Simplicity in a Noodle

It never ceases to amaze me that the most delicious and eye-appealing food can be made from the simplest ingredients. Fresh tomato slices with mozzarella cheese and bits of fresh basil makes my mouth water (and wish it was summer already; enough with the everlasting cold rain). Egg whites whipped to peaks with a bit of sugar then baked to golden brown goodness make melt-in your-mouth meringues come to mind. But the simplest and most versatile combination of ingredients I can think of is flour and water.
Mix flour and water together and let it sit around for a day or two and you can bake it into bread. Roll the dough out into a disc and you can fry it into flat breads. Roll it out even thinner, cut it into any shape that suits your fancy, throw it in some boiling water for a few minutes, and you’ve got pasta.
Pasta, noodles, mein, itriya, or whatever you want to call it, is a simple food with endless possibilities.
Before I go into the history and chemistry of pasta, I’ve got to clear up some terminology. Noodle, which derives from the German word nudel, is used to describe strips or shapes of unleavened dough made from any ingredient. Pasta, on the other hand, is very specific about its ingredients. Pasta is a noodle that must be made from wheat. And in Italy, from whence the name derives, pasta must be made from durum wheat
Now that that’s all cleared up, let’s move on.
Noodles were invented at least 2000 years ago. There is still heated debate about which region developed them first: China, Italy or the Middle East. China seems to be ahead in the race and the fairly recent discovery of intact 4000 year old millet noodles clinched the deal for me. The Chinese were also the first to invent filled noodles and have perfected the technique of making glass-like noodles out of pure starch.
Although it is possible to make noodles out of any starch or grain, as evidenced by those very old millet noodles, wheat is the preferred base ingredient. Any type of wheat will make pasta but durum wheat has some distinct chemical advantages.
Durum wheat is high in gluten content and that gluten is less elastic than wheat used to make bread. The gluten protein is necessary to create the cohesiveness needed to bond the flour together and yet let it retain some flexibility to be rolled and stretched into all those wonderful shapes. Because durum wheat is less elastic, the dough doesn’t fight back as much (and those of you who have ever rolled out bread dough only to have it spring back to its original shape once you stop rolling know what I’m talking about). This allows the dough to be rolled into long thin sheets with a bit more ease.
The process of making pasta is relatively easy. The flour and water are combined, kneaded for a bit to form a stiff dough and then allowed to rest. During this rest period, water is absorbed into the flour and the gluten network begins to form. The dough is then repeatedly rolled out, expelling air bubbles and aligning and elongating the protein fibers. The dough is then cut or extruded into the desired shape.
When the pasta hits the boiling water, the well organized protein network begins to break down and water is absorbed into the structure. The starch molecules within the protein matrix begin to swell, and some of the starch is released into the water. The outer layer absorbs water and becomes soft while the inner layer stays a bit firmer. These days pasta is considered done or al dente just before the inner layer begins to absorb water (our crazy ancestors cooked it for up to an hour).
Although cooking the pasta seems like the most straightforward part of the process, there is heated debate about the right way to do it. Most cookbooks advise you to use a large pot with boiling water equal to ten times the weight of the pasta you are cooking. This allows plenty of water for the pasta to absorb, with some left over to dilute the starch it releases. Adding salt can reduce the amount of starch lost to the water and prevent stickiness as can adding some type of acid. Oil is added to prevent the individual strands from sticking together but this can be done by making sure to stir the noodles for the first few minute of cooking.
Recently I’ve throw all that advise out the window and I’ve been cooking my pasta in just enough salted water to cover the noodles. I start out with cold water and bring water and noodles to a boil together. The results taste just like pasta albeit a bit more starchy (which you don’t notice once it’s tossed with sauce) and I cut the cooking time in half and save all that water and energy (I must give credit to my food chemistry idol, Harold McGee, for questioning the age old tradition of all that water).
Although I love the simplicity of pasta, it’s the endless variations it offers that fascinate me. Sure you can mix flour and water together, roll it out and cut it into strips and call it pasta. But you can also add eggs or herbs or squid ink to change its consistency, flavor and color. You can wrap it around a meat or cheese filling and form it into a triangle, a half moon, a tube, or a purse. You can extrude it through a die into simple spaghetti or complex little noodles shaped like radiators or wagon wheels. You can make it and dry it to store for a year or you can toss it directly in the pot and have dinner ready in minutes. And then there are the endless varieties of sauce you can top it all with… I guess it’s not really all that simple.


Fresh Egg Pasta
enough for two generous portions

Pasta:
6 oz. all purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Sauce:
3 T butter
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 T. chopped fresh herbs (oregano, basil, thyme, and sage all work well)

Place the flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the egg. Gradually stir the flour into the egg. Once the flour is all incorporated, turn the dough out onto the counter and kneed until the dough is smooth. Let it rest covered for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into small balls, about 3 inches in diameter. Working one at a time and keeping the other balls covered, roll out the dough on a floured work surface with a rolling pin or pasta rolling machine. Keep the dough well floured to prevent sticking. When the dough is as thin as you can get it or on the last setting of the rolling machine, cut it into the desired shape and set on a rack while you roll and cut the remaining dough.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook for about 5 minutes or until done.
Meanwhile, heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the foam subsides, add the garlic and cook until softened and fragrant.
Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the melted garlic butter and chopped herbs. Toss and serve.

Breakfast of World Champions

Everyone has heard the admonition to make sure to eat a good breakfast. Breakfast refuels your body after a night of fasting and helps your brain and your body get through the first part of the day. There are tons of studies out there to show all the good things eating breakfast can do for you, but my question is: Why in the world would you want to skip breakfast? It’s the best meal of the day.
At our house, breakfast rules. On the weekend we (well, mostly Jon) spend at least an hour putting together something supremely delicious. It might be omelets, home fries, and breakfast sausage (all from local ingredients thanks to Heritage Farms, Vern’s Veggies, and Cascade Creek, without whom breakfast wouldn’t be the same) or huckleberry pancakes or waffles made from yeasted batter left to sit overnight and develop into a delectable and complex flavor. Occasionally, I’ll get a hankering to bake and we’ll have hot biscuits or scones.
There’s always lots of hot coffee and tea (with homemade Irish Crème added if we’re feeling particularly decadent) and on special occasions we get out the juicer and make fresh squeezed Mimosas.
Weekday breakfasts are equally delicious, if a bit pared down. Oatmeal with huckleberries, scrambled eggs on homemade toast, grits with fried eggs and hot sauce, yogurt with fresh made granola and berries are a few of the regulars. My less traditional favorites are leftovers from pizza night or cold spaghetti (I know it sounds weird but don’t knock it till you try it).
This weekend, as I polished off my plate of eggs, potatoes and sausage, I felt quite sure that this was not what everyone in the world considered a perfect breakfast. Other cultures must have equally delicious but foreign fare for their first meal of the day. Maybe I was missing out on something I should try.
After the dishes were washed (the price I pay for having someone cook me a gourmet breakfast in my own home every weekend), I sat down with my second cup of tea and searched the internet to find out what people from different cultures and continents eat for their most important meal of the day.
One of my first discoveries and a new addition to my list of must eats for breakfast was a type of rice soaked in coconut cream and steamed. Nasi lemak is the national dish of Malaysia and is served with various accompaniments including dried anchovies in a spicy sambal sauce, roasted peanuts, and hard boiled eggs. It’s served anytime of the day but is traditionally a breakfast food.
Rice is a predominant theme in Asian breakfasts, with each country and region adding its own twist. Some use last night’s leftovers for the base of the morning meal, others cook the rice to a porridge consistency, and most add ingredients we Westerners would consider “wrong” for breakfast like dried and salted fish (although we do like our smoked salmon) and lots of spicy chilies.
There are also a wide array of delicious sounding breads and noodles served for breakfast across Asia. These are accompanied by stuff you just don’t see on a breakfast plate north Idaho, like pickled vegetables, preserved eggs, dried fish, and spicy curries.
Middle Eastern breakfasts vary as much as Asian ones but there are some common themes. Yogurt and cheeses are eaten along with various flatbreads. Olives, olive oil, tomatoes, and some type of bean dish often augment the bread and cheese. The most interesting Middle Eastern dish I came across was from Iran. Called halim and eaten in the early morning, it’s a wheat porridge cooked with either poultry, lamb or beef. What got my attention is that it is served with cinnamon, butter and sugar; not your typical breakfast combo. At first I couldn’t see how those flavors would combine well, but as I read through some recipes I could see the appeal.
African breakfasts take their influence from either the Middle East or Europe depending on what part of the continent you are in. Northern African breakfasts rely on flat breads (mostly made from millet or sorghum, not wheat) with fish, beans, yogurt and spices for accompaniments. South African breakfast is heavily influenced by its colonizers and features eggs, bread and meat with an unfortunate emphasis on sugary breakfast cereal from multi-national corporations. In poor areas, porridge of cassava, millet, and rice are common along with whatever fruit is in season.
Although coffee is not native to South and Central America, it took to the soils there and flourished. It also became part of the breakfast culture and everything I read about Latin American breakfast begins with a cup of strong coffee or hot chocolate (which I’m guessing is what coffee replaced when it was introduced). Besides coffee, there is no overriding theme. Breads and jam and fruit juice are popular and well as tortillas and different types of porridge or beans. One of my favorite breakfast foods, huevos rancheros, is more traditionally a mid-morning meal, not something you’d break your fast with.
European breakfasts come the closest to what many of us are used to. Breads with butter and jam, sweet pastries, sausages and cured meats, cheeses, and fruit juices abound. Eggs are not as prevalent but the varieties of bread products more than makes up for it. And, of course, there are infinite ways to get your caffeine fix; the Italians did invent the latte after all.
After all my research over the weekend, I woke up this morning thinking about coconut rice and spicy sauces but I had to get to my computer to write this article so I made due with leftovers. Oh well, maybe we’ll have breakfast for dinner tonight to make up for it.


Breakfast Bars
Even though this recipe has nothing to do with international breakfasts and is a totally Americanized idea of the meal, I made them this weekend and they are mighty tasty.
Adapted from Eating Well Magazine

1 c rolled oats
1/4 c chopped nuts (I used almonds)
¼ c wide chip unsweetened coconut
3 T mixed seeds (I used flax and black sesame seeds)
1 c puffed cereal (I used puffed millet
1 c chopped dried fruit (I used apricots and raisins)
¼ c creamy nut butter (I used peanut butter and tahini)
¼ c sugar
¼ c honey
½ t vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Coat a 8”x8” baking pan with cooking spray.
Mix oats, nuts, coconut and seeds together on a baking sheet. Toast in a 350F oven for 10 minutes or until lightly toasted, shaking pan occasionally. Transfer to a large bowl and add cereal and dried fruit.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the nut butter, sugar, honey, vanilla and salt. Stir frequently and heat until the mixture begins to bubble.
Pour hot mixture over grain mixture and stir with a spatula until well combined and no dry bits remain. This takes some doing and under no circumstance should you try and mix it with your hands. The stuff is really hot (I know this from experience). Pour mixture into prepared pan and press down to make an even layer. Allow to cool and firm up. Cut into 8 bars.

The finished Breakfast Bars.
They taste way better than this picture makes them look.