KANSAS CITY, MO — James Beard Award-winning Chef Michael Smith has a new venture coming to The Crossroads. He joins us to discuss his new restaurant Farina, opening to the public February 5. Chef Michael also shares his mouth-watering recipe for Caramelle Pasta with marsala mushroom sauce.
CHEF MICHAEL SMITH’S CARAMELLE PASTA with MARSALA MUSHROOM SAUCE
A stuffed pasta that literally means “candies” in Italian.
Serves 4 – 6 as a main course.
PASTA DOUGH
¾ cup slightly heaped 00 flour
¾ cup semolina
Pinch of salt
2-3 large eggs
Measure out the flours onto a work surface and add a pinch of salt. Use a fork to mix in the salt and make a small well in the center. Add the eggs to the well. Use your fork to lightly mix the egg and mix to incorporate. On the counter, knead the dough at least 300 strokes; the dough will be smooth. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
Attach your pasta machine to the counter and lay out several clean towels.
Adjust the pasta machine to the widest setting. Divide the dough into four pieces, and, working one piece at a time, run your dough through the pasta machine. Run the dough through, fold it in thirds, turn it 90°, and run it through again.
Adjust your pasta machine to the next setting and run the dough through again. Lightly dust with flour if the dough wants to stick. Continue doing this until you have the dough thin enough to see a shadow of your hand under it.
CUT SQUARES
Place the sheets of pasta dough on a cutting board and cut into 3-inch squares. To make them extra fancy, we cut two edges with ruffles and two straight. All the scraps can be placed under the plastic wrap and worked into the next chunk of dough to be re-rolled.
PIPE
Either pipe (really recommended, as it’s so easy) or spoon about 3/4 of a teaspoon of filling into the center of each square
FOLD, WET, AND FOLD
Fold one of the smooth edges over the filling. Then moisten your finger in a small bowl of water and run along the other smooth edge to dampen and help seal the pasta. Fold the dampened side over the filling side and press down lightly.
TWIST
Pick up your caramelle and give the ruffled edges a small twist, just as if you were wrapping a piece of candy. Set each piece on a semolina dusted cookie sheet. Freeze them individually or cook right away.
PASTA FILLING
½ cup shredded mozzarella
½ cup shredded sharp provolone
½ cup ricotta
Combine cheeses in a glass bowl and warm in the microwave for 20-30 seconds just to soften the cheeses. Mix well and set aside.
MARSALA MUSHROOM SAUCE
2 tablespoons butter
1 small shallot – fine dice
8 oz cremini mushrooms
2 cloves garlic – minced
1 1/4 cup dry marsala cooking wine
1/3 cup chicken stock
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1 1/2 tsp fresh chopped parsley
salt & pepper to taste
METHOD
Melt butter in a saute pan over Medium Heat.
Add shallot and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté 1-2 minutes, or until softened. Add mushrooms and sauté until liquid is evaporated and mushrooms are cooked through, about 3 minutes.
Add garlic, thyme and parsley and cook for another 2 minutes then add marsala. Cook until slightly reduced, about 4 - 6 minutes, scraping up browned bits off bottom of the pan. Add chicken stock and continue to cook until slightly reduced again, about 4-5 minutes. Add heavy cream and reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
TO PLATE
Cook pasta in boiling salted water until soft in the center but the pasta remains al dente. Drain and toss in the marsala sauce. Serve in a bowl and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.