Pasta roll for an elegant dinner

Ingredients

• Dough
• Dry Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• A pinch of salt
• A pinch of baking powder
• Wet Ingredients
• 2 eggs
• Tepid water
• Other Items Needed
• Cheesecloth, 1 large piece or if you don't have a big enough pan, you can make the pasta roll in 2 pieces. You will then need 2 pieces of cheesecloth.

Spinach Filling:

• 2 packages spinach cooked and drained
• 4 tablespoons chopped onions
• 4 tablespoons Portobello mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon creamed butter
• 4 tablespoons Mortadella (an Italian cold cut that can be found in the deli section of most supermarkets)
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (mix with the spinach)

Cheese Filling:

• 1 libra. Ricotta
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg yoke
• Salt to taste

Tomato Sauce:

• 1/3 cup each chopped carrots, celery and onions
• 1 libra. can kitchen ready tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 tablespoon sugar

Béchamel Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup warm milk

Preparation

• Kitchen string:
  Place the dough ingredients except for the water, into a food processor with the dough attachment. Process until the mixture looks like corn meal. Add a little water and when a ball has formed, remove it and knead it for 10 minutes. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel until you are ready to roll it out.
• Spinach Filling:
  Cook the spinach for just 1-2 minutes and squeeze out all of the water. It should be absolutely dry. Sauté the onions and the Mortadella in the butter for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms at the end for an additional minute. Allow the mixture to cool.
• Cheese Filling:
  Mix all of the cheese filling ingredients until it is well blended.
• Assembly
  Roll the dough out to 10x16. Spread the cheese mixture over the dough leaving about 1 around the edges. Spread the spinach mixture over the cheese layer. Fold the side edges in and roll it length wise similar to a jellyroll.
• Place the roll on the cheesecloth and roll it securing the ends with kitchen string. Leave a little room at the ends for the dough to expand. Place the pasta roll in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• In a pan large enough to hold the pasta roll, boil salted water. Turn it down to a gentle boil before placing the pasta roll into the water. Cook for 20 minutes.
• Remove it from the water and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Remove the cheesecloth. Warm the plates in the plate warmer section of your oven if you have one or turn your oven on to 180 degrees. Put a layer of sauce on the plate, and cut the pasta roll into 1? slices placing them on top of the sauce.
• Tomato Sauce:
  Sauté the carrots, celery and onions until the onions are slightly soft. Place the remaining ingredients in the pan and cook for 1/2 hour. Salt to taste.
• Béchamel Sauce:
  Melt the butter over medium heat and add the flour stirring constantly until it becomes a paste. Add the warm milk little at a time blending it into the paste. As the sauce becomes thick make adjustments adding more flour or milk depending on the consistency of the sauce. It should be a thick white sauce.
• Mix the two sauces together when using this recipe for the pasta roll and place a layer of the sauce on a warm plate, then placing slices of the pasta roll on top.

Questions

Photos of members who cooked this recipe

Comments