Worth the time

Garganelli saffron with creamy sausage sauce

Recipe (4 servings) ingredients:

For the dough:

400g flour (I always use ‘de Cecco’ flour)
4 whole eggs
1/2 tea spoon saffron
4 tbs grated parmesan
salt

On a flat surface, sift the flour and dig a hole in the center into which the eggs will be added. Start mixing with a fork and incorporate the flour little by little. Once the flour is all mixed with the yolks, start mixing using your hands until the mixture is well homogeneous. Add the saffron, the parmesan and season with salt. If needed, add some water. Form the dough into a ball and wrap it inside a plastic wrap. Let it rest aside for at least 20 minutes and prepare the stuffing. For the pasta making, dust your work surface with some flour. Take a lump of dough and press it with your fingertips. Set the pasta machine at its widest setting and roll the pasta dough though it. If the pasta sticks, dust it with flour. Click the pasta machine down a setting and roll the dough through again. Fold the pasta in half, click the pasta machine back up to the widest setting and roll the dough through again. Repeat this process four to five times. The pasta dough becomes smooth and workable like that. Now it’s time to roll the dough out properly, working it through all the settings on the machine, from the widest down to the narrowest. Dust both sides of the pasta with some Cecco flour every time you roll it through the machine. When you’ve got down to the narrowest setting, fold the pasta in half lengthwise, then in half again, and again once more until you’ve got a square piece of dough. Turn it 90 degrees and pass it through the machine at the widest setting. As you roll it down through the settings for the last time, you should end up with a nice rectangular sheet of dough with straight sides. If your dough is a little cracked at the edges, fold it in half just once, click the machine back two settings and feed it through again.

If you are curious to learn how to make your own Garganelli, click on the Garganelli making and give it a try !

For the stuffing:

2 tbs olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
350g Italian sausage
200ml liquid cream
60g parmesan freshly grated
1/4 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
nutmeg, salt, pepper

Heat the olive oil in a medium heat and add the finely chopped onion. Cook for about 4-5 minutes. in the meantime, remove the skin around the sausages and cut the inside in fine pieces. Add the minced meat in the skillet and cook for 5 more minutes until it becomes brown. Add the cream and simmer for about 15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Before serving, add the freshly chopped parsley. Top your Garganelli with the grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy !!