Tagliatelle Di Un Sabato di Sole – Tagliatelle of a Sunny Saturday

A violent storm was raging outside: leaves and plastic bags were dancing a furious albeit involuntary polka with each other, toupees and wigs were having a great day off, trees were bungee-jumping, and even Small Perfect Cloud has allegedly been sighted drifting confusedly in the  bellowing sky, meowing itself hoarse. It was a storm to remember. It was one of those storms people will later tell their children stories about. It was a storm as they come only once every 2&3/4 years, in dutiful compliance with the Wuthering Heights Accord of 1847 (§24b). It was a magnificent storm.
But Celestial Dragon had one of those days. He was insufferable, and he suffered everything else even less. There was no reasoning with him. No bath, no tea, no game, no candy, no caress could pacify him. He wandered restlessly about the palace, breathing fire and anger at everything that moved. Even Pazuzu, the fearsome Sky Guardian, covered in cowardly fear before his enraged master. Yet it was a magnificent rage.
Unfortunately, Divine Cherry did not think so. In fact, for her, there was nothing magnificent about it at all. It was actually rather irritating: after all, she was tired of running around the palace with a magical bucket of infinite water in order to quench all the fires Celestial Dragon was leaving in his wake. So she decided to take things into her own hands. Enough was enough. She had really liked those curtains, and the thought of seeing another painting go up in smoke was unbearable.
And so it was that Divine Cherry invented the "Tagliatelle of a Sunny Saturday" (named after the day of week they were invented in). The reason the world has come to know them by that name is that when they were ready, not only was Celestial Dragon appeased, but the ferocious storm that had been devastating the land calmed down as well: there was no resisting the loveliness of those home made tagliatelle.
And in case you should ever need to mitigate and fiery dragon, here's the magic recipe that will have him singing like Bobby McFerrin.


Wholemeal Tagliatelle of a Sunny Saturday  (for two quite hungry mouths)


-2 eggs
-150g of white flour
-50g of wholemeal flour


In a large bowl, pour in the flour and place the eggs in the middle of it. With a fork, work the flour and the eggs starting from the center. When all the flour has been absorbed, transfer the dough on a working table and knead it until it becomes elastic. Wrap it in cling film and let it rest for 20 minutes. Abundantly flour a pastry board and stretch the dough with a rolling pin. The dough is to be rolled and flattened. Keep your hands in the position shown in the photo below, making sure not to put too much pressure on the rolling pin.


Roll out the dough as thinly as possible. Flour the pastry board and the rolling pin repeatedly. Turn the dough on the rolling pin and roll it off to make sure it does not stick to the pastry. Let it air dry for about ten minutes.








Roll out the dough so as to form a long sausage. Slice it in 7-8mm wide slices. Unroll the noodles on a clean cloth and let them dry in piles.

Tagliatelle are ready!

For the sauce of a sunny saturday
-1 sweet potato
-1 zucchini
-a handful of hazelnuts
-50g of speck
-half an onion
-a piece of butter
-olive oil (extra virgin, what else?)
-half a glass of milk
-salt & pepper


Sauté the chopped onion in a large frying pan with the butter and a dribble of olive oil. Meanwhile, make a julienne of zucchini and potatoes. Add the hazelnuts to the onions and roast them a little. Add the strips of vegetables, salt and add a little milk from time to time to maintain moisture. Add the bacon and cook. Cook the noodles in salted water for a couple of minutes. The fresh noodles will cook very quickly, so be careful not to over cook them. They have to be al dente! Serve immediately with a generous grinding of pepper (and some grated parmesan according to taste).


Tagliatelle un po' integrali tirate a mano: Dosi per due affamati


- 2 uova
- 150g farina bianca
- 50g farina integrale


In una ciotola capiente versare la farina e al centro le uova, con una forchetta incorporare la farina alle uova partendo dal centro. Quando tutta la farina è stata assorbita, trasferire l'impasto sulla spianatoia e lavoralo finchè diventa elastico. Avvolgerlo nella pellicola e lasciarlo riposare per 20 minuti. Infarinare abbondantemente le spianatoia e stirare la pasta con il mattarello. La pasta va tirata e non schiacciata, tenere le mani come nella foto, senza spingere in basso.







Tirare la pasta il più sottile possibile. Infarinando ripetutamente il mattarello e la spianatoia. Girare le pasta arrotolandola sul mattarello, per assicurarsi che non si appiccichi sulla spianatoia. Lasciarla asciugare all'aria per una decina di minuti.

Arrotolare la pasta in modo da formare un lungo salsicciotto. Tagliare a fettine larghe 7-8mm. Srotolare le tagliatelle su un canovaccio pulito e lasciare seccare in mucchietti.

Le tagliatelle sono pronte!

Condimento di un sabato di sole:
- Una patata dolce (o un pezzo di zucca)
- una zucchina
- una manciata di nocciole
- 50 g di speck
- mezza cipolla
- un pezzetto di burro e olio evo
- mezzo bicchiere di latte
- sale e pepe


Far appassire la cipolla tritata in una padella capiente, con una noce di burro e un giro d'olio d'oliva. Nel mentre fare una julienne di patate e zucchine. Aggiungere le nocciole alle cipolle e farle abbrustolire un po'. Aggiungere le striscioline di verdure, salare e far appassire aggiungendo un po' di latte di quando in quando per mantenere l'umidità. Aggiungere lo speck e portare a cottura. Cuocere le tagliatelle in abbondante acqua salata per un paio di minuti. Le tagliatelle fresche cuociono molto rapidamente, attenzione a non superare la cottura! Servire subito con un'abbondante macinata di pepe (e parmigiano a piacimento).



PS: Queste ricetta partecipa all' MT Challenge di Gennaio, e l'idea delle tagliatelle e' stata proposta da Ale!


Enjoy,
And Spread the Mess