Fakecation like the Foodie

Servings: This recipe is made to serve 8 people. 

Ingredients you’ll need:

• 2 ¾ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour + more for dusting and rolling
• 4 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 teaspoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt

Tools you’ll need:

Rolling pin
Bench scraper or sharp knife

Directions:

1. Mix your dough: Place the flour into a pile on the countertop. Create a large well or crater in the center, big enough to hold the eggs and olive oil inside it. Place the eggs, yolk, olive oil and salt into the well, then use a fork to whisk the eggs and oil.
   
   Continue whisking the eggs but begin pulling in bits of flour from inside the well. With a stirring motion, go slowly to avoid any eggs breaking through the bowl of flour. (If the eggs break through your flour while mixing, just push some more flour up against the break-through with your hand and continue mixing).
   
   Keep on mixing until the dough starts to come together and the eggs have been blended. The dough will be damp and chunky in some areas and loose in others, and the mixture will still be a little floury. To fix this, use your hands or a bench scraper to continue bringing the damp and crumbled dough together.
   
   
2. Knead your dough: When the dough looks intact, but still a bit loose, form it into a ball, and knead for about 10 minutes against the counter. The dough will be rough at first, but it should begin to tighten up and smooth out as you continue kneading.
   
   If the dough sticks to your hands, dust the countertop with a little more flour. The result should be a soft, elastic dough that feels smooth and isn’t sticky.
   
   
3. Wrap your dough: Use a plastic wrap to wrap your dough and let it rest on your counter for an hour. After an hour, refrigerate the dough for tomorrow (no more than 24 hours), or freeze the dough.
   
   (To freeze a ball of pasta dough, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap then set it inside a zip-top bag with the air squeezed out of it.)
   
   
4. Roll out your pasta: Once your dough has finished resting, shape it into a log and cut it into 5 or 6 equal sections. Leave out one section and wrap the others in plastic so you can make the noodles in small batches (This way the dough will not dry out as you are making the noodles).
   
   With a floured counter, use your rolling pin to roll out the dough into a long strip. With each roll, lift the dough up, re-dust the counter beneath, and flip it over. When you’re finished, you should have a long, thin piece of dough that’s paper thin, but strong enough to be taken off the counter.
   
   
5. Loosely fold your pasta: Dust the strip of dough with more flour, then start with the short end to loosely fold it like an accordion (This kind of fold helps prevent the dough from sticking to itself).
   
   
6. Cut the stack into strips: Use a very sharp knife to cut the stack across the folds into thin strips. You can cut the strips as thin or as a thick as you prefer (like thin linguini or like wide fettuccine), but try to stay consistent otherwise the noodles will cook at different rates.
   
   
7. Dry your noodles: Unroll the bundle of noodles and lay them along your dining room table, or the back of a chair. Let them dry for about 15 minutes. You can continue rolling and cutting the rest of the pasta during this time.
   
   
8. Use or freeze your noodles: You can use the noodles to cook or freeze them for later.
   
   If you’re going to freeze the noodles, gather them into several small, loose bundles and place them on a well-floured baking sheet, then freeze. Once frozen, transfer into a large zip-top bag, and use as needed. Frozen noodles will keep for 9 months.
   
   
9. Cook your noodles: Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the fresh or frozen pasta and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until chewy and al dente (taste one of the noodles to see for yourself!). Serve with your favourite sauce, which leads us to our next delicious recipe!

Servings: This recipe is made to serve 4 people.

Ingredients you’ll need: 

• ½ cup walnuts and Kosher salt
• 4 oz. fresh ricotta and Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 2 tsp. finely chopped oregano
• 2 oz. finely grated Parmesan (about 1½ cups), and more for serving
  
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil and freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1 lb. tube or rod-shaped pasta (such as rigatoni or spaghetti)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Toast walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing it one time, until golden brown, 6–8 minutes. Let it cool, then finely chop to your liking. Then bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
   
2. Mix walnuts, ricotta, lemon zest, garlic, oregano, and 2 oz. Parmesan in a large bowl until it’s all combined. Add oil one tbsp. or so at a time, stirring well after each addition until all the oil is incorporated. Then season pesto with salt and pepper.
   
3. Cook pasta in a pot of boiling water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Scoop one cup of pasta cooking liquid into the bowl with pesto and stir gently to combine. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the pasta directly to the bowl with pesto. If you’ve already made pasta from our other recipe, simply transfer the pasta into the bowl with pesto.
   
4. Mix until pesto has thickened enough to lightly coat the pasta. The pasta should have sauce clinging to it but there should also be some extra sauce that collects in bottom of bowl.
5. Divide pasta among bowls and serve your delicious new sauce. Oh, and don’t forget to have some extra Parmesan nearby for sprinkling over.
   

Ingredients you’ll need: 

• 2 oz. light blended scotch
  
• 1 oz. lemon
  
• ¼ oz. honey syrup
  
• ¾ oz. elderflower liqueur
  
• A pinch of sweetener
  
• 1 egg white 

Directions:

1. In a cocktail shaker without ice, combine your light blended scotch, elderflower liqueur, an ounce of fresh lemon juice, honey syrup and one egg white.
2. Shake everything up without ice— otherwise known as a “dry shake” — and then add ice and shake again for a “wet shake,” to chill it down. Then strain it all into a cocktail glass and garnish with a thin lemon wheel.
3. Sip and enjoy responsibly!

*Content shared by Littlemissottawa is in paid association with Manulife.