Turmeric Fettuccine with Oldwick Shepherd Sauce and Broccolini
“Send me all your noods.”
I’ve said it before, but I. LOVE. PASTA. It has always been one of my favorite things to eat, and my absolute favorite thing to make for myself.
While the sizes, shapes, and flavors found at the grocery store can keep me entertained for a long time, making pasta at home opens a new door. Especially with the help of a great cookbook.
I bring you…
Pasta, Pretty Please - an amazing pasta cookbook by the colorful Linda Miller Nicholson (aka @saltyseattle.)
The book is a perfect introduction to making pasta. It is simple, straightforward and unpretentious. But this isn’t just any ole pasta. Linda includes the recipes to make 25 different colors of pasta dough, plus a variety of shapes, patterns, fillings and sauces.
My sister and I have been fans of her Instagram account for some time, and we were super excited when she announced she was publishing a book. Her pasta art is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and I can scroll through her feed for hours. And you should too.
I haven’t had the courage to attempt any of the advanced, patterned pasta, but I’ve made a few of the colored dough. They’ve all turned out beautiful and delicious.
We are mid-social isolation at the point of writing this, so I guess now is no better time to attempt some rainbow ravioli or argyle lasagna sheets.
I’ve been participating in the #cheesechurchchallenge on Instagram, where you try a new cheese every week, for 10 weeks. Early on in my new-cheese-trying, I brought home this delicious cave-aged, raw sheep’s milk cheese, Oldwick Shepherd.
When a homemade pasta craving came about, I scrolled through Pasta, Pretty Please and came across the Pecorino-Pepper Sauce with Broccolini recipe. Yes! The Oldwick Shepard would be a perfect cheese to use in this recipe. It has the texture of a Pecorino, but the sweetness and earthiness of a Pyrenees Mountain cheese.
I had the cheese. I randomly had broccolini. I can make pasta. This night will be perfect!
Now, onto the pasta,
Linda suggests serving Pecorino-Pepper sauce with the Turmeric-colored pasta dough, and I was happy to take that suggestion. Since this dinner was just for me, I used about a quarter of the dough for this dish, then froze the remaining noodles for a future dinner.
I’ve watched and assisted dozens and dozens of people as they make pasta dough. The best technique I’ve found is to make the dough in a small, rimmed sheet pan. You can still make your flour well for the eggs, but in the (very) likely event that they spill out, everything is contained on the sheet tray. No matter if you are making color pasta, or just regular egg dough, make it in a sheet tray. You’ll thank me later.
Since this was a “Megan-Only” dinner, I halved the sauce recipe. But it should be enough to serve 4 people. Also, if you can’t find broccolini, regular broccoli florets will do just fine.
If you are stuck at home, and love pasta, get this book! You can eat well, make something from scratch, and be creative! It’s a win, win, win!
Turmeric Fettuccine with Oldwick Shepherd Sauce and Broccolini
For the pasta:
1 Tbsp ground turmeric
4 large eggs
2¼ cup “OO” flour (can use AP flour if you can’t find “OO”)
For the sauce:
2 Tbsp EVOO
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch broccolini, cut into ½-inch pieces
½ Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne pepper
8 oz. Oldwick Shepherd, Pecorino Romano, or an aged Pyrenees sheep’s milk cheese
1⅓ cups hot, starchy pasta water
To make the dough:
Using a blender, add the turmeric and eggs and start to blend on low. Slowly turn up the speed and blend until fully combined.
On a quarter sheet pan, add the flour and make a small well in the middle. Pour in the turmeric and egg puree in the well. With a fork, gently start to stir the puree to mix in some of the flour. Continue to stir until a shaggy dough forms.
Once the dough starts to hold together, transfer to a lightly floured cutting board and knead by hand until the dough becomes elastic and silky, about 3 minutes. Wrap in plastic (or reusable wrap) and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. The dough can be placed in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
To sheet the dough:
Set up your pasta machine and set the roller to the widest gauge. (I have a KitchenAid attachment, set at 1.)
Remove the dough from the wrap and divide into eight even portions. (I like working with smaller pieces of dough so the sheets don’t get too long. But if you have lots of space to spread out long sheets of dough, only divide in four or even in half.)
Start with one piece and cover the rest of the dough with plastic wrap or a damp cloth to avoid drying out.
Shape the piece of dough into a rough rectangle, about ¼ in thick, and no wider than the pasta roller. Dust the piece of dough with flour and send through the pasta roller. Fold into thirds - like an envelope - and send back through the roller. Repeat twice more.
Adjust the roller to the next thinnest setting (2 on the KitchenAid roller) and send the pasta through. Continue to adjust the roller by 1 gauge and feed the dough through, until the desired thickness is achieved. (I normally take my noodles to setting 6 or 7.) You may need to dust the pasta with flour from time to time to prevent sticking.
Lay the sheet on a floured cutting board and cover with a clean kitchen towel and continue with the rest of the dough, sprinkling flour between each sheet.
To cut the noodles:
Cut the noodles by hand with a bench scraper or a knife, or using one of the KitchenAid noodle cutter attachments. Shape the cut noodles into a nest and let rest on a sheet tray, covered with a towel until ready to boil.
Uncooked noodles can be frozen in a zip topped bag for 3 months. Boiling will take a minute or so longer than cooking from fresh.
To make the sauce:
To a medium sauté pan, add the EVOO and minced garlic and cook over medium heat for about 30 seconds. Add the chopped broccolini, season with a pinch of salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper and toss to coat. Cook until the broccolini starts to wilt and char, about 5-6 minutes. Turn heat to low and wait to finish the sauce.
Meanwhile, cube the cheese and place in a high-powered blender. If using a food processor, grate the cheese.
To cook the noodles:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Gently drop in a few nests of the noodles into the water and gently stir to separate the noodles.
Boil for 1 minute and check for doneness. If not done yet, check after 30-second increments until the pasta is tender. It shouldn’t take more than 3 minutes total.
Strain the pasta out of the water using a spider or a slotted spoon, keeping the water in the pot. Place the noodles in a clean bowl and continue cooking until enough noodles are done.
To finish the sauce:
Remove 1⅓ cup of pasta water from the pot and add it to the blender with the cheese. Put on the lid and hold down with a towel and blend until the mixture is homogeneous, about 1 minute. Season with ½ tablespoon of black pepper and 1 teaspoon of salt.
Pour the sauce into the sauté pan with the broccolini and garlic and add cooked noodles. Toss to coat the broccolini and noodles in the sauce. Taste and adjust with additional salt and pepper.
Divide the pasta among shallow bowls and serve immediately.
