dough (harder and more elastic than Basic, therefore ideal for preparing rigatoni, fusili)

Ingredients:

500 g white flour type OO
3 eggs
2 yolks
a pinch of salt
olive oil optional (if dough is too dry)

How to do:

Cm. BASIC, egg dough(elastic, with a pronounced yellow color, universal)

3 dough - With semola

Ingredients:

200 g flour type OO
75 g semolina
7 yolks
1 egg
a pinch of salt

How to do:

Cm. BASIC, egg dough

Fusili(note the bright yellow color due to the large number of yolks, I also had country eggs)

Important! The only thing I never managed to achieve was perfectly curled Fusili. Those. they had to be brought to “perfection” by hand. I assume that some special dough recipe is needed in order for the pasta to come out fully prepared.

Rigatoni

4 dough - Pasta made from durum flour (perfect in every sense)

Ingredients:

300 g semolina
150 ml warm water (about how much flour will take)
a pinch of salt

How to do:

1. Install a flat mixer. Pour the sifted flour and salt into the mixer bowl. At mixer speed 2, start mixing, gradually adding water. Knead for 30 seconds.
2. See BASIC, egg dough(from 2 points)

Large macaroni

Important! Here, carried away by photography, I forgot to cut the pasta 5 cm long... I remembered when they were already drying together on the towel. I didn’t get upset, but decided to leave it in this form as an experiment to test its strength. To my surprise, pasta made from this dough is actually much stronger, does not break and retains its shape perfectly during cooking. True, eating them so big was not very convenient, but the taste... The taste fixed everything!

Small pasta

Conclusion

Having tried several types of dough, I opted for pasta made from durum flour.

Advantages over egg paste:

1. Beautiful milky color that does not change during storage.
2. The dough is tight, holds its shape perfectly, and is very elastic.
3. After drying, the paste is not fragile and stores well.
4. During cooking, it does not break, crumble or deform.
5. This paste, when dried, has the longest shelf life.
6. The most dietary and healthy pasta, which definitely plays a decisive role when it comes to healthy eating.

PS. Looking ahead, I will say that soon there will be recipes for delicious pasta and you will see how beautiful homemade pasta is and that absolutely nothing happens to it during the cooking process.

P.P.S. For those who have not seen reviews of the KitchenAid mixer itself, you can look at

Miniature Macaron cake is a delicious dessert originally from France. Two halves of fluffy almond flour cookies and a rich chocolate ganache that holds them together... Today I will share with you a step-by-step recipe for the famous Macarons that have won the hearts of many sweet tooths.

Before writing the recipe for Macaron cakes, I thought for a long time about how detailed and detailed the process should be. I think I’ll settle on the golden mean - I hope that 30 steps will be enough to achieve a positive result. In general, frankly speaking, I am far from an expert in preparing this homemade dessert - I only made successful Macaron cakes... 4 times.

I cannot help but draw your attention to the fact that there are a huge number of nuances and subtleties in the preparation of this capricious delicacy. It would seem that you do everything according to a recipe, the author of which you trust as much as yourself, and still nothing works out... This time I prepared Macaron cakes according to the recipe of my dear friend Lenochka Funk (thank you very much!), and the result is in front of you.

What pitfalls are encountered when preparing this French dessert? First of all, without scales (with 1 gram divisions) you don’t even have to try. So to speak, measuring products “by eye” is immediately eliminated. Accuracy, accuracy and once again accuracy is one of the necessary conditions for this recipe.

You can do without a culinary thermometer only if you are friends with meringue, because you will need to cook the syrup correctly. Almond flour, of course, can be prepared at home, but for the first time I still recommend buying it in the store. Well, read about everything else in the step-by-step recipe for Macaron cakes, otherwise I’ve probably already bored you with my long introduction.

Ingredients:

Almond dough:

Italian meringue:

Chocolate ganache:

Cooking the dish step by step with photos:

To prepare Macaron cakes we will need the following products: almond flour, egg whites, powdered sugar, granulated sugar and water. I deliberately did not photograph the ingredients for the chocolate ganache, because I was not sure that at least the fourth time the result would please me.

Preparing the dough for Macaron cakes. To begin, weigh exactly 100 grams of almond flour and powdered sugar.

Sift the flour and powder through a fine sieve - two or three times. This is done in order to get rid of large pieces that are always present in almond flour. If they remain in the sieve, you can simply grind the small parts in a coffee grinder (then pass through the sieve again) or replace them with the same amount of already sifted flour.

As a result, there will be exactly 200 grams of a homogeneous dry mixture in the bowl, consisting of almond flour and powdered sugar. Double or even triple sifting is necessary to ensure that the surface of the cakes remains smooth and even.

Add 37 grams (no more, no less, but exactly 37!) of egg whites to the dry mixture and leave everything on the table for now. A small digression: when preparing Macaron cakes, cooks most often use aged proteins - that is, they are left at room temperature in a bowl, covered with cling film or a saucer, which is pierced with a toothpick. Due to this manipulation, the structure of the protein seems to change and when whipped it turns out smoother. I generally use ancient proteins, so to speak. The fact is that when cooking, sometimes I only need yolks, then I freeze the whites and store them in the freezer for several months. When I need them, in the evening I move them to the refrigerator, where the proteins spend the night safely and are completely defrosted.

Let's move on to preparing Italian meringue - this is the protein cream that will become the second component of the dough for Macaron cakes. Pour 27 milliliters (sounds funny, but it’s necessary) of water into a small saucepan or stewpan and add 100 grams of granulated sugar. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil. From this point on, cook the sugar syrup over low heat for about 5-6 minutes. If you have a food thermometer, wait until 110 degrees is the ideal temperature for sugar syrup. Or try a soft ball - drop the syrup into a bowl of ice water, then take it between your fingers and roll. If you get a soft ball, the syrup is ready. Of course, if you constantly prepare custard types of meringue, then you can safely work without a thermometer, but for beginners it is vital when preparing these cakes.

When the temperature of the syrup reaches approximately 90-95 degrees, it is time to beat the egg whites (at room temperature). The mixing bowl must be clean, dry and grease-free. We start and continue to beat the whites at high speeds, without changing the speed until the very end. At first, the whites will become cloudy and a light foam will appear, then gradually the mass will begin to turn white and noticeably increase in volume, turning into a snow-white, persistent and dense foam.

At this time, the sugar syrup will be prepared. Let's take it off the stove...

And pour in a thin stream into the already dense whites, which are still beating. It is important to pour the hot syrup exactly into the middle between the walls of the dish and the beaters. If it gets on the wall, it will immediately crystallize, and if it gets on the whisk, it will quickly cool and become wrapped in a caramel thread. I did end up with a small amount of syrup on the wall, since it is extremely inconvenient to hold a camera in one hand and a heavy saucepan with hot syrup in the other.

We return to the almond base - using a spatula, mix the dry part with the egg whites. In general, of course, you need to mix everything until smooth, but here I didn’t try too hard, I just mixed in most of the protein. I read that this is not critical. Some cooks do not mix proteins into almond flour and powdered sugar at all.

Next comes one more important stage - macaronage. This is the final batch of dough for the Macaron cakes. In this case, we need to achieve the correct consistency of the dough. Place the Italian meringue in a bowl and stir it in clockwise with a spatula, turning the bowl in the opposite direction.

Interestingly, experienced pastry chefs claim that for the correct consistency of the dough for Macaron cakes, exactly 50 movements of the spatula are needed. I didn’t count how much I needed personally. So, with proper kneading, the dough should not only become smooth and homogeneous, but also flow off the spatula in a wide ribbon.

We twist the bag from the wide side, pushing the dough closer to the spout. Now you can breathe a little sigh of relief, but only slightly - there are still a couple of crucial moments ahead.

To bake cake halves, we will need either a special pasta mat or a simple baking sheet and high-quality parchment paper. If you are an esthete and are preparing this dessert for the first time, take care of the preparation in advance. On the back of the paper, using a simple pencil, draw circles with a diameter of 3 centimeters. Then turn the paper over and place it face up on the baking sheet. Since I was preparing Macaron for the fourth time, I decided not to draw anything and piped the dough by eye. It looks like it turned out pretty smooth, what do you think? Another important point for aesthetics: how to pipe the dough correctly. Hold the cooking bag strictly vertically above the paper, squeeze out the dough (remember that it will still spread) directly into the center of an imaginary or drawn circle, and at the end, with a sharp but gentle movement, remove the spout of the bag to the side. This way the dough will break and there will be no spout left on the surface. When you have planted all the pieces, admire the work done. If the humps are still sticking out, you can help them straighten out. Place a thick towel (terry cloth is best) on the table and very gently tap the baking sheet on the surface. If even then the spouts still continue to rise, then you have not mixed the dough well.

Next, it is important to let the workpieces dry. Just leave the pan on the counter for 30-60 minutes to allow the dough to crust. In this case, time is a rather relative concept and depends on many factors. The main one is indoor humidity. 30 minutes was enough for my preparations while the oven was heating up. Touch one piece - if it is no longer sticky and you can even lightly run your finger over the surface, you can safely move on to baking. Only if you have this very crust can you expect a recognizable skirt, which distinguishes Macaron from other cakes.

The halves of the cakes are baked in a preheated oven at medium level at 140-150 degrees for 14-17 minutes. In my oven, fortunately, this is the minimum temperature that can be set. We placed the baking sheet, closed the door and waited. It is clear that you too will sit in trepidation, look through the glass and wait to see whether this same skirt will appear or not. At about the fifth minute, it began to emerge in my Macaroshki, gradually becoming larger and larger. This means everything was done correctly and the Macaron cakes were a success. After 16 minutes from the start of baking, I already took out a baking sheet (the crust of the halves became dense, and the bottom easily came away from the paper) and set the second one to cook (I placed these blanks immediately after the first batch). Immediately remove hot cakes from the baking sheet to prevent them from drying out.

And here you can take a closer look at the kids. You see, the surface of the halves is even, smooth and glossy. The skirts turned out simply amazing - so fluffy and quite high.

The macaroons come off the parchment easily and the bottom side is smooth and light in color. We finish baking the second batch of preparations and let them cool completely. In total, I got 56 halves, but not all of them made it to the finals - I was really impatient to take a sample. Ready-made macaroons can easily be stored in an airtight container for several days, and only then filled with filling.

Well, now it’s time for the ingredients for the filling. It can be made from almost anything: jam, custard, confiture, jam, thick sauce - whatever your heart desires. The main thing is that the filling is not liquid and holds its shape. Since I made the cakes without dyes or flavorings, I also decided to make the simplest filling - chocolate ganache. For this you will need chocolate and cream. I have, of course, bitter (regular readers probably know about my love for this particular type), but milky or even white is perfect. I used 10% fat cream, you can add whatever you want and what you have in stock. You can even use butter.

Durum wheat pasta is suitable for making classic pasta. Pasta can be supplemented with tasty and aromatic sauces.

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To prepare the traditional carbonara sauce, pancetta or guanciale is used, as well as aromatic pecorino Romano cheese made from sheep's milk. In our area, meat products can be replaced with fatty bacon, and Italian cheese with Parmesan. And remember: no cream in carbonara!

Ingredients

450 g spaghetti;
salt - to taste;
200 g bacon;
100 g finely grated parmesan;

Preparation

Cook spaghetti in salted water according to package instructions until al dente. Meanwhile, cut the bacon into small strips and fry in hot oil until golden brown. Beat the yolks and mix them with half the grated cheese and a pinch of pepper.

Drain the spaghetti in a colander and reserve about a glass of the cooking water. Immediately add them to the pan with the bacon, stir and remove from heat. Add some spaghetti water, season with pepper and pour in the egg sauce. Mix well and add a little more water if necessary to achieve a creamy consistency.

Place the pasta on a serving plate and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese.

nonnabox.com

Tomato-meat Bolognese sauce is perhaps known all over the world. Most often it is combined with spaghetti, but it will perfectly complement other types of pasta.

Ingredients

1 carrot;
1 stalk of celery;
1 onion;
1 clove of garlic;
several sprigs of rosemary;
200 g minced pork;
200 g minced beef;
500 g of tomatoes in their own juice;
4 tablespoons of tomato paste;
100 ml red wine;
salt - to taste;
several sprigs of basil;
500 g spaghetti;
a little grated parmesan.

Preparation

Cut the vegetables into small cubes and chop the rosemary. Fry these ingredients in hot oil until the vegetables soften.

Place in another frying pan and fry until golden brown. Add vegetables, tomatoes, tomato paste and wine to the meat. Stir, season with spices and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and cook for another 30–40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chopped basil and stir.

Boil spaghetti in salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta, place it on a plate, top it with Bolognese sauce and garnish with basil leaves and grated cheese.

3. Fettuccine Alfredo

simplyrecipes.com

In the classic version, the pasta is mixed only with the most delicate creamy sauce, which is prepared from only three ingredients. Later they began to make the sauce more creamy and began to add mushrooms or shrimp to it.

Ingredients

250 g fettuccine;
salt - to taste;
50 g butter;
100 ml cream - optional;
100 g grated parmesan;
ground black pepper - to taste.

Preparation

Cook fettuccine in salted water until al dente according to package instructions. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat and then remove from heat.

For a creamy sauce, add cream to the butter. Do not remove from heat until the pasta is cooked and stir constantly.

Place the fettuccine in a saucepan using tongs. The paste shouldn't be dry, so don't try to shake off all the liquid. Turn the heat to medium and stir the pasta. Add half the cheese and mix very well again. If necessary, add a little more water in which the fettuccine was cooked. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and stir again.

Place the pasta on a serving plate and sprinkle with ground pepper.

4. Pasta with chicken and broccoli in creamy sauce

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts;
salt - to taste;
ground black pepper - to taste;
350 g farfalle (butterfly-shaped pasta);
1 head of broccoli;
240 ml milk;
50 g grated parmesan;
180 g;
3 cloves of garlic.

Preparation

Heat oil over medium heat. Place the chicken breasts in the pan, season with spices and fry for 8 minutes on each side until golden brown. Cool slightly and cut into small pieces.

Place the farfalle in boiling salted water. About 2 minutes before they are cooked al dente, add the broccoli florets to the pan. Then drain the water.

In a saucepan, combine milk, Parmesan, cream cheese, minced garlic and spices. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens. Add farfalle, broccoli and chicken to sauce and mix well.

jamieoliver.com

To prepare this paste, you can use both fresh tomatoes and tomatoes in their own juice. And in addition to basil, you can take spinach, arugula or green peas.

Ingredients

1 bunch of basil;
1 onion;
2 cloves of garlic;
1 kg of ripe tomatoes or 800 g of tomatoes in their own juice;
1 tablespoon olive oil;
1 tablespoon red wine or balsamic vinegar;
salt - to taste;
ground black pepper - to taste;
500 g spaghetti;
a little grated parmesan.

Preparation

Chop the basil stems and leaves separately, reserving a few leaves for garnish. Finely chop the onion and garlic. Peel the tomatoes and cut into small cubes. As for tomatoes in their own juice, sometimes they are chopped, so you don’t have to cut them.

Heat the oil over medium heat and fry the onion for about 7 minutes until softened and lightly browned. Add garlic and basil stems. After a couple of minutes, add the tomatoes and vinegar, season with spices and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add basil leaves and reduce heat to low.

Meanwhile, cook in salted water until al dente. Drain the water into a separate container, place the spaghetti in the tomato sauce and mix well. If the pasta is a little dry, add a little spaghetti water.

Place the pasta on a plate, sprinkle with Parmesan and garnish with basil leaves.

simplyrecipes.com

Choose any mushrooms of your choice: champignons, porcini or any other.

Ingredients

300 g curly paste;
salt - to taste;
2 tablespoons butter;
2 tablespoons olive oil;
600 g mushrooms;
ground black pepper - to taste;
150 g spinach;
1 lemon;
a little grated parmesan;
a few sprigs of parsley.

Ingredients

Cook pasta in salted water until al dente according to instructions. Drain, reserving one cup of liquid for later.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook it, stirring constantly, until it turns slightly brown. Remove from heat. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the chopped ones. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the pasta, half the chopped spinach and ¼ cup of the pasta water to the mushrooms. Stir and cook until the spinach is slightly wilted. Add the remaining spinach and cook for a few more minutes. If the paste seems dry, add more water.

Then add the butter, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and the zest of a whole lemon. Stir, place on a plate and sprinkle with cheese and chopped parsley.

simplyrecipes.com

Pasta primavera is great to make in the summer with fresh, seasonal vegetables you can find in the kitchen.

Ingredients

200 g fusilli (paste in the form of spirals);
salt - to taste;
2 tablespoons olive oil;
1 carrot;
½ red onion;
1 zucchini;
½ eggplant;
½ Bulgarian;
1 clove of garlic;
100 g tomato paste;
1 teaspoon Italian herbs seasoning;
several cherry tomatoes;
a few basil leaves;
a little grated parmesan.

Preparation

Boil the pasta in salted water until al dente.

Heat the oil over medium heat and fry the carrots, cut into small strips, and onion half rings for 5 minutes. Add zucchini and eggplant cubes and sliced peppers. Cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add salt, add chopped garlic, mix well and remove from heat.

Add tomato paste, seasoning and some pasta water. Then add the prepared pasta, halved tomatoes and chopped basil.

stockfresh.com

This pasta turns out very tasty and aromatic. King prawns are best suited for it.

Ingredients

200 g linguine or spaghetti;
salt - to taste;
25 g butter;
200 g peeled shrimp;
1 clove of garlic;
100 ml white wine;
ground black pepper - to taste;
1 tablespoon lemon juice;
¼ bunch of parsley.

Preparation

Boil the pasta in salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, melt half the butter over medium heat and fry until lightly browned on both sides. Add chopped garlic and cook for another minute.

Pour in the wine, stir and bring to a boil. Add the remaining oil, spices, lemon juice and chopped parsley. Remove from heat, add pasta and stir well.

usa.philips.com

The aromatic pasta alla norma is very popular in Sicily. It is prepared with tomato sauce.

Ingredients

2 eggplants;
salt - to taste;
1 tablespoon dried oregano;
ground black pepper - to taste;
4 tablespoons olive oil;
3 cloves of garlic;
1 bunch of basil;
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar;
800 g of tomatoes in their own juice;
500 g spaghetti;
a little grated parmesan.

Preparation

Cut the eggplants into small cubes, sprinkle with salt and leave for 20 minutes to remove the bitterness. Then rinse them and dry them with a paper towel. Toss eggplant with oregano, salt, pepper and half the olive oil.

Heat the remaining oil over medium heat and fry the eggplants in parts. Cook them for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned. Add chopped garlic and chopped basil stems and cook for a couple more minutes.

Add vinegar and tomatoes, chop them with a spatula and simmer for 15–20 minutes over low heat. You can also use peeled fresh tomatoes, but they will take longer to cook. The sauce should be quite thick.

Boil the spaghetti until al dente in salted water. Drain the liquid into a separate container and add a little to the sauce along with the chopped basil leaves. Add the spaghetti to the sauce, stir and add a little more water if necessary.

Place the pasta on a plate and sprinkle with cheese.

jamieoliver.com

This is another classic Italian dish with capers, anchovies and chili. The pasta is rich, spicy and incredibly aromatic.

Ingredients

400 g spaghetti;
salt - to taste;
a few tablespoons of olive oil;
4 cloves;
2 red chili peppers;
3 anchovy fillets;
100 g olives;
100 g capers;
200 g ripe cherry tomatoes;
½ bunch of basil;
a little grated parmesan.

Preparation

Boil the spaghetti until al dente in salted water. Heat the oil over medium heat and add the chopped garlic, thin chilli strips, finely chopped anchovy fillets, olives and chopped capers. Fry for a few minutes.

Add halved tomatoes and some spaghetti water. Cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes begin to soften. Add pasta and basil leaves to sauce. Stir and add salt.

Place pasta on a plate and sprinkle with Parmesan.

No store-bought pasta can compare with homemade noodles. Flour of the highest quality and careful rolling will allow you to make an indispensable addition to aromatic chicken broth.

Rolling out the dough is somewhat difficult due to its rigidity. Having sprinkled it generously, you can roll it up into several folds and continue working. The procedure is repeated, making folds in different places, until the layer becomes transparent. Before cutting, the workpieces can be slightly dried in the oven.

The finished vermicelli must be dried thoroughly, allowing it to sit for at least half an hour. Long-term storage implies fragility of the product.

Ingredients

1 egg
100 ml milk
2 pinches of salt
1-1.5 tbsp. wheat flour

Preparation

1. In Soviet times, pasta was created only from yolks, salt and flour, but such dough was so difficult to roll out that vermicelli became unfairly forgotten and gave way to quick porridges and vegetable side dishes. In order not to bother ourselves with a long roll out of non-plastic dough, we will simply add milk to it, thereby giving it both plasticity and taste! If you have a bread machine, knead the noodle dough in it, while simultaneously adding all the ingredients to the machine’s bowl.

2. If not, then pour wheat flour into a container, making a depression in it, and beat a chicken egg into it, pour in milk and add salt. Knead the dough and let it rest for 15-20 minutes. In a bread machine, this process takes a minimum amount of time.

3. The dough turns out kneaded, dense and elastic.

4. Divide it into two or three parts and roll each of them to the thickness of newspaper into a layer.

5. Cut the layer into strips 1.5-2 cm wide - this width will become the height of the vermicelli, remember this when you cut the strips.

6. Then place the strips one on top of the other and cut into thin, thin cubes - the homemade noodles are completely ready!

7. Now, in order for the cooked pasta to be stored for a long time, it must be thoroughly dried. To do this, pour the vermicelli onto a wide board and spread it over it. Dry in the sun or at room temperature for at least 24 hours, stirring occasionally. You can dry vermicelli in the oven for 1-1.5 hours at 80-100 degrees.

Store the finished semi-finished product in a special container or in a tightly tied bag, using it as needed.

Note to the hostess

1. The key to successful pasta is high-quality flour from a trusted manufacturer. In this case, even from the first grade, you will need only the highest.

2. When you put a tray of noodles in the sun, you definitely need to cover it with something, otherwise dust will inevitably get on the product, insects, and maybe even birds will flock to it. Under the cover of gauze or fine mesh, it will dry perfectly and remain clean, but denser fabric, foil and paper will not provide such conditions, because they will not allow air and sunlight to pass through.

3. Carefully cutting the thinnest dough without deforming the rolled out layer is a difficult task. In such a culinary process, a sharp wheel-shaped knife is indispensable. Its edge can be smooth or jagged. Both options are suitable.

4. To store homemade noodles, it is better to choose a spacious container. The jar should not be filled to the very neck, otherwise its contents in the lower part will crumble under the weight of the top layer. For bulk grocery products, glass containers with screw or ground-in lids are recommended. It is allowed to use food grade plastic, but not metal. It is worth checking periodically to see if moisture has accumulated in the storage.

Traditional sauces for pasta are ketchup or mayonnaise with mustard, but all this quickly becomes boring and begins to seem boring. To diversify the recipe, you should expand your knowledge of various pasta dressings. Then the most ordinary horns will become an exquisite dish with an Italian style, and they can be served as an independent dish.

Spaghetti sauce

Make delicious varietyhomemade pasta saucessimple if you know the optimal combinations. Italians serve pasta as a separate lunch dish, and something new every time. If you know how to make spaghetti sauce, you can make it filling, savory, and delicious. You can choose between options based on cream, tomatoes or herbs with nuts, add meat or seafood.

Creamy

Considered the most satisfyingcreamy pasta sauce, which is made from cream or full-fat sour cream, grated cheese and a large amount of dry seasonings. The option with the addition of smoked ham, meat or minced meat - carbonara or meat - will be more nutritious; with the addition of chicken you will get Alfredo pasta. It’s good to diversify the dish with fresh champignons, peas, and celery.

Tomato

They will become more familiar to Russiansspaghetti with tomato sauce, which can be made from fresh or canned tomatoes or juice. A great example is bolognese sauce. To prepare it, you will need red wine, balsamic vinegar and basil, and a large amount of minced meat. Another classic option is tomato paste with champignons, garlic cloves, minced meat or smoked meats (as in the photo).

Spaghetti Sauce Recipes

The simplest option for lunch or a quick snack is the recipe forhow to cook spaghetti with sauce. You need to boil the pasta, make a filling based on sour cream, broth or tomato juice. Before you prepare spaghetti pasta, you need to evaluate what products are left in your refrigerator: you can make a delicious dish without even going to the store again.

Number of servings: 20 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 153 kcal.
Purpose: for the second.
Cuisine: Italian.

Every cook should knowhow to make bolognese sauce for spaghetti, because this is a classic recipe. It is based on the best seasonings: dried oregano, basil and garlic. Bright rich color comes from tomato juice, carrots, red wine with tomatoes, and satiety comes from minced beef. Try making this dish for dinner.

Ingredients:

olive oil – 50 ml;
carrots – 1 pc.;
red onion – 1 pc.;
minced beef – 1 kg;
dried oregano – 40 g;
dried basil – 40 g;
tomato juice – glass;
garlic – 5 cloves;
red wine – 250 ml;
Worcestershire sauce – 40 ml;
canned tomatoes – 0.8 kg;
milk – 250 ml

Cooking method:

Fry grated carrots, chopped onion, crushed garlic cloves.
After 5 minutes, add minced meat, spices, wine, Worcestershire and tomato sauce.
Simmer until excess liquid boils away.
Add mashed tomatoes and milk. After boiling, turn off the heat and serve hot in a special sauceboat.

Cheesy

Cooking time: 10 minutes.
Number of servings: 6 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 237 kcal.
Purpose: for the second.
Cuisine: Italian.
Difficulty of preparation: medium.

An original simple version of how to cookspaghetti cheese sauce, will add mustard to the main components - Dijon, beans or regular table mustard will do. The delicate aroma of the soft gravy will appeal to many for its richness and piquancy, especially since almost everyone loves cheese additives.

Ingredients:

mustard – 10 ml;
flour – 120 g;
hard cheese – 170 g;
milk - a glass;
butter – 20 g.

Cooking method:

Mix grated cheese, soft butter, flour and mustard. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, pour in milk, and boil.
Serve after 3 minutes.

Creamy

Cooking time: half an hour.
Number of servings: 5 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 224 kcal.
Purpose: for the second.
Cuisine: Italian.
Difficulty of preparation: medium.

It has a delicate and mild tastecream sauce for pasta. If you want to cut the calories a little, mix equal parts milk and heavy cream. It is recommended to use Parmesan rather than soft cheese. In combination with eggs, it will provide tenderness and tartness, and spices will add flavor. This filling is ideal for bows and tubes. A couple of spoons are enough for one serving.

Ingredients:

hard cheese – 150 g;
eggs – 1 pc.;
cream – 125 ml;
milk – 125 ml;
butter – 100 g;
flour – 30 g.

Cooking method:

Fry the flour, pour in the milk, salt and pepper.
After 10 minutes, pour in the egg yolk whipped with cream and grate the cheese.
Immediately mix with pasta. If desired, sprinkle with chopped herbs.

Mushroom

Cooking time: half an hour.
Calorie content of the dish: 71 kcal.
Purpose: for the second.
Cuisine: Italian.
Difficulty of preparation: medium.

They have a distinct aromaspaghetti with mushroom sauce, for the production of which fresh, salted, pickled or dried champignons, white champignons, chanterelles, and honey mushrooms are suitable. The result is a satisfying meal rich in protein. It is recommended to season the dish with black pepper and a small amount of fried onion.

Ingredients:

pickled mushrooms – 0.2 kg;
onion – 1 pc.;
butter – 50 g;
sour cream – 2 tbsp;
flour – 30 g;
broth - half a liter.

Cooking method:

Fry the sliced mushrooms until the liquid evaporates.
Add chopped onion and flour and mix quickly.
Pour in the broth, cook for 5 minutes, add sour cream. Salt and pepper.

From tomato

Cooking time: 20 minutes.
Number of servings: 8 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 67 kcal.
Purpose: for the second.
Cuisine: Italian.
Difficulty of preparation: medium.

A more familiar option for every housewife will betomato pasta sauce. It will sparkle with new notes if you enrich it with onions, and add basil, thyme, thyme and garlic cloves for spice. Fragrant vegetable frying will make spaghetti more attractive, especially since even a novice cook can prepare it.

Ingredients:

onions – 3 pcs.;
canned tomatoes – 0.8 kg;
olive oil – 40 ml;
garlic – 2 cloves;
basil, thyme, thyme – 10 g.

Cooking method:

Finely chop the onion, fry, add crushed garlic cloves. Simmer until soft.
Add mashed, peeled tomatoes, pour the juice from the jar.
Season with spices, salt and pepper. Boil, simmer for 10 minutes.

Creamy cheese

Cooking time: half an hour.
Number of servings: 3 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 374 kcal.
Purpose: for the second.
Cuisine: Italian.
Difficulty of preparation: medium.

They will be extremely fillingpasta in cream sauce with cheese, which Italians prefer to eat for lunch to provide the body with energy. Even a novice cook can master how to make creamy, cheesy spaghetti sauce for a quick and delicious meal. If desired, you can add seafood or vegetables to this base.

Ingredients:

butter – 40 g;
flour – 30 g;
cream - a glass;
parmesan – 100 g.

Cooking method:

Fry the flour until evenly brown.
Pour in the cream, boil, salt and pepper. Grate the cheese and let it melt.

From tomatoes and garlic

Cooking time: 1 hour.
Number of servings: 6 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 29 kcal.
Purpose: for the second.
Cuisine: Italian.
Difficulty of preparation: medium.

Simple pasta with tomatoes and garlicSuitable for those losing weight or vegetarians, especially if you make it based on durum wheat pasta. The recipe for how to make garlic sauce for spaghetti involves the use of fresh tomatoes and bell peppers. Season it well with dry spices - Provençal herbs and basil are suitable.

Ingredients:

bell pepper – 2 pcs.;
onion – 1 pc.;
tomatoes – 2 pcs.;
garlic – 3 cloves;
Provençal herbs – 5 g.

Cooking method:

Bake the peppers in the oven, cool, remove the skins and chop the pulp.
Fry the onion cut into cubes, mix with the pulp of the peppers, add peeled and chopped tomatoes. Season with crushed garlic cloves.
Simmer for 35 minutes under the lid, grind in a blender to puree, salt, pepper, and season with spices.

From tomato paste

Cooking time: 15 minutes.
Number of servings: 5 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 211 kcal.
Purpose: for the second.
Kitchen: author's.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

If you can’t find time for a serious dinner, try the usual dish for all Russians:tomato sauce for pasta. A mixture of French herbs will add refined notes to the additive, and garlic and onion will add spices. Carefully study the recipe with the photo to achieve the ideal consistency of the gravy. If desired, you can add hot spices, chili pepper, adjika, tabasco to it.

Ingredients:

tomato paste – 75 ml;
garlic – 1 clove;
onion – 1 pc.;
butter – 30 g;
olive oil – 30 ml;
French herbs – 5 g.

Cooking method:

Fry the chopped onion in the oil mixture until golden.
Squeeze the garlic, after 4 minutes add tomato paste and herbs.
After 3 minutes, season with salt and ground black pepper.

Meat

Cooking time: half an hour.
Number of servings: 3 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 188 kcal.
Purpose: for the second.
Kitchen: author's.
Difficulty of preparation: medium.

For a complete lunch or dinner, use the recipe that includesmeat sauce for spaghetti. To prepare it, any meat is suitable - chicken fillet, turkey, pork. You can take the pieces whole or roll them into minced meat. Choose the base according to your tastes: for example, a spicy combination of green onions and sour cream.

Ingredients:

meat – 0.3 kg;
onion – 1 pc.;
butter – 30 g;
flour – 30 g;
broth - a glass;
parsley - a bunch;
green onions - a bunch;
sour cream – 50 ml.

Cooking method:

Chop the onion, fry until golden, sprinkle with flour, heat through.
Pour in the broth, add the chopped meat.
Cook for 8 minutes, add sour cream, chopped herbs, and salt.

From sour cream

Cooking time: half an hour.
Number of servings: 8 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 135 kcal.
Purpose: for the second.
Kitchen: author's.
Difficulty of preparation: medium.

Has a pleasant mushroom aroma and onion flavorsour cream pasta sauce, which was mixed with these ingredients for greater satiety. The recipe for making spaghetti sauce calls for the use of French or Italian herbs, but they can easily be replaced with any others. If you don't like mushrooms, replace them with green peas, beans or a mixture of vegetables.

Ingredients:

onion – 1 pc.;
champignons – 0.3 kg;
sour cream – 75 ml;
vegetable oil – 40 ml;
broth - a glass;
flour – 30 g;
French herbs – 3 g.

Cooking method:

Chop the onion with mushrooms, fry, add salt and season with spices.
Add flour, heat, pour in broth with sour cream.
After 5 minutes, remove from heat.

With shrimps

Cooking time: half an hour.
Number of servings: 4 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 236 kcal.
Purpose: for the second.
Cuisine: Italian.
Difficulty of preparation: medium.

A spectacular holiday option would bepasta with shrimp and mushrooms in creamy sauce. To obtain the desired taste, use heavy cream - at least 33%. If you don’t have any on hand, then any mixed with rich sour cream will do. You can use any shrimp, but it is better to give preference to large, royal ones, which will look beautiful on a plate along with spaghetti, herbs and cherry tomatoes (as in the photo).

Ingredients:

shrimp (peeled) – 100 g;
cherry tomatoes – 6 pcs.;
garlic – 3 cloves;
cream – ¾ cup;
olive oil – 40 ml;
parmesan – 20 g;
processed cheese – 40 g;
basil - sprig.

Cooking method:

Quickly fry the garlic cloves, remove, and add shrimp. Pour cream, add processed cheese, pepper.
Simmer for 10 minutes, add cherry halves.
Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and garnish with basil.

To cook deliciouslypasta sauces, follow the advice of chefs:

It is better to cook pasta for spaghetti until it is al dente so that the gravy does not completely soak it;
Tomatoes with minced meat, mushrooms with cream, Parmesan with bacon go well;
Add salt should be added at the end so as not to spoil their taste.