Puglian Pasta from Awaiting Table: minchiareddi formed on knitting needles

We've been wanting to go to The Awaiting Table cooking school in Lecce Italy for many years, and finally went for a week in September. It was fantastic: we rode bikes to the coast each morning, then returned to make dinner from scratch every afternoon, and learned a lot about Puglian wine and olive oil.

We made different shapes of pasta each day from the same dough, a 2/3 - 1/3 mix of hard durum wheat flour ("semola" is fine or “rimacinata” or “twice milled”), and barley flour; the barley is unusual, but I enjoy the flavor it adds. While orecchietti is the most famous shape from the region, I think it's cool that we can make the hollow tubular shape, "minchiareddi" ("little willies"!) with just a slender non-sticky rod. In class, we used cut umbrella ribs, but you can buy proper brass "ferretos" for 31€, and some folks use cut off twisted bar spoons, but I find that inexpensive knitting needles work fine: I bought five 3mm double-ended ones for a few euros on Amazon.es, and got two 5mm needles from Irene's mum (I just pried off the plastic end caps): the larger ones are a little faster and easier.

The cuisine of Puglia is frequently called "cucina povera": rustic cooking which ekes out big flavors from local, seasonal ingredients, sometimes foraged. Meat is treated as a garnish, and pasta is made without eggs. Below, the Onion and Garlic are my own additions. (Awaiting Table's maestro, Silvestro Silvestori, pointed out that Puglian food uses either pepper or garlic, but not both, since they both contribute a burn).

First batch, made with 3mm knitting needle, no parsley

The sauce for this punches above its humble weight, with the Cabbage cooking down to an almost jam-like consistency. 

The ratios of Flours isn't critical, and you should add Water as needed so it's not too sticky nor too crumbly: it's much easier to dry out a wet dough by adding Flour than it is to dampen a dry dough. In class, we just eyeballed all the quantities, and usually had way too much finished pasta, so I'm providing proportions here as a guide. I find the technique for rolling out the tubes to relatively easy: I used the part of my palm closest to my wrist, not my fingers. There's a Pasta Grannies episode which may help. 

Serves two generously.

150 g      Pancetta, cut into small bite-sized pieces

150 g      Onion, sliced thinly (optional)

  4 clove  Garlic, sliced (optional)

300 g      Cabbage, chopped into bite-sized pieces

  1 pinch  Chili pepper

135 g      Semola di Grana Dura (hard, high gluten flour)

 65 g      Barley Flour

100 ml     Water (approximate)

           Parsley, minced

           Parmesan, grated

           Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for finishing

In a large skillet, cook the Pancetta over medium heat until it starts to get a bit crisp; reserve, but leave the rendered fat in the skillet. 

Add the Onion and cook to soften a bit, then add the Garlic and cook a bit more.

Add the Cabbage -- it's quite a lot -- and cook covered over low heat for a long time, stirring occasionally, until quite tender and almost jam-like.

Adjust Salt.

While the sauce is cooking, make the pasta. In class we used traditional large wooden pasta boards to mix and shape the pasta: they have a slightly rough texture to grip the dough. At home, I used a slightly textured polypropylene plastic cutting board and it worked fine.

Mix the Flours and make a well; pour the Water in the center, then mix with your fingers, incorporating the flour into the water. Continue until it's loosely combined, then knead firmly until smooth -- about 10 minutes. 

Roll out some of the dough to a finger-thick snake, and cut off 1 cm sections: I do 10 at a time.

Place a pillow of dough on the board and gently press in a knitting needle, then gently press and slide with the base of your palm, sliding back and forth, to wrap the pasta around the needle and stretch it along its length. It might take a few tries, but it'll work fine. Give it a gentle twist back and forth on the needle to free it, then slide off the end to a plate. You should have a rustic tube of pasta.

Continue until all the dough it used; this will take a while, about the same as you need to soften the Cabbage sauce.

Boil the Minchiareddi in salted water until al dente, about 4 minutes. Drain.

Add the Sauce to the now empty pasta pot, then add the pasta, and stir gently to combine.

Plate, garnishing with Parsley and grated Parmesan, if desired.

Anoint with a generous glug of high quality finishing Olive Oil.

 

Second batch, made with 5mm needle, with parsley

Next Time:

Use more Cabbage since it cooks down so much, doubling the quantity should be fine.

Add Salt to the pasta flours before making the dough.