Those who read this column know that I enjoy my annual Cook Like A Gardener entry. Pictured here is my July suggestion: boiled garden beets with feta, buttered garden yellow (or green) beans, and pasta with garlic.
Virginia garlic is harvested in early June, so mine is nearly dry and ready to braid and hang for use all year. But if your garlic is freshly harvested, just use more! The pasta in this photo is freshly made, as I describe here. Of course, it will also work with storebought pasta, or from one of the local fresh pasta sellers.
Making fresh pasta is relatively easy, and it’s a real snap if you have a standing mixer and a pasta roller. You can use semolina flour, all-purpose flour, or my preference: Italian 00 flour, specially ground to make a dough that stretches.
Pasta with Garlic
For the sauce:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4 large cloves of dried garlic,
- or 8 large cloves of fresh garlic
- Salt to taste
For the fresh pasta:
- 100 grams Italian 00 flour
- (about 1 cup)
- 1 egg
Break the egg into the standing mixer, equipped with a dough hook, and begin adding the flour, mixing as you add. Depending upon the size of the egg, more or less flour will be needed. Continue to add and mix until it forms a dough, then continue mixing/kneading for ten minutes.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for ten minutes. Please do not skip this step.
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil, then roll your dough through the largest setting on the pasta roller. Now put it through that setting again. Continue, with the next setting, working your way down to the smallest setting. Put the dough through each setting twice.
When finished, you will have a long piece of beautiful dough. Now, use the cutting section (thick or thin), to finish the pasta. Lay the strands carefully on a tea towel while you finish the meal prep.
Heat the oil in a medium fry pan and crush or mince the garlic into the oil. It takes only about thirty seconds to cook. Then turn it off and remove from the heat. Try not to allow the garlic to brown. The goal is to create aromatic oil.
When the water boils, add the pasta and cook for five minutes. Fresh pasta cooks very quickly. Test a strand to ensure it is to your liking.
Drain the pasta and add to the frying pan of oil, and toss. Serve with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. Serves two.
