Sicilian Marinara / Carrettiera Sauce
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 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.