My version of Vincisgassi – the trials and tribulations

The “courtyard” that I sourced from was my local supermarket.  So it would be made from what I could find there.  I found ground chicken, ground pork, chicken hearts and gizzards, Pecorino Romano cheese (hard sheep milk cheese), & baby portabella mushrooms.  I pulled fresh rosemary from my yard.

I also bought lasagna noodles in case my homemade pasta didn’t work.  Yes, I was on track to be an overachiever today, at least for me, and had decided to try to make fresh pasta.  I have made gnocchi before, but the hand-cranked pasta maker I own has just been on display until now.

What was I thinking?

I started the day by putting my recipe together.  I had an idea of what I planned to do and had the ingredients.  Now, it was time to come up with the measurements to begin and the plan for cooking.

Then came prepping all the ingredients.  An hour or so of finely chopping carrots, onions, celery, and mushrooms, measuring out all the ingredients, and putting them into separate containers so that I could have them ready as Michael and I filmed the recipe.

It was after lunch when we got started making the pasta.  I had settled on a recipe that was heavy on the egg yolks.  From what I read, this seemed to be the style for this dish.  I also added olive oil.  I found two recipes that said it made the dough more pleasant to work with.  And I decided to do it Nonna style.  I mean, it would be prettier for the video, right?

That part went okay, and then I used the scrapper to incorporate the flour fully, and then I began the arduous work of kneading.  My dough was not smooth, nor did it seem to be getting too much smoother as I kneaded.  I could feel it developing stretch, but it didn’t seem as elastic as anticipated.  I had planned to start with 8 minutes, increasing to 10 if it didn’t seem stretchy enough.  I ended up kneading for 15 minutes before throwing my hands in the air, deciding it would have to be good enough.

I wrapped the dough to let it rest and prepared to make the pasta.

On my first attempt, I got the dough stuck in the rollers and had to cut it to get it out.  Finally, I had hand-rolled it thin enough to get it through at the 1^st setting.  I continued, putting it through twice at each setting until I got to 7.  One trick I learned.  On the first pass at each setting, I started it at the setting before.  Once the dough caught the rollers, I would increase it to the next setting.  Worked like a charm.

I did have trouble with it pulling through crooked (a problem I used to have with my laminating machine).  To solve this, I would periodically cut the end flush so that the rollers had a straight edge to pull.

By the time I finished with the 5^th setting, the pasta was long enough to need to be cut.  I cut it in half and continued.  After 1 pass-through at 7, I called it done and could typically cut it in half, creating 2 sheets of pasta that would cover a layer.

This went onto a sheet pan on parchment with parchment between every layer.  Then I wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.

Now, it was time to start the meat sauce.

I began with duck fat for the meat sauce since I had that in the fridge and cooked the cubed pancetta in that, then the soffritto went in, along with 2 cloves and a bay leaf.  Once the vegetables softened, I removed the cloves and bay leaf, added the ground chicken and pork, and cooked until there was no pink.  I added the tomato paste, a splash of dry white wine, and then 2 cups of chicken stock (just enough to cover the meat).  I closed the Dutch oven and let it cook a bit.  After about 5 minutes, I cracked the lid to let the steam escape and reduce the sauce.

After about 30 minutes, I removed the lid and used a ladle to remove some extra liquid.

I browned the hearts and gizzards in butter and olive oil, then gave them an extra rough chop to make smaller pieces.  I cooked the finely chopped mushrooms in butter and olive oil with fresh chopped rosemary and minced garlic and set that aside.

I preheated my oven to 375 degrees and started the pot of water for the pasta.

Now it was time for bechamel.  I should attempt to make this more often because it is a feel thing.  The burners, one warming the milk, the other melting the butter, were taking their own sweet time heating up.  I found my roux ready long before the milk was warm.  I likely dried it out too much.  I added ladles of the warm milk, and it didn’t seem to be thickening.  So I started again.  This time, it thickened properly.  I added a bit of pecorino, then my mushroom mixture.  In the end, I wish I would have had more of this, and if I try it again, I might make more bechamel sauce.

At this point, I mixed the chicken gizzards and hearts with the meat mixture, and I was just about ready to assemble the dish.

Okay, time to cook the pasta!  My sheets were the width of the pasta machine and just the right length to cover the baking dish, about 6 inches by 13 for my 9 by 13 baking dish.  I knew this thin pasta would cook in about a minute, and I planned to cook them as needed so they wouldn’t dry out.  I found that I needed to cook them one at a time and give them a minute to cool so I didn’t burn my fingers trying to lay them out.

The assembly process went like this.  I buttered the dish and laid a layer of pasta, did a thin coating of meat, covered with the mushroom bechamel, and grated a generous portion of pecorino romano.  I managed to do this 3 times (I know, I have to figure out how to get it to 7 layers!).  I topped it with a final layer of noodles, dotted it with butter, and grated more cheese.  The butter was too much.  I would top this differently next time, but it still came out delicious.

This baked in the convection oven for 25 minutes, then broiled for 2 to 3 on the center rack to brown the top.  I let it rest on the counter for 15 minutes before cutting.  This was not firm, so I suggest cutting and scooping.  I served these in small decorative restaurant-style plates and garnished with more grated pecorino and fresh Italian parsley.