So You Want to Make Pasta Like TK

When I was working in Maine, I was quite lucky. With the exception that I was living with a giant bi…wow, let’s not go there…I will tell you that I miss the dog. She was a bitch too, but in a good way. Shoot, I knew I would let it slip.

She was my diva dog

Anyway, this post is about pasta. I was working at Hugo’s – a great restaurant run by a former sous-chef of Thomas Keller, Rob Evans. He was a very cool guy and a fantastic chef. I think he should have opened a place in New York, he would just kill it. Frankly, I still think he should. Unlike a lot of people I see opening restaurants, he earned his stripes. Well, one of my jobs everyday was to make the pasta, the way TK would make it. That means – NO KITCHEN AID – you dig!! We knead the pasta by hand. You knead the pasta everyday for 30 minutes. You dig. I really do miss the dog.

As you might recall (if you are one of the five people who read this blog), I had an abundance of egg yolks from the white cake I made for my niece. I could think of only one thing I could make with an extra 12 egg yolks -  TK’s pasta. It is absolutely the best pasta you will ever make. It is rich, tender, and has just enough of a bite.  It starts off really wet and slightly hard to control, that is why I usually recommend preparing it on a metal surface. Plus, if you use a metal surface, you will end up using less flour.  The recipe says 2 1/2 cups…but it should be closer to 2 cups.

So, start it like you would any pasta.  Make a well with the flour and add the wet ingredients to the center.  You should use a bench scrapper and a fork to help you mix the ingredients into a controllable ball. The surface of the ball will be rough.

That is a mix of the yolks, eggs, milk, and oil

Look how the ball is rough, it just came together

When you knead, make sure you are using the bottom of your palm and pushing hard into the counter and folding the dough over onto itself. And now you knead, and knead, and knead..until it is smooth.  Think 30 minutes.  I do not want to seem like a chauvinist ass, but they used to tell me, “When it feels like a woman’s breast, it’s ready.” I hate to tell you what they said when I made banana foster.  If you do not know what a breast feels like, then push your thumb into the ball and when it slowly regains its shape, it is ready….

It looks so good when its so smooth

Looks smooth

Now, dust with flour, wrap it tight in saran, refrigerate, and let it rest…at least 1 hour…

I was bringing it to my girlfriends, and I didn't have a pasta roller. If you are going to use a rolling pin, remember you will be working hard.... remember to clean the kitchen counter of cat hair when at your girlfriends house

Not as thin as I would like it

the final product

TK Pasta

2 – 2 1/2 cups   flour

12     Egg yolks

2       Whole eggs

2T     Milk

1T      Olive Oil

1/2T  Salt

If you have any questions, just leave me a comment and I will get back to you…

Have a nice day..