I’m back! It’s been a hectic two weeks of jet-setting that took me to Hong Kong, to Sri Lanka, back to Hong Kong, and finally home, back to autumn, my tiny kitchen, my cookbook collection, my domain.
At some point in the not-too-distant future I’ll put together a travel guide for Sri Lanka, but for now I will tell you that it’s well worth a visit and that the food is incredible. I happily ate rice and curry, stuffed triangles of chewy roti and Sri Lankan samosas (breaded and deep-fried, distinct from their Indian and Nepalese brethren) every single day. Of course, I’ve already bought a Sri Lankan cookbook and can’t wait to try my hand at some of these dishes- at the end of a trip it’s always my kitchen I look forward to seeing, ready to be back behind the wheel.
In my two weeks away, I managed to read 2.5 memoirs and a novel and several magazines, including the October issue of Saveur- the pasta issue, if you haven’t seen it. So while chowing my way through butterfish curry and fried okra salad I was also dreaming of pasta, stuffed, cut and extruded.
As a gift to myself after completing my surgery-mandated liquid diet, I bought a pasta extruder (to join the ranks of the pasta roller and cutter KitchenAid attachment I already own). And a couple of weeks before my vacation I gave it a whirl for the first time, to attempt homemade bucatini. It took me a couple of tries to get it right (the pasta does not contain eggs and is extruded then dried, then boiled- so very distinct from what we know as “fresh pasta”) and my technique is still nowhere close to perfect, but I was able to create a pound or so of perfectly al dente bucatini (the least beautiful bucatini you’ve ever seen, mind you – I have a lot to practice).
The sauce for the fruits of my labors was this almond pesto- light, nutty and garlicky, a perfect coating for fat, hollow strands of bucatini. Easily blitzed together in a food processor, it’s thinned with a bit of pasta water before clinging perfectly to the pasta. Whirled on a plate and served with a generous grating of cheese and chopped toasted almonds, it is a dish that I could tuck into at Lupa with no regrets. And as we transition into “autumn official” I can think of few things more fitting than a bowl of chewy pasta, made by hand.
To make bucatini at home, you'll need either a pasta extruder machine or an extruder stand-mixer attachment. If you don't have this, you can make the recipe using store-bought dried bucatini.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 tablespoons (475g) durum semolina, plus some for dusting
- 1/2 cup to cup plus 2 tablespoons (118 to 142ml) cold water
- Extra semolina for dusting
- 1 1/4 cups (179g) skin-on almonds
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (133ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and thinly sliced
- 1 cup (100g) grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Begin the pasta two days before you want to serve this dish. Refrigerate the bucatini extruder plate for 1 hour before extruding. Refrigerate a stainless steel mixing bowl as well. When both are chilled, put the semolina in a bowl and start mixing with a fork, spoon, your fingers or a machine. Slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup (118ml) of the cold water. Mix for 10 minutes, then refrigerate the mixture for 15 minutes so it can fully hydrate without warming up too much. If using a stand mixer for extruding, stir the chilled mixture by hand for another 10 minutes. If using a combo pasta mixer-extruder machine, put the chilled mixture in the machine and mix in the machine for another 10 minutes. After mixing, the mixture should resemble damp samd rather than come together in a ball of dough. Pinch a little between your fingers; it should stick together when pinched. If it doesn't, add a little more cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, just until it can be pinched into clumps here and there. The amount of water you need to add depends on the humidity in the air. On dry days in the winter, you may need to add more water. On humid days in the summer, you may need less water. The mixture should look very dry- like clumpy, buttered bread crumbs. Too dry is better than too wet; if the dough is too wet or warm, it will stick in the machine and gum up the works. If using a stand-mixer attachment, you will need slightly more water than if using a more powerful extruder. At this point, you could cover and refrigerate the dough for up to 1 day.
- Fit your pasta extruder or stand-mixer attachment with the chilled bucatini plate. If using a pasta extruder, set it to medium speed. If using a stand mixer, with the machine running on medium speed, feed the dough into the hopper in marble-size clumps, using a pushing tool to push the clumps into the auger, being careful not to overload it. As the pasta is extruded, cut it into 9-inch lengths and immediately dust it with semolina to prevent sticking.
- Dry the pasta by placing it on wire racks that will fit in your refrigerator and refrigerate it uncovered for at least 8 hours or up to 4 days. The pasta will get drier and harder as it sits. Two days in the refrigerator is ideal.
- Toast the almonds in a large, deep saute pan over medium heat, shaking the pan now and then, until they are fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer 1 cup (145g) of the almonds to a blender or food processor. Chop the remaining 1/4 cup (36g) almonds with a knife and set them aside. Add 1 clove garlic and 1/4 cup of the oil to the blender or processor. Turn on the machine and drizzle in another 1/4 cup of the oil, blending until the pesto is relatively smooth. Taste the pesto, adding salt until it tastes good to you.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the bucatini, cover the pot to quickly return the water to a boil, and cook the pasta until it is tender but still a little chewy when bitten, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and reserve the pasta water.
- Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat in the pan used to toast the almonds. Thinly slice the remaining garlic clove and add it to the pan along with the jalapeno. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of the pasta water to the pan, swirling the water and scraping up any browned bits on the pan bottom. Add the drained pasta and the almond pesto and toss until the sauce reduces slightly, gets creamy and coats the pasta, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add 1/2 cup (50g) of the Parmesan. Keep the pasta moving until the cheese melts and pasta and sauce become one thing in the pan. Taste it, adding salt until it tastes good to you.
- Dish out the pasta onto warmed plates and garnish with the remaining 1/2 cup (50g) Parmesan and the reserved almonds.
Notes
From Mastering Pasta
