by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | Favorite Recipes, Pastas
My family loves pasta! Any kind of pasta, but a good homemade pasta is hard to beat! Fortunately I was given the right set of pasta tools! Thanks to my mother-in-law that lives in Italy a majority of the time, and my somewhat Italian husband, I have a great set of pasta tools. First time around, it was a little labor intensive, but once I became more familiar with the Atlas Pasta maker, it became super easy. The ingredients are so straightforward: eggs and flour! That’s it!
Tools needed: Atlas Pasta Maker, kitchen scale (measuring grams), and a fork!
Measure out 100 grams of organic all-purpose flour per 1 egg. I used 400 grams of flour and 4 eggs for this batch.
First you measure the flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a crater in the center of the flour, and crack in the eggs. Slowly stir your fork into the center, slowly incorporating more flour from the edges, until the eggs are nicely mixed in. You can then transfer the mixture onto a floured surface, and kneed the dough, until eggs and flour are well incorporated. Next you divide the portions into fourths. Using your Atlas Pasta maker, on setting “zero” (which has the widest space), run the dough through the mixture. On the Atlas, the higher the number on the dial, the thinner the dough. If the dough is too moist it will stick to the surface of the rollers, so add some more flour. If the dough is too dry, it will pass through and crumble out, so add a big of water and kneed the dough again. I run the dough through several times, adjust the width, so that I end up at the fifth (5) setting for pasta, or seventh (7) setting for fettuccini.
Once you have 6 strips of thin pasta dough, you can now add on the spaghetti/fettuccini attachment, and run the dough through the spaghetti roller. I also purchased the Atlas Drying rack in order to hang the pasta, until you are ready to cook.
Meanwhile put a hit pot of water on to boil, and be sure to add enough salt, since the dough is not salted. Cook the pasta for approximately 4-5 minutes. I’m at altitude so it takes a bit longer to cook, so it might cook a bit quicker. Be sure to only cook it al dente.
Add your favorite spaghetti sauce and serve! Must be eaten immediately.
by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | Meats, Sauces
I’m always trying to find other ways to make chicken, as we are making a conscious effort to try and eat less red meat. I have some dairy items in this recipe but they can be replaced if you are trying to stay away from it. This recipe is pretty easy and quick and goes great with roasted potatoes.
Ingredients:
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (filleted and pounded) Organic preferred
- 2 eggs
- salt
- 2 tbsp of lemon
- 1 cup flour (organic preferred)
- 2 tbsp butter (divided)
Sauce:
- 2 tbsp butter (divided)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup finely chopped shallots
- ¼ cup capers
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup cream (optional – can use a paste of four and water to thicken sauce)
Directions:
If you have whole chicken breasts, you can first remove the tenderloin first, then filet the breast. Pound out all of the pieces so they are thin, approximately ¼”. If all your pieces are the same thickness they will cook evenly and at the same time. In a mixing bowl, mix eggs, with lemon and 1 tsp of salt. Place the chicken into egg mixture. You can do this proceed before cooking, for a little extra time in the marinade. I marinated them for ½ hour.
For the sauce you will melt the butter and oil in a saucepan, add in the chopped shallots and cook on medium high heat, but be sure not to burn them. Then add in the capers and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove the capers and onions from the pan, leaving the liquids (butter/oil) in the pan. Now you can dredge the chicken breasts. I dredge them as I cook them so they don’t sit in the flour. Add 1 tbsp of butter and place the chicken pieces, spaced so they do not touch. Cook the chicken until crispy on both sides (approx. 2 minutes a side). Repeat, adding butter and additional chicken pieces. Once all pieces are cooked you place them on a platter, or warming plate. Next you will add the caper/onion mixture back into the pan, scraping up any residue on the pan. Add in the mustard and lemon stirring frequently, then the chicken broth. Cook down the mixture for 3-5 minutes. Add in the cream and stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. If you prefer to avoid the cream you can add a mixture of 1 tbsp of flour in a cup with some warm water, until you have a flour paste. You can slowly whisk this into the sauce to thicken it. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve. (Additional sauce can be placed into a gravy boat).
Serves 4
