In case you missed it, Thursday, Nov. 2 was National Men Cook Dinner Day. In honor of the prestigious holiday -- and to introduce pasta making classes at his restaurant -- celebrity chef Scott Conant prepared some delicious dishes with NBC 6’s Roxanne Vargas. Watch the video above to see the Food Network star cook with Roxanne, and see below for Scott Conant’s infamous spaghetti recipe (serves six.) The hand-made spaghetti is serviced with fresh tomato sauce and basil and "has had fans raving since Scarpetta's inception almost a decade ago!"
(Recipe courtesy of Scott Conant)
WHAT YOU NEED
• 1⁄2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 30 fresh plum tomatoes, peeled and seeded
• 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 1 1⁄2 pounds dried spaghetti
Local
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 24 basil leaves, cut into a fine chiffonade
• 1⁄4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
HOW IT’S MADE
1.) Add the olive oil to a pan and heat until it begins to smoke lightly. Add the tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and the red-pepper flakes.
2.) Crush the tomatoes with a potato masher, or a wire whisk to release all their liquid. Cook for 25 minutes over medium to medium-high heat, until the tomatoes form a semi-chunky sauce.
3.) Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the spaghetti. When the pasta is 80% cooked, drain it and reserve the water. Add the spaghetti to the sauce and cook over medium-high heat until all the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is al dente, stirring occasionally. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little of the pasta water to thin out the sauce.
4.) Remove from the heat and add the butter, basil, and cheese, mixing thoroughly until the pasta is an orange hue. Season to taste and enjoy!
WHAT YOU NEED
• 4 whole eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 oz olive oil
• 1 oz kosher salt
• 6 oz water (additional water required to bring dough together)
• 2 lb 00, pasta flour
• 2 oz semolina flour
HOW IT’S MADE
1.) Combine eggs, olive oil, salt and water; whisk together. Add flour and continue to whisk. If using a Kitchen Aid, ensure the dough hook is attached.
2.) Mix flour into wet ingredients using water to bring the dough together.
3.) Let rest for 1 hour. For better results, wait 24 hours before using.
ROLL THE DOUGH
1.) Slice dough in half, vertically. Then cut each piece into 4 separate pieces.
2.) Roll each piece of dough through a Pasta Roller, set at ¼ inch thickness.
3.) Fold the sheets in three-folds.
4.) Feed again through the roller at ¼ inch.
5.) Reduce the roller width to 1/8 inch and run the pasta through slowly, liberally dusting with flour.
6.) Reduce the width again to 1/16 inch and run the pasta through one last time.
7.) Cut sheets into 12-inch lengths.
8.) Pass each well-dusted sheet through a 2mm cutter. Note: Over flouring causes the dough to stretch and under flouring causes it to stick to the cutter.
9.) Portion bundles in 5 oz servings.
CHEF’S SECRET:
In a bowl, mix equal parts of semolina and pasta flour. As the noodles come out of the cutter, pass the bunched noodles through the duo flour mixture to prevent clumping when cooking.
