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Gillian Hegarty’s Home-made Pasta by Rachel Allen

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Makes approx. ¾lb (350g) fresh pasta, feeds approximately 3-4.

You will need:

300g (10oz) ’00’ flour

25g (1oz) semolina flour and extra for dusting

A good pinch of salt

1 whole egg and 3 large egg yolks

1 dessertspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon cold water

Sift the ’00’ flour, 25g (1oz) of the semolina flour and the pinch of salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour, break in one whole egg and two egg yolks into the centre, together with the extra-virgin olive oil and the cold water and mix everything together.

When the dough is at a crumbly stage (before you form it into a ball) check to see if there is enough moisture in it. If there is not, add the remaining egg yolk and maybe even an extra egg white. It is difficult to be exact with the quantity of liquid, as it depends on the size of the eggs and the brand of flour.

Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes or until it is really smooth and silky, see my Tip, above left. Wrap it well in cling film and let it rest for 30 minutes before rolling. Divide the dough into three pieces – keep two covered in cling film while you roll the other piece into a length that is 1-2mm (about 1/8in) thick. As a guide, you shouldn’t be able to read the lettering on a matchbox through the pasta. If the pasta is rolled too thinly it will be too sloppy and won’t be strong enough to hold the sauce.

Using a knife or pizza wheel, cut into ¼in (5mm) strips for noodles or tagliatelle. Pappardelle are the widest of the noodles, they should be cut to a width of 15mm (about »in) with a crimped-edge cutter. Toss the cut pasta in the extra semolina flour and then place them on a tray that is also sprinkled generously with semolina flour. Repeat with the remaining pasta dough.

The pasta is best if the strips are allowed to dry out for at least an hour in the fridge or cool place.

It can be kept for up to three days in the fridge.

http://www.rachelallen.com/post/gillian-hegartys-home-made-pasta

 

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Clodagh McKenna‏, My Carrot Cake with Orange Blossom frosting recipe

Makes 1 Cake (10 portions)

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs

140ml/5floz vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing

220/7oz light brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

350g/12oz grated carrots, (grated weight)

100g/3½ oz golden raisins

100g/3½ oz walnuts, chopped

200g/7oz self-raising flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the orange blossom frosting 

300g/10½ oz cream cheese, chilled

70g/2½ oz butter, at room temperature

300g/10½ oz icing sugar, sifted

1 orange, zest only

2 teaspoons of orange blossom water

METHOD:

1.          Preheat the oven to 180°C and oil and line a 13 x 23cm loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

2.        For the carrot cake: beat the eggs in a large bowl, then add the oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, grated carrot, raisins and chopped walnuts.

3.        Sift in the rest of the dry ingredients and bring the mixture together using a wooden or large metal spoon until well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, smooth the surface and bake in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. If you’re using a ceramic baking dish then you’ll need to add 15 minutes to the cooking time.

4.       Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the tin for about five minutes before removing. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

5.        For the orange blossom frosting: beat the cream cheese and butter together in a bowl until well combined. Add the icing sugar, orange blossom water and finely grated orange zest and mix until the frosting is smooth and thick. Using a palette knife, spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cake, dipping the knife into a bowl of hot water if the icing is hard to spread out.

6.       Decorate with orange zest on top of the frosting.