Thursday, September 15, 2016

Come si fa la pasta a mano


 Yesterday, my study abroad program went to a vineyard to learn how to make pasta by hand. The following is the recipe we learned, by rote, from the master pasta maker:

Ingredients:

200g of fine flour (00 flour is best)
2 eggs

Directions:

Pour nearly all of the flour in the center of a large wooden board. Save a little for flouring the board once the dough has been kneaded and must be rolled. Using your fingers, make a wide "bowl" in the center of the flour pile, about 8-10" in diameter. Be sure that your "bowl" is rimmed with flour, so that the eggs will stay in the center.
Crack the two eggs into the flour bowl and whisk with a fork, mixing air into the eggs as you whisk. Once the eggs are beaten, begin to whisk in the flour, creating larger circles centered around the eggs until it starts to form a paste. Once the mixture starts to thicken, use your fingers (not your palms, only your fingers!) to mix in the remaining flour. Our teacher advised us to touch the dough as if it were a child - don't be rough! Once the dough begins to form, knead it, using only your fingers. Be sure to turn and flip the dough while kneading, so it is well-mixed.

Once the pasta dough is smooth and homogeneous, wrap it in plastic and let it sit for 10-12 minutes. During that time, use a pastry knife or metal spatula to clean your board, being sure to remove all excess dough that did not get mixed in.
After the ten minutes, flour the board and begin rolling the dough out. Roll the dough by starting in the middle and pushing towards the outer edge. Rotate the dough in 45 degree angles and flip regularly, to ensure that it is rolled evenly. Use the rolling pin to pick up the dough - not your hands! This causes stress and the dough, and can lead to holes and uneven thickness.

Once the dough is rolled (it should look like a circle with a diameter of roughly 1.25 - 1.5 feet), fold it in half, making a crease at the fold. Unfold the dough, and, starting at one edge, gently fold the dough towards the center, making each fold approximately one inch wide. DO NOT CREASE! Turn the dough around 180 degrees and do this on the other half as well, so that the two folded sides meet at the crease in the middle. Cut the dough in half cross-wise. Taking one half, cut the pasta into pieces, each about .25 inches wide. After the dough is sliced, take your knife and slide it, sharp side first, under the pasta, stopping at the middle crease. Lift the knife up and rotate it 90 degrees, so that the pasta is hanging off of both sides of the knife. If your dough is stickier, it may take some gentle shaking of the knife for the pasta to unfold. Grab the pasta with your other hand and gently twist it into a circle, placing it on the board. Repeat this process with the remaining dough.


When cooking the pasta, place it into boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Top with ragù and serve al dente.





Thursday, September 8, 2016

Il primo annuncio

After living in Bologna, Italy for a week and a half, I am beginning to settle in to daily life. I have a bus pass, there is food in my fridge, and I just found work as a part-time nanny. I love living in such a vibrant and historic city, and still find it hard to believe that I will be here for the next ten months!


 As a native Wisconsinite, I attend UW-Madison, where I study psychology and criminal justice. I have just begun my senior year abroad and cannot believe that this is my last year of college. Though official Università di Bologna classes have not started yet, my "pre-session" course (vocabulary and grammar review) began this week. One interesting thing about the university schedule is that there is no official schedule! Every department sets its own term, anywhere between mid-September and mid-January. Every class occurs within that range, but while some classes run September - December, others only run for one month, though they meet more frequently and require more time while they are running. Excluding my pre-session course, I am only taking 12 credits this semester, which is two classes. It seems very strange to me to not have four or five classes per semester, but since the usual number of credits is so high (6-9), it is very difficult to take lots of courses.
La Piazza Maggiore

As of right now, here's what a typical day looks like for me:

8:30 - wake up, get ready for class
9:30 - leave for class (either by bus or on foot)
10:00-12:30 - class
13:15 - lunch
14:15-18:00 - run errands, do homework, etc.
18:30 - return to my apartment fuori dalle mura (outside of the walls)
19:00-20:30 - cook and eat dinner, clean up
12:00 - bedtime!

Tagliatelle alla Bolognese
Compared to most Italians, I eat dinner a little early (19:30); most people like to eat around 20:30. Food is a huge part of the culture in Bologna, which has been dubbed the "gastronomic capital of Italy." Some traditional piatti include:

tagliatelle al ragù (tagliatelle with a traditional Bolognese sauce - much better here than in the United States!)
le lasagne
la pizza
i tortellini in brodo (tortellini in a light broth)
le polpette (meatballs served in a tomato sauce - but not with pasta)

Eating a viewed as a near-sacred tradition in Bologna. A true meal requires at least an hour, if not two, and is complete with primi piatti (pasta or risotto), secondi piatti (meat or fish), dolci (tiramisù, marscapone, or gelato), and, of course, vino. Though you can purchase beer at some restaurants, every establishment has a large wine selection, which people usually take advantage of.

Among the most popular topics to discuss during dinner is politics. Italians love discussing politics, particularly American politics. With the upcoming election, everyone is anxious to find out who will be the next "leader of the free world." In general, most native Italians with whom I have spoken think that if Trump were elected, it would mark the fall of democracy. While they are hesitant to support Clinton, they predict that a Trump administration would negatively impact the entire globe. I'm sure that these sentiments will continue to percolate as the election looms closer.


Our AirBnB in Amalfi
Now, I'm off to buy a train ticket to Napoli, for a weekend trip to the Amalfi Coast with my friends - a great way to welcome in the new school year!