Farfalle alla ligure - fresh \"butterflies\" with pine nutspt1

4 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
=== PASTA DOUGH ===
2 cups Unbleached all-purpose flour
⅛ teaspoon Salt
2 Jumbo eggs or 4 large eggs
1 tablespoon Olive oil or oil without flavor;
Such as safflower or corn oil
=== FOR COOKING PASTA ===
5 quarts Water
2 tablespoons Salt
=== FOR THE SAUCE ===
5 tablespoons Unsalted butter
¼ cup Pine nuts; lightly toasted,
And roughly chopped
¼ cup Freshly-grated parmigiano; plus additional
Parmigiano for the table
1 tablespoon Chopped fresh marjoram leaves
Freshly-ground white pepper; to taste

Directions

To prepare the pasta, measure the flour and salt directly onto a large pastry board or kitchen work surface. Make a well in the center of the flour. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the well. Using a fork, beat the egg mixture to combine the ingredients and then gradually draw in the flour from the inside of the well. Always gently beat with the fork in the same direction to prevent air pockets from forming holes in the dough later. Do not let the egg mixture run out of the well. Protect the outside wall with the hand not holding the fork until the wet mixture is well enough integrated with the flour not to stream out. When the mixture is too stiff to use the fork any longer, scrape the dough from the fork into the well and continue forming the dough with your hands. When you have formed a very soft ball of dough, use a pastry scraper to sweep up the flour left on the board. Sift it, discarding all the dried-out dough bits. The object is to form a uniform, smooth, soft ball of dough. Add only enough of the sifted flour to form a firm yet very pliable dough; the dough should not be hard. The perfect consistency is soft but not sticky, and responsive to being worked with. The amount of flour will depend on how much the eggs absorb and on the humidity in the room, so more or less flour may be required. Flatten the ball of dough on the board and, using the heels of your hands, knead it from the middle of the disk outward, folding it in half after you work it each time. Do this for about 10 minutes, or until a smooth, elastic dough is formed. Be sure to knead the dough on both sides, working it through and through while keeping it basically round. Well-kneaded dough makes rolling and cutting easy, and produces a noodle that is tender but firm. Work quickly and do not let the dough rest unnecessarily. Cover the dough ball with an inverted bowl or slightly damp kitchen towel to prevent a crust from forming on its surface. Set up your pasta machine so that everything on your work surface is within easy reach. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. With your hands or a standard rolling pin, flatten the piece you are working with; keep the others covered. Dust it lightly with flour. Set the machine at the widest possible setting for rolling. Feed the dough through the roller without pulling it or stretching it. Drape it over your hand with your thumb up in the air to avoid sticking your fingers through it. Fold it in thirds as you would a letter, overlapping the top third, and then the bottom third, over the middle third. (This will keep the piece of dough in a uniform rectangular shape, which is important as you roll it out thinner and longer.) Press the dough flat with your hands and fingertips to get all the air out and lightly flour one side only (the other side remains unfloured so that it will adhere to itself when you fold it in thirds again). Set the rollers one notch past the previous one. Pass the dough through again, collecting it at the other end. Repeat the process of folding the strip of dough in thirds and pressing out the air, flouring it lightly on one side, then putting it through the second notch, for a total of 3 times (more, up to 8 times, if you did not knead the dough for at least 10 minutes). Then feed the flattened piece of dough, narrow end first, through the machine's rollers at each remaining setting. Dust the sheet of dough with flour on both sides as necessary to prevent sticking.

For farfalle, the dough must be as thin as possible, so it must pass through the last setting on the machine. When the whole length of the sheet has passed through the rollers for the last time, collect it carefully with your hands and pull it to its full length, freeing it of folds. Set the strip aside and cover with clean kitchen towels. Roll out each portion completely in this same manner, covering them well until all the dough is passed through the machine. To form the farfalle, using a fluted pastry wheel, cut each sheet of pasta in half lengthwise. Then cut every 2 inches across the width of each strip to form rectangles about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide. Using your thumb and forefinger, press two opposite long sides together, pinching firmly in the middle so that a bow is formed. Line several baking sheets with clean kitchen towels. Place the farfalle on the towels and allow them to dry for 10 minutes. At this point, they can be covered with dry kitchen towels and set aside for up to several hours before cooking, if desired. (Yields 1 pound) To cook the pasta, bring the water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Pick up each of the towels holding the farfalle by two opposite corners, so the contents can be easily and quickly dumped into the boiling water. Dump continued in part 2

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