Wednesday, Nov.

18, 1992 ~ N

orth Shore

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THE FRUGAL GOURMET

THERE 15 no other food
product, | am = sure, that
brings more contentment
and satisfaction to more
people than does pasta.

When I was a child we had
pasta in two forms: spaghetti and
macaroni. That was it.

Today the number of shapes
and flavors available provide an
incredible list of possibilities for
the frugal and harried cook.

Further, with a growing em-
phasis on the necessity of our
eatiug more grains, pasta is
perfec. Just perfect!

ANGEL HAIR PASTA
WITH WHIPPED CREAM
AND PORCINI
(Serves 4 to 6)

I think this is a very clever dish,
and I can say that because ! did
not invent it. My assistant, Craig
Woolam, came up with this
wonderful recipe.

Incidentally, you don’t have to
buy the very expensive itafian
dried porcini. You can find dried
mushrooms from South America
that are very good — and much
cheaper.

Y ounce dried porcini mushrooms
3 tablespoons olive ail

Y, cup chopped shallots

% pound fresh mushrooms,
chopped

% pint (1 cup) whipping cream

% pound angel hairy pasta

% cup grated Parmesan chees»
Salt and freshly grouad black
pepper io Caste

Place the porcini in a small
bow! and add 4% cup warm water.
Allow to soak 45 minutes. Drain,
reserving the liquid.

Heat a large frying pan. Add

asta possibi ities

the oil and shallots and saute a
minute. Add the fresh mushrooms
and saute until tender.

Chop the porcini coarsely and
add to the frying pan along with
the reserved liquid. Simmer until
most of the liquid is evaporated.

Bring a large pot of water to
boil along with a pinch of salt.

In a separate bow! whip che
cream until it holds soft peaks.
Refrigerate the whipped cream
until the pasta is cooked.

Cook the pasta in the boiling
water until af dente. Drain well.

Return the drained pasta to the
pot and add the mushroom mix-
ture, cheese, whipped cream and
salt and pepper to taste.

Using a large spatula, fold all
the ingredients together. Do this
quickly yet carefully so the whip-
ped cream doesn't collapse entire-
ly.

You may want to save a bit of
the whipped cream to dollop on
top of the pasta as a garnish.

Serve immediately.

STRAW AND HAY
(Serves 6 as a pasta course)

The name for this colorful pasta
dish comes from the fact that you
use pasta of two different colors,
yellow and ercen.

Y2 cup (1 stick) butter

Ys cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
Y2 pound spinach linguine

2 pound regular Singuine

Vs cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground biack
pepper to taste
Additional Parmesan cheese for
topping

Heat a small frying pan and
add the butter, olive oil and

garlic. Saute the garlic briefly, but
do not burn. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of waier with
a pinch of salt to a boil and in it
cook both pastas. (Check the
cooking times for both types of
pasta so you can time them pro-
perly.) Drain.

Return the pasta to the pot and
toss with the reserved butter and
garlic mixture, the cheese, and salt
and pepper to taste. To serve, top
the individual portions with addi-
tional cheese.

PASTA WITH SEAFOGD
(Serves 8 to 10 as a main course)

Leave it to the Italians to de-
velop a truly deiicious seafood
pasta. This dish is made with
seven different types of seafood!

Ya pound baccala (dried salt cod),

TODAY THE number of shapes ant fiavers of pasta available provide an incredibie list of
possibilities for the fruga! and harried cock.

Yeast: workhorse of the leavening

inquisitive
Gook

ANNE SUE
GARDINER WILSON

YEAST HAS remarkable
powers. As little as one
gram is said to contain
some 15,000 million — indi-
viduai cells.

So we're haiessing a lor of
potential when we bake with this
single-celied fungus.

{It's mind boggling to even con-
template the number of yeast cells
working to fift the dough for one
loaf of bread. But as little as one
package, or eight grams, casily
leavens eight cups (approximately
1 kg) of flour, or two average
loaves of pisin bread.

It's tricky to state an exact ralio
of yeast to flour because rising
power is influenced by the type of
yeast used, the other ingredients in
a recipe and the length of rising
time.

Because cakes of fresh yeast are
now hard to find, most home-
bakers use dried varieties.

Traditional dried yeast requires
softening i warm water before
being used. It bubbles happily at
temperatures between 110° and
PISSF (43°-46°C).

Using a thermometer eliminates
guessing about the warmth of the
water. Water lower than 00°F
(38°C) catses yeast to release a
substance cailed glutathione,
which makes dough sticky and
hard to handle.

Water over 140°F (60°C) kills
yeast cells.

Some of the newer varieties of
dried yeast can be added directly
io the dry ingredieats. Sume also
rise faster and are designed to
make baking more convenient.

When instant yeast granules are
added directly to the dry ingre-
dients, fiquids should be warmer

— up to 120°F (49°C),

Greater heat is needed because
the whole mass of dough has tc
become warm enough to activate
the veast.

Yeast: can work lazily ar with
exuberance, depending upon the
company it keeps. Sugar, for in-
Stance, is yeast’s favored focd.
But too much slows down its ac-
nions. Yeast sill works, but sweet
doughs always take longer to rise.

Generally, the longer dough is
able to rise, the less yeast is oeed-
ed, since yeast multiplies as dough
tises.

A rising time of seven to eight
hours may mean using half the
amount of yeast required by
breads left to rise only iwo or
three hours.

in extended rising periods it's
important 1 punch down and
knead the dough lightly once its
doubled in size. This redistributes

See Penne page 82

process

the pockets of gas and the heat
generated by the yeast cells.

Kneading also adds oxygen so
the yeast keeps working.

Salt does more than simply i
fluence Mavor in yeast breads; it’s
ane tial controller of the cate
at which yeast ferments,

Yeast breads with hurried rising
times need f. brakes on ihe
rising process, and thus Jess salt.
But no salt at all means uncon-
trolled rising and an uneven tea-
ture unless the aiount of yeast is
also reduced.

Yeast is the workhorse of the
leavening process. But you control
how well and how guickly it does
the job.

i¢s this combination that makes
baking with yeast such a satisfysag
adventure.

Next week, we'll cake an even
closer look at how yeast works.

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