Two Experiments: Nori Noodles with Dulce in Dashi and Chickpea Noodles in Tahini with Tomatoes and Za'atar

Tortelloni in Brodo

These are lovely little lumps of veal, mortadella and parmigiano cozily wrapped in their doughy bathrobes with arms folded. They took the plunge in a beef shank broth with just a pinch of parsley. Simpler the better.

The entire meal, for my son's 18th birthday was crostini di polenta, calamari fritti, insalata di finnochio, saltimboca alla Romana con gnocchi di patate, and tiramisu to finish. Getting the Italian groove on.

Tongue on Rye Noodle Soup

 Beef Tongue cured with spices for a week. Then braised in the oven for about 4 hours. Then cool in the liquid. Later to be peeled and sliced.









And a jar of sauerkraut I made a long time ago and just found in the back of the spare little fridge. Along with a jar of homemade mustard. Kismet.

Mixed Bone Broth with turkey wings, beef shanks, pork ribs, celery, carrots, parsnips, onion, garlic. All roasted for a few hours then simmered for 8 hours into a deep stock.

100% Rye Noodles with an egg, some ground caraway, mustard powder. Cut much the same as soba. Now the burning question is whether when all this comes together I should melt some swiss and add a squirt of Russian dressing. WHY the hell not?

Chestnut Flour Noodles

These definitely must go in the book. Basically just 2/3 chestnut flour and 1/3 all purpose wheat and enough egg to make a firm dough. Rolls out really easily and then cut on the chittara. Really sweet and a little chewy. They went into a homemade oxtail stock.  

I think my next experiment will be doing exactly the same thing with acorns. I just found a stash from last season on the back of my work shelf!

Corn Noodles in Tomatillo Broth

I didn't think this would work. It's a dough made not of masa harina but South American P.A.N. which is a kind of precooked corn meal. I just added water and rolled it out. It was a little tough to work with, but with patience it was cut into rather nice noodles. I thought steaming them would be gentler and I was absolutely right. It's a completely different texture than cut up tortillas; these really are noodles. Then tomatillos fried and stewed in water and salt. Nothing else. Oh, scallions. But really simple pristine flavors. I loved it, so did Darwin, the big dog.