When it comes to cooking I often have a strong preference for over complicated, modern and pretentious food. But I do have soft spot for simple, rustic and classic cooking. When I am not working I do enjoy going to a honest bistro with simple, easy, straight forward dishes, prepared with the finest ingredients. Haute Cuisine is thing I do enjoy to do at home and this pasta recipe is a classic example.
Often when I have a day off work, have a dinner party or cooking for my loved one I find that pasta making is therapeutic and relaxing. I dust my whole wooden dinning table with flour and spend a few hours making the dough rolling it out with the pasta machine well personally I prefer to use just a rolling pin. My personal opinion is that using a pasta machine is faster and wakes perfect pasta; with a rolling pin it is like classic and shows more skill than a machine.
This Pasta Recipe is for Guinea Fowl Fettuccine _ serves 6
There is a slight mathematical equation to pasta making. That is 100g or 3.5oz to 1 whole egg and 10ml olive oil or 1 tablespoon.
This recipe we are going to start making the Guinea Fowl mix what will you need?:
1 guinea fowl hen 1.5kg
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 pound or 230g cabbage shredded chopped
30g or 1oz flat leaf parsley
30 or 1oz fresh chopped chives
1 medium red onion
1 medium celery stalk sliced about 2mm thick
5 garlic cloves sliced
1.2g or 0.04oz nutmeg freshly grated
Method : 1. preheat the oven to 180C.
2. place the guinea fowl in a roasting dish, season generously with flaky sea salt and cracked pepper, and drizzle with matakana olive oil. Roast for approximately 40 minutes. The bird will be slightly under cooked so the meat will be juicy. Set aside to cool slightly. Remove the skin, discard. separate the meat from the bones roughly pull the meat and set aside with the liquid and fat.
3. add the shredded cabbage, chopped parsley, sliced chives and freshly grated nutmeg to the meat and season with salt and pepper.
4. in a large saucepan, heat the matakana olive oil over a medium heat and add the thinly sliced brown onion, sliced celery, guinea fowl bones and cook until golden brown approx 5 mins. season lightly with salt and pepper add a bouquet garni (Bouguet Garni is just parsley stalks, thyme sprigs, bay leaves dried, whole black pepper) and enough cold water to cover the ingredients. Cover the pan and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1 hour. After 1 hour, uncovered, increase to the high heat, and boil the stock until it reduces to 1 cup, 240ml.
For the Pasta Dough:
500g plain flour
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
30ml olive oil
Method:
5. place a pot of hot water on the gas hob, bring to the boil and add salt and olive oil. the olive oil will help to stop sticking.
6. sift the flour on a clean work surface and make a well in the centre. Add the eggs, olive oil and salt into a mixing jug. Using a fork or small whisk beat the eggs together and gradually add the eggs one at a time into the mix. When the dough is too stiff use your hands to gradually stir the rest of the flour.
7. scatter the flour over a large, clean surface. With a rolling pin, roll the dough until its about 2mm thick then dust the pasta sheets so they do not stick and fold or roll and using a sharp knife or pastry scraper cut into about 1-5mm thick pasta strands.
8. as you are cutting place into the pot for no more than 10 seconds and then transfer to a ice bath to stop cooking.
9. when all of the pasta is cooked off place the pan with the guinea fowl onto the heat. Boil the pasta off for no more than 2-3 minutes and the mix the pasta with a little of the pasta water. when you are ready to serve mix the guinea fowl sauce in toss and transfer to a plate. Using a micro plane grate Parmesan cheese over sprinkle with micro parsley and serve immediately.
enjoy.
