SAKG

Continuing on our pasta theme this term, this week we made a fresh, eggless pasta  known as trofie. Born from the Italian "Cucina Povera", which literally translates as "poor kitchen" this is a quick and easy pasta style made from flour and water. That's it! Historically, chickens and eggs were a luxury item, particularly in the rocky, mountainous area of Abruzzo and surrounds parts of Italy, but people still enjoyed their pasta, so improvised, necessity being the mother of most inventions.  Egg in pasta dough adds softness and a smooth, velvety mouth feel, but trofie pasta has it's own merit with a pleasant denseness to the texture.

It was very rewarding to listen to the students' observations and thoughts about this pasta as it dawned on them that the same ingredients are used in basic damper dough.  Interesting and thoughtful discussions were held about the role of ratios, heat and technique on the ingredients, creating vastly different outcomes.  An impromptu science lesson instigated by the children,  in a context where it was meaningful and relevant.  Just one of the reasons I love teaching in a Kitchen Garden program - students learning so naturally!

No pasta machine is required for trofie. Hopefully you can give it a go on the weekend or in the next holiday break. Hand rolling these little noodles is quite meditative and calming.

Ingredients 

2 1/2 Cups All-purpose Flour 

1 Teaspoon Sea Salt 

3/4 – 1 Cup Water 

What to do

1. Place the flour and salt in a bowl and add 3/4 cup water to start. Use a fork and mix together, adding the rest of the water as needed to create a dough. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface. 
2. Use your hands and knead the dough, adding a little additional flour as needed until you create a smooth, non-sticky dough. 
3. Wrap your dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. This step allows the dough to relax and allows it to be shaped much easier than if you began to work with it immediately. 
4. Once the dough has rested, break off about 1/4 of the dough keeping the rest wrapped. On a lightly floured surface use your hands to roll the dough into a tube about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch around. Keep the dough lightly floured to prevent sticking. 
5. Use a sharp knife and cut the tube into 1/4 of an inch little pillows. Sprinkle the pillows with flour. 
6. To shape the trofie, take a lightly floured piece of dough and rub it briskly between the palms of your hands to create a little tube with tapered ends. You only need to rub your hands back and forth three or four times to create the trofie. Drop the shaped dough onto a lightly floured board. 
7. Lightly flour a baking sheet, and lay the prepared trofie on the pan. Cook in small batches in a large pot of boiling water.

In the garden...

Many thanks to Sharon and Ben Black for generously sourcing materials and problem solving a way to cover the leaky roof of our garden shed, it is very much appreciated.  

Big thanks also to our wonderful volunteers in the kitchen and garden program.   If you are available on a Monday to come along to either (or both!) of these sessions, we are always very happy to welcome volunteers.   You do not need to have any special skills or knowledge and the students are always so proud to have their parent, grandparent or special person working with them at school.