Sicilian Marinara / Carrettiera Sauce

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Egg Noodles

My grandma used to make her own egg noodles for stews and soups and I thought they were the most heavenly tasting things I had ever tasted.  When I asked her to give me the recipe, she didn’t have one.  So I tried to watch and learn.  We laughed as I made her measure her ‘handful’ of this and that into measuring cups and I couldn’t grasp how anyone could measure like that.  It’s funny, because now so many of my own creations are a palmful of this or a handful of that.

These egg noodles are a great staple for homemade chicken noodle soup or covered with Swedish meatballs or even just buttered.

Ingredients

2 cups flour, unsifted

1/4 teaspoon ground sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

4 egg yolks

Using a fork, in a medium bowl, mix all dry goods until well blended.

Add in yolks, using your fork to blend, pulling the fork through to blend the dry and moist well.

On a floured surface, turn out the dough mixture and quarter.

Using a well floured rolling pin, roll one quarter of the dough to no more than 1/4 inch thickness.

Cut into 1/4 inch strips.

* See below

Repeat process with reserved dough.

*If using immediately, add to large pot of boiling water.

*If you are making this for later use, lay a wooden spoon, dowel, or other wooden stick across a deep pot and drape the noodles over the rod to allow it to air dry.  You can also use a floured cheesecloth and lay the noodles out to dry, although this method takes slightly longer.  When dry, the noodles will hold their shape and have a crusty exterior.  Package in an airtight container or zip lock bag and freeze.  When ready to use, add to boiling water.

Gnocchi

Gnocchi is a really unique tasting Italian pasta that can be prepared in so many various ways.  You can store buy prepared gnocchi, but I just don’t think it compares.  This recipe will make enough gnocchi for about 4 servings and can be doubled or multiplied, but not really reduced.

Ingredients

5 medium to large russet potatoes (about 2 pounds)
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon ground sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Poke potatoes with fork and bake about 1 hour.
• Skin potatoes and quarter.  Drop into a large bowl and mash well.
• In separate bowl, stir yolk, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• Mix in egg yolk, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• Pour yolk mixture over potatoes and stir thoroughly.
• Spoon in flour to form a dough texture.
• On a lightly floured surface, turn the dough out.
• Break it into quarters.
• Using your palms, roll the dough out gently into a rope form about 1/2 inch thick.
• Cut into half inch pieces.
• Use a fork to lift each piece, making gentle grooves into the dough piece with each.
• Lay out on a floured baking sheet to air dry for about one hour.
• Repeat with reserved dough quarters.

When ready to prepare gnocchi, gently drop into a large pot of water at a rolling boil and cook 3 to 5 minutes or until it floats to surface.  If you allow them to boil too long they will become gummy and chewy.

The gnocchi can be frozen before cooking the dough pieces for later use.  Freeze baking sheet and then pack into airtight container or zip lock baggies for later.

Chicken Dumplings

My husband calls these sliders, which may just be a regional thing because to me sliders only come from White Castle.  And this is his favourite meal, hands down.  Every year on his birthday, this is his meal of choice.  For this recipe you basically are adding biscuit dough to a chicken noodle soup, minus the noodles.  The one great thing about homemade soup is it is loaded with flavour and lots of healthy vegetables and you can literally taste the freshness.  Canned vegetable soups have mushed veggies, that have lived way past their prime in a preservative bath.  That just isn’t the case with homemade soups.

Ingredients

1 pound boneless chicken breasts, chopped

3 stalks celery, with leaves, cleaned, sliced thin

4 carrots, peeled, sliced thin

1/2 medium white onion, chopped

32 ounces chicken broth

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

~

2 cups flour, unsifted

3 teaspoon baking powder

4 Tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon iodized salt

• Add chicken chunks to broth in a large stock pot over low to medium heat.  Cover.  Allow to cook for about 1 hour, or until chicken is well cooked.
• Add in celery, carrots, onions and seasoning.
• While the soup stews, begin your dumpling mixture.
• In a medium mixing bowl, blend flour, salt and baking powder.  Whisk until well blended.
• Using case knives, cut the butter into the dry mixture until clumps form.
• Add in milk, stirring with a fork until well blended.  It should have the consistency of a slightly liquid dough, but not runny.
• Turn the heat on your soup up to medium to high heat, bringing it to a simmering point.
• Drop by large spoonfuls your dough mixture into the soup.
• Cover and allow to cook for at least 5 minutes.
• Serve.

Chicken Noodle Soup

There’s just something so savory about a homemade soup.  It doesn’t come congealed out of a can, glossy with grease, for one.  The vegetables taste sharper, the meat actually has a flavour and well the best reason for a homemade chicken noodle soup is that you magically get over the flu so much more quickly because of that secret ingredient called love!

My fiance’s favourite meal is homemade chicken noodle soup and since it’s his birthday, his wish is my demand – or something along those lines.

It serves well over mashed potatoes too.

This recipe uses my homemade egg noodle recipe.