Homemade Tagliolini in spicy veggie broth

Comfort food is comfort food, and in winter, a soup or a broth is THE comfort food. Vegetal broth aside of being easy, is the basis of poor people's table. Water, some veggies, and time. That's it.

In this case, here is the list of ingredients: 2 stalks of celery, 2 carrots, 2 small onions, 1 medium sized potato, half a cup tomato puree.

On a pan - you can reduce the cooking time to 45 min if using a pressure cooker- place all the ingredients, not chopped, not minced, just plainly peeled and washed, fill the pan with 3 lt cold water, cover with a lid and let it boil off, once reached the boiling point, reduce to a simmer and let go for 2 hrs. If you use a pressure cooker, let simmer for 45 min from the witshling moment, lowerig the flame to a medium low.

In the mean time let's make some pasta!

For 4 people: 300gr of semolina flour, 3 medium eggs, one tbsp extra virgin olive oil, one pich of salt.

Mix all togheter with your finger tips first then knead for about 10 min until smooth and compact. This WILL NOT BE as soft as bread dough or as pie crust. It will be like, a piece of playdough left open for a day.

Let sit, covered for at least half hour. Cut the pasta dough in half inches pieces. Start with one, the others will rest wrapped in a plastic wrap.

Flatten the pasta piece with the palm of your hand into a rectangle. Slightly dust it on both sides with flour.

Roll the dough into the larger setting of the pasta roller, when the pasta come out fold it in 3 pieces, and roll it again, do this 4 – 5 times, each time turning the piece of pasta into the machine of a quarter of a turn.

Start to increase the setting of the roller one step at a time and pass the pasta through it once, then go to the next setting and roll the pasta again, so on until the setting 6. If you are using a Kitchen Aid roller, setting 5 is enough.

Use the KA or the pasta machine cutters OR a knife for cutting it in the size desired. Dust with some flour and set aside to rest.                                                                                               

If you use a knife to cut the pasta: dust some  flour on both sides of the noodle to be cut, then start folding the pasta until more or less half of its length. Fold also on the other side, so you’ll have   two rolls connected that “meet” each other in the middle. Use a sharp knife and cut into noodle of the size you want, saw,as you are cutting soft bread, do not cut brutally through- dusting the pasta with flour before folding it is essential at this point so the pasta will not attach on itself. Slide the back of the knife under the pasta and lift through the connection, this will unroll the tagliolini. Leave on a clean floured cloth to dry.

As you can see, my beautiful son Matteo, 14, likes to use the KA cutters.

Once the broth is ready, adjust with salt, remove all the veggie inside and leave them on a plate, they can be eaten seasoned only with extra virgin olive oil and salt, and pour the pasta in the broth. It will take only 2 -3 min to cook. 

Serve piping hot with dried (or fresh) crushed chilli pepper and plenty of parmigiano or Grana. Matti, advices also a generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg. 

Hope you loved it. More to come!