My husband has been away this week, which means we have been stuffing our faces with gluten and dairy. I am so sick of pasta right now, I never thought I would see the day. We had three nights of pasta dishes, and one night of pizza…boy could I use a big hunk of meat right about now. I have to say, the meals have been delicious, but thank goodness he is coming home tonight. So, what did I make? Well, I definitely plan on sharing two recipes with you – with this one being the first. Of course each night we had to discuss whether the dishes were “blogworthy” and this one got a resounding “YES,” which I really wasn’t expecting…
I used to make homemade pasta quite often – that was before I had children, and I could be in the kitchen for hours on end, with no interruptions. My husband bought me this really awesome pasta machine – and drying rack. It has all sorts of attachments, and I would try many different varieties. This of course was before he realized that pasta was not his friend – although the strange thing is he actually does ok with homemade pasta, figure that? The pasta making stopped years ago – and now when I am craving that delicious bite – I go to one of my favorite Italian restaurants, where they really do it right – Spinasse is definitely on top – and their pasta is to die for…seriously. Months and months ago – I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit, and the cooking and hands-on time was only 30 minutes. Basically the caption was – “the one homemade pasta suited for weeknight dinners.” Well, that had me right there. So, I finally tried it out – of course I made a few changes of my own – and it took me a little longer than 30 minutes – but not much. The kids LOVED this – and I did too. The dumplings were a little more all-dente than I would have wanted, but they had a wonderful taste and bite to them. I thought they were perfect with the broccolini (since I didn’t have any mustard greens in the house that the original recipe called for). Also – I added half the amount of butter (reflected below), and thought that was plenty – after all, it was a weeknight dinner.
So, if you are itching for some homemade pasta – but know you don’t have the time to do it justice – give this recipe a try. It would be great with a delicate tomato sauce as well (that we had two nights ago with meatballs). There is a lot you could do with these beauties. It’s been a fun food week – but I can’t wait for tomorrow!!!
Ingredients
- 2 cups semolina flour (pasta flour)
- Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 bunch broccolini (baby broccoli)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup grated Pecorino or Parmesan
Preparation
Spread semolina flour in an even layer in an 8x8x2-inch baking dish. Fill a small bowl with 1 cup water and set next to dish. Working in 4-5 batches, gather your fingertips and thumb of 1 hand together and, working quickly, dip into bowl of water, lift hand from bowl, and splatter water over semolina. Repeat several times until surface of semolina is dotted with ragged wet patches about the size of a nickel. Let stand until water is absorbed, forming individual dumplings, about 5 seconds. Using a fish spatula or slotted spoon, turn dumplings over to coat with semolina, then transfer to a sieve. Shake gently over same baking dish to remove excess semolina; transfer dumplings to a large rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining semolina and water until all of the water or all of the semolina has been used (there may be some water or semolina left over).
Working in 3-4 batches, cook dumplings in a large pot of slowly boiling salted water (if the water is boiling too rapidly, it may break up the dumplings), gently swirling water once or twice to prevent sticking, until al dente, about 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer frascatelli to another large rimmed baking sheet.
Steam the broccolini so it is crisp tender. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until butter is foamy and browned bits form on the bottom of pan, about 2 minutes. Add cooked frascatelli and toss gently to coat. Add broccolini and fold gently. Season to taste with salt and pepper and divide among bowls. Top frascatelli with grated Pecorino.
For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Frascatelli with Pecorino and Broccolini
First Look, Then Cook 
I have not tried to make these little dumplings before. It would be fun if you made a video showing the steps on how to make the pasta.
I haven’t made homemade pasta in a long time but your dish is very inspiring.
You know I’m a pasta junkie. Just finished a bowl tonight in fact. And oh how I love to make homemade pasta. Semolina is one of my favorites for making dough too. I know this would be a hit with our family (Well, if I could get Mr. N to eat the greens.). A week of pasta sounds perfect to me…though you’re right, it can get to be a bit much.