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Lamb ragu with orange and coriander

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Last week I finally acquired my own pasta machine from a friend who is leaving soon. (Thank you Jessica!) I have been making my own pasta for tortellini for quite a while now, but making it by hand is somewhat tiresome. You should all still give it a try though, they turn out great. The dough is very quick and easy to make. It’s just the rolling that is time-consuming. Now with my trusty new machine I can roll it out in seconds. It is an electric roller and has 6 different setting for thickness and two for cutting spaghetti and linguine. I have always just used dry pasta before but after tasting how good this is freshly made I can 100% recommend that making it yourself is worth the effort. Even with just a little olive oil and salt it tastes divine.  I decided to make the lamb, coriander, and orange sauce because I thought the combination would work well after having it at Between. However where their dish was bland, mine was full of flavour. If I wasn’t so lazy I would have marched up there and given them my dish and showed them how it should have been made. It really was that good. It’s possibly my new favourite pasta sauce.

Ingredients

Pasta

250g of all-purpose flour (I use the one for noodles and dumplings)

3 eggs

A pinch of salt

Sauce

300g of minced lamb

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

2-3 tomatoes

1 bottle of tomato juice (340ml)

2 baby oranges juice and zest (1 big orange  could also be used)

A bunch of fresh coriander (cilantro)

A glug of olive oil

1 teaspoon of rosemary

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

The first step is to make the pasta dough. Mix the salt with the flour then make a heap on a clean flat surface. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in your beaten eggs. I haven’t taken any pictures of these steps, as I’m sure you have seen it countless times before. Stir the egg gradually incorporating the flour from the sides of the circle a bit at a time so the well keeps its shape until the last moment. When all the flour has been mixed in you should have a lump of dough. Knead this dough for 5-10 minutes until it is elastic and has some stretch to it. Wrap it in cling-film and store it in the fridge for 30 minutes. While you are waiting you can make the sauce.

To make the sauce finely chop the onion and garlic and fry in a glug of olive oil for a few minutes until it has softened. Add the lamb mince and cook until it has browned. Then chop the tomatoes and add them to the pan and cook for a few more minutes. Add the bottle of tomato juice, rosemary, orange juice, and zest to the pan, along with half of the chopped coriander. Cook on medium to high for 5-10 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Finally add the second half of the coriander and stir.

After the dough has been chilled properly you can begin to roll it out. It’s a good idea to separate your lump of dough into 2 or 3 pieces and work with one piece at a time. Put the unused lumps back in the fridge so they don’t dry out. If you have a pasta maker rolling the dough should be quick and easy. If not roll those sleeves up and get out your rolling-pin. The pasta really does need to be wafer thin, so when you think its thin enough, keep rolling. I read on-line that it should be thin enough so that you can see a playing card underneath the dough. The thinner your pasta the better it will taste. Even if the pasta is a little thick it’s not the end of the world but the skinny ones were definitely far tastier than the fatties.  If you are sans pasta maker then use a sharp knife and a ruler to cut your linguine. Although if I was cutting by hand I would make them thicker into more of a pappardelle. Once they have been cut flour them up to stop them sticking then leave them to hang and dry. I used the clothes rack but the old Italian mammas would use a broom propped up between two chairs.

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After your pasta has dried out cook in a pan of boiling water with a good pinch of salt and a glug of olive oil. A very wise Italian woman once said that you should cook your pasta in water that’s as salty as the Mediterranean sea. The pasta will only take 1-2 minutes so be careful not to overcook it. I like it al dente, soft with just a little bit of bite to it. Strain and serve with your sauce and good shaving of fresh parmesan. Voilà amazing homemade pasta. 

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Calzone

Posted in Recipes by

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Ever since I found my recipe for this dough, pizza has been a regular dinner for us. I love these tasty pizzas and could eat them everyday. However I like a bit of variation and sometimes make a calzone instead. It’s pretty much the same thing, the pizza is just folded over. However I think it changes the dough a little and makes it into more of a kind of pasty which I love. The great thing about these babies is that you can fill them with whatever you want and take them to work as they are individually sealed. When I make up a big batch of dough, I usually use half for pizza and half for calzones. I used some of my coveted goats cheese in the filling of these and it was amazing, but pretty much anything goes. I even tried some with the pulled pork I made!

Ingredients

Dough

500g flour (I used the one for dumplings and noodles.)

2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of yeast (I used bobai brand that comes in 8g packages)

4 table spoons of olive oil

14oz ice-cold water

Stuffing

1/2 a kabocha squash (those dark green looking pumpkins)

2 tablespoons of tomato sauce

140g of goats cheese

A large handful of spinach

2 tabelspoons of toasted pine nuts

A knob of butter

Directions

Sift the flour, salt, and yeast into a bowl. Then using a table-spoon stir in the oil followed by the water bit by bit, you may find as I did that you don’t need it all, or you can always add more. Use the metal spoon to get right into the middle of the dough and mix it thoroughly. You know you have added enough water when the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl but still sticks to the bottom. If it is too dry add a few more drops of water, if it is too wet add more flour a little at a time until it’s the right consistency.

Once your dough is formed you need to work it for another 5-7 minutes using the metal spoon, this activates the gluten in the flour which makes it springy and elastic rather than a tacky lump. You can do this by putting the spoon into the dough and moving it around, you will find the dough stretches the more you do this. After this take the ball of dough and pull it and stretch it with your hands, I am sure you have seen Italian pizza chefs on TV doing it (I didn’t do it half as elaborately but you get the idea).

Now the dough is ready, form it into balls – I made 3 big ones. The recipe stated that you should leave the balls in the fridge over night before using, but I don’t think it’s hugely important. If you have thought ahead in advance or have a huge amount of restraint and willpower it does help the flavour of the dough develop, but it still tastes great if you use it straight away (the dough will keep in the fridge for up to four days). Roll your ball in flour then put a little olive oil on your hands and coat each ball before putting on a tray or plate. Put the plate in a zip lock bag or failing this cling film and store overnight.

To made the filling cut the squash in to quarters and take out the seeds. Drizzle the pieces with a little olive oil and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes or until they are soft. Next scoop out the flesh and cut into chunks. I don’t like to waste the skins so I usually sprinkles on a little cumin and roast them in the oven for another 10-20 minutes until they are crunchy for a tasty snack. Chop the spinach then saute in the butter for a minute or two until it has wilted. Add the tomato sauce, pine nuts and crumble in the goats cheese. Mix together with the squash chunks thoroughly.

Roll out the dough into circles. Top with a tablespoon of sauce then add a few spoonfuls of filling. Then brush the edge with egg yolk.

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Fold the dough over to make a semi-circle. Then crimp the edges. Depending how skilled you are you can make them look very beautiful. Brush the whole thing with egg wash again then baked them in the oven for about 10-20 minutes or until the dough is golden brown.

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Serve on their own or with more tomato sauce for dipping. Voilà easy tasty calzone.

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