An herb pesto, fresh and with no cooking, to dress buckwheat noodles that I made by rolling out the pasta in the Emilian way, that is, rolling pin and wooden cutting board.
My first pasta dough with buckwheat flour
A disaster.
I can’t tell you the disappointment after waiting for a weekend with no plans to finally make pasta.
Since a few years ago, this fragrant, gluten-free flour has never been missing from my pantry. I started to appreciate it over time, one slice of buckwheat cake after another.
And I started buying it in mountain mills, choosing from time to time the fine-grained one for making cakes and the coarse-grained rustic one that I prefer for making bread.
I also recently made crespelle with buckwheat flour, a success.
So what went wrong with fresh pasta? Lack of experience.
I trusted a recipe but immediately ran into problems.
The pasta dough was sticky. I struggled to roll it out, and once I rolled it to cut the tagliolini, I found it was impossible to open half of the rolls (the pasta dough had stuck).
I had to knead again and roll out the pasta dough again.
When I made the pasta dough again, I changed the recipe. This time I had the experience of deciding for myself. I eliminated an egg and inverted the proportion of buckwheat to 00 flour (but you can use a type 1 or spelt flour).
Finally, I opted for the tagliolini, which is thinner and more enjoyable than tagliatelle, which becomes too thick when cooked. After cooking, the buckwheat egg tagliatelle increase (also in thickness).
Placing the nests of tagliolini on the wooden pasta drying rack, I was already thinking about the seasoning.
HERE you can see the video of me rolling out the pasta dough.
My fresh herb pesto recipe
Buckwheat flour confers its characteristic nutty, slightly earthy, sometimes bitter aroma to the food.
Not wanting to cover such an intense, rustic flavor, I thought of a sauce that would embrace the buckwheat in an exchange of scents.
For some time now, I have been using herbs differently. As grandma used to make, I use wild and aromatic herbs as the main ingredients. And not only to add a fragrant, colorful, or decorative note. HERE I wrote about the return of herbs to my pantry and table.
For this, I chose an herb pesto -parsley, basil, and arugula- which I seasoned with chopped almonds and Parmesan cheese. Salt and olive oil give flavor and creaminess to the pesto. However, I make it more fluid by using pasta cooking water.
I chop the herbs with a knife. It’s a little effort to keep the processor from oxidizing the leaves. If possible, chop the almonds in a mortar with a pestle.
It’s a quick preparation that you can use to season any pasta, dry or egg, from spaghetti to macaroni.
Amidst the scent of buckwheat and herbs, I also rediscovered the aroma of summer dishes of yesteryear. Simple but not ordinary.
Buona cucina, Monica
Cook with me
About sauces and geography, I also wrote about it HERE, in the post I dedicated to Bologna’s salsa verde.
If you love the taste of buckwheat and the Italian cake made with this flour, I recommend saving my recipe (HERE).
A little mountain treasure that a generous cook shared with me. Or try the pumpkin and buckwheat cake (HERE) or my frollini cookies for breakfast (HERE).
I also leave you with the recipe for buckwheat crepes (HERE). I stuffed them with squacquerone cheese and asparagus. You can make your filling with vegetables and cheese of your choice.
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Buckwheat tagliolini with fresh herb pesto
serves 4
List of Ingredients
Herb pesto
50g arugula
20g basil
5g parsley
50g almonds
30g grated Parmesan cheese
ale and olive oil to taste
pasta cooking water to taste
Buckwheat tagliolini
200 g 00 flour
100 g fine buckwheat flour
3 tablespoons semolina flour
3 eggs
Directions
Herb pesto
Wash and chop the herbs with a knife.
Crush the almonds coarsely in the mortar.
Add to the herbs, grated Parmigiano, salt and olive oil and stir.
Also add the almonds and mix again. Keep aside.
Before draining the pasta, add 5 tablespoons of cooking water to the pesto. If you like the pesto softer, add more water.
Buckwheat tagliolini
In a bowl, mix the different flours.
Pour the flours onto the cutting board. Make a crater in the center of the flour and put in the eggs.
Beat the eggs with a fork and start adding flour by taking it from the edges.
When the dough forms crumbs, knead with your hands until you get an elastic, soft but not sticky dough ball.
Wrap the dough in a plastic bag and let it rest for 30 minutes outside the refrigerator.
Roll the pasta dough thinly with a rolling pin or machine, and cut out tagliolini.
Cook the pasta in salted, boiling water, drain when al dente, and toss with the herb pesto.
Serve the pasta warm or cold, to your liking.
HERE I shared all the secrets of Emilian-style pasta dough.
