Italian Pasta Making

dough: 1 egg, flour (100g or 3/4c)
- go for a soft consistency
- push 1/4 of the flour away
- make a hand-sized deep well with the egg
- beat the egg with a fork - first the yolk/whites
- gradually add flour until it's gluey
- then collapse the well into the flour and fold it in
- now the flour should be covering the dough, but it should still be flexible to fork

use hands
- flour your hands and check consistency
- press it into the flour a couple of times
- squeeze a ball of dough in your hands 3 times
- if your hands are a little sticky and a little moist, you're good
- clean your workstation of flour
- if dough doesn't stick to your hands or counter, don't add flour
- knead the dough to relax the gluten and make rolling easier
- pinch some flour on counter, keep ball of dough on the flour.
- press gently with palm while moving hand forward. flip it over and fold it back into itself
- knead until the outside is no longer sticky
- cover dough with flour and put it in a plastic bag

bowl for ravioli filling
- 1tbsp/15g pecorino OR (parmesan + pinch of salt)
- 1 thyme stalk OR 2 basil leaves OR 4 parsley leaves (not sage or rosemary)
- truffle oil, vegetables, mushrooms, ricotta/spinach
- 1/2 clove of garlic per person. remove the core/heart/soul/devil of clove (bad breath/digestion)
- pinch of black pepper
- mariza spatula. italian rules for wine: no crossing arms, etc

dough v2
- take dough out, place it on flour
- use rolling pin and rotate it periodically until its the size of an open hand
- if it's sticky, sprinkle flour periodically
- drop half of it off the counter
- use rolling pin and rotate it periodically
- when it starts getting thin, it might get sticky, so sprinkle flour
- roll until you can fit both open hands on the pasta dough
- and/or, roll the dough over your pin and put your hand behind it, see if light highlights the shadow of your hand behind the pasta

note: this rolling strategy doesn't scale. if you make it for 2, use 2 separate doughs

ravioli
- small cup with water, fork/knife
- cut it in two. one for ravioli, one for long
- tsp some ravioli filling over the pasta. 1 thumb width border all around, just on the top straight side of the semi-circle.
- there's many ravioli shapes, we're learning square shape with 3 sides
- verify that pulling the curved end of the semi-circle over the ravioli filling blobs fully covers the blobs
- water works like glue (or egg). use finger or pastry brush or spray bottle to border all blobs
- fold dough and let it drop
- flatten the filling by using 2 fingers to gently press the blobs down
- seal ravioli by pressing the sides down
- cut the sides and save the leftovers
- use a fork to press down on all sides of the ravioli

long pasta
- fork: taorini is the distance between 2 prongs
- tagliatelli (close to fetuccini) is 2x
- papardelli is 3x
- massage flour on top of the dough
- fold pasta sheet in 2 (quarter circle), then unfold
- fold ends of the pasta sheet into the crease in the middle
- do it again, now it should have 3 layers approaching the mid-crease
- now close it and press gently
- cut until you get this: https://imgur.com/a/qfN773C
- pick the piles up and drop them on the counter over and over (this helps flour distribute); about 15x until you get a dry pasta nest
- this nest can be kept for 2-3 months

ravioli leftovers
- matallati: horizontal slices, then diagonal slices
- flat sheets could be lasagna
- preserving ravioli: fridge for 1-2 days. boil, fridge for 3-4 days. OR freeze, then boil until they float

cooking
- butter (1tbsp/20g per person), sage (3 or 4 full leaves), black pepper (pinch)
- low heat (3/10) for 5 minutes OR until leaves get dark on the edges
- butter sage goes with any kind of ravioli if you cook it low, it'll never cover the taste of the filling because it won't be as rich
- foaming/browning butter means lower the heat. when it's done, take it off the heat.
- butter/sage sauce has no salt, so add 15g salt per liter, as salty as seawater (not measured)
- vortex boiling water, dump ravioli inside so it doesn't stick
- a few minutes later, pour tbsp/espresso cup of starchy water into the butter sage sauce
- keep heat on high (max) or else ravioli will be overcooked
- shake the pan - ravioli has to dance in the pan to release more starch
- cook until the starchy water reduces (cloudy -> ivory, not too thick)
- plate the ravioli and sprinkle pecorino or parmesan cheese over

time
- penne: cooking time is constant in stores because the pasta is dry
- fresh pasta doesn't have a cooking time: depends on thickness, humidity, flour, dryness
- pasta is ready when it becomes soft, clear, pale
- ravioli: ready when the corners become slightly curvy
- italians don't throw it against the wall. it shouldn't stick to surfaces, it shouldn't be starchy/overcooked
- macaroni and cheese, garlic bread, chicken parm, chopino don't exist in italy
- when you eat italian/pineapple pizza an italian guy dies
- alfredo (butter, parmesan, pasta water), marinara, caesar salad, italian dressing is not popular in italy
- carbonara is rich/salty (cheese, meat) so use less salt
- fresh pasta is 2/3/4 min for small/med/big. if you wait a day, double the time
- luca and lorenzo on yt/ig