So, I really hate throwing away perfectly good, gooey, alive, levain, so I have been searching for new uses. One that struck me is using my starter to make pasta.
In Italia there has always been a tradition of making yeasted pasta, with theories being that it was a way of utilizing leftover bread dough. There are a number referenced in the Encyclopedia of Pasta (Oreta Zanini DeVita), including cecamariti and budelletti from Le Marche region. Over at A Serious Bunburyist blog, there is a great discussion of all of this and a recipe for budelletti made with yeast. I have replaced the yeast with starter to great effect, in fact far more tang. The noodles puff up and rise a bit, they are chewy and my wife says similar to Asian noodles, like Udon, a view with which I agree.
My recipe adds a percentage of whole wheat flour, freshly ground from a Komo Mill, and whole wheat starter. My sauce was based upon that traditionally served in Ascoli Piceno, in Le Marche (a great place to visit, famous for its Oliva Ascolana – fried stuffed olives). That sauce is usually guanciale or pancetta, I went with pancetta and some braised/roasted pork belly I made a few days before. No tomatoes, but it would go great with an Amatriciana sauce as well.
This is not difficult, give it a whirl…
Ingredients for Pasta:
250 grams 00 Flour
100 grams whole wheat milled fine
1/4 cup (100 grams or so) whole wheat and white starter mixed, more will not kill it
salt
160 grams or so of water
Ingredients for the Sugo (by feel):
Pancetta or Guanciale, diced
Braised Roasted Pork Belly (if you have some!) diced
Onion (I used a spring onion)
Herbs, Parsley
Olive Oil
White Wine
Calabrian Chili Paste or Chili Flakes
Make the Pasta
*In a KitchenAid type mixer, add the flours and salt and mix to combine.
*Float the starter in the water, stir it up, and pour into flour on low speed, slowly to let it absorb
*Dough will form a ball pretty quickly, remove and knead until smooth, but its not for bread so don’t go crazy. It will weigh about 550 grams
*Wrap in plastic, let sit and rise just slightly, for an hour
*Roll out using a rolling pin. No need to use a pasta machine crank roller, this rolls out much easier than normal pasta. Roll out so its thin, but still a bit puffy. You should see some bubbles from the starter
*Cut into 4 or 5 inch wide by 12 to 15 inch long strips (no need to be precise here) – See Photos
*Using a sharp knife, cut short ribbons of pasta on the wide side (each will be around 4-5 inches long). You may need to separate – cut hard, they are not like normal pasta
*Dust noodles as necessary, separating into strands
- Lets sit a bit, they will puff up a bit, but don’t let grow too big
- Boil in salted water and use a spider to remove into sauce
Sugo:
In a wide frying pan large enough for the pasta, heat some olive oll
Add the pancetta or gunaciale, fry until crisp, remove to plate lined with paper towel
Add diced onion, more olive oil as necessary, fry until translucent
Add Sage, other herbs
Add wine, cook down
Add chili sauce or flakes
Return fried guanciale or pancetta to pan
Add water to thin a bit
In separate cast iron pan, fry up slices of pork belly until brown and crisp but still soft. (Optional)
When pasta is done, spider into the sauce, keeping a bit wet. Add some cooking water as necessary to moisten
Top with fried pork belly, pecorino cheese, parsley and black pepper
Serve hot
