Yolk Pasta Dough Herb Inlay

Photo credit: Dan Marschka, LNP/LancasterOnline

An inlay of fresh herbs makes this chef-created pasta flavorful and fragrant. Wondering how our chefs make this beautiful pasta? Keep reading  – we’ve shared the recipe below. If you make this, please let us know in the comments.

Many of our residents enjoy cooking now and then, while at other times they enjoy a variety of vegetarian-friendly senior living dining options in 12 distinct venues, from buffets and snack bars to menu dining – all of our senior living community’s culinary options rival the finest restaurants. Let us show you around our resort-lifestyle communities. Give us a call at 800-770-5445, and come taste for yourself.

Ingredients

9 egg yolks

6.2 ounces Tipo 00 flour (A fine-ground flour, smaller ground than an all-purpose flour, found at most grocery stores.)

2.3 ounces Semolina flour

1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

2 Tbsp. cold water

1 tsp. cold water to brush on dough

2 sprigs of fresh oregano, basil, parsley

4 chives cut into 1-inch pieces

Directions

Combine the flours in a bowl. Turn out onto your workspace and create a well in the center. Combine yolks, water, and EVOO inside the well, being careful not to allow the liquid to exit the center. Use a fork or fore and middle fingers together to gently begin to whisk the yolks and liquid together. Slowly begin to pull the sides of the well walls into the yolks. This process of slowly combining the flour and yolks helps to aid in the proper building of gluten in the dough, which will give the tooth or “al dente” desired in the texture of this dough. Once all of the flour is combined with the yolks, begin to knead the dough to continue building gluten. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until there is a 3/4 spring back in the dough (press thumb with medium to light pressure into the dough until the dough resists that pressure and springs 3/4 of the way back to original state.)

Mold the dough into a smooth disk and wrap gently with plastic. Chill for one hour before use.

Once chilled, roll out on a pasta roller to #8 thickness using the classic method of twice through each setting. Using a 3-oz. portion of dough at a time will yield about a 2-ft piece. After rolling out, randomly place herbs here and there on half of the dough being sure to leave some space at the edges of the dough. Gently brush the perimeter of the dough with a very small amount of water to ensure the dough stays together. Fold the dough in half, encasing the herbs in the dough. Gently press down to create a seal. Set the pasta roller to the #6 setting. Feed your pasta through the setting twice, then #7 twice.

Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil (the rule being about 1 pound of pasta dough to 1 gallon of water), add two generous pinches of salt. Cook pasta for about a minute (fresh pasta absorbs water much quicker than typical store bought dried pasta) until al dente.

Dress in your preferred sauce or try just a touch of butter, Parmesan and black pepper.

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