Fazzoletti, Sweet Onion Soubise, Mango Lassi, Kurkuri Bhindi

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Porcini Fazzoletti
That's Italian for "mushroom handkerchiefs" a kind of simple sheet pasta flavored with mushroom powder.  I had this dish a week or so back when we were in South Carolina for Sally's niece's wedding in Greenville, where we ate dinner one evening at a place called The Lazy Goat.   Mine came with a "Spring Onion Soubise" sauce (see below) and crispy cubes of Guanciale, a kind of thick-cut pork jowl bacon, and dusted with black sesame seeds.  Served with minimal sauce, Italian style, not drowned in sauce American style.

So this is my first attempt at home-made pasta in probably twenty years.  Without a pasta machine. 

The dough is simple, almost no knead.  For two servings of about 15 handkerchiefs each:

1 cup AP flour or half cake flour/half AP
2 Eggs
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Porcini or Mushroom Powder

Put things in your food processor (minus the egg shells!) and pulse a few times until the dough  balls up and runs around the bowl.  Remove the dough to a floured surface and add (by kneading) enough more flour so it's no longer a sticky wad.  Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge about 30 minutes.

Bring a big pot of water almost to a rolling boil and let it continue heating while you roll out the handkerchiefs.   Divide the dough in half, and on a floured surface roll out one of the halves long, narrow and thin.  Mine came out about 4" x 12" x less than 1/8" thick.  The thinner you can roll it out, the better.  This is where a pasta machine would come in handy.  But hey,  Rolling pins were invented first!  Just make sure your fazzoletti are realllly thin.

Use a pizza cutter or table knife to cut the dough into squares about 2x2, not more than 3x3.  Lay them on a floured sheet of parchment paper while you roll and cut the rest of the dough.  Combine the scraps roll them out and cut again.

Slide a few handkerchiefs at a time into the hard boiling water (don't crowd them the way be do other pastas) and boil them for 3-6 minutes until tender-to-al dente.  Drain cooked pasta and rest on a plate until the cooking is complete.  If you have a large spider or slotted spoon, you can re-heat cooled pasta with a quick dunk in boiling water before serving. 

When served here at home I dressed the cooked pasta with a couple tablespoons of basil pesto and some toasted pine nuts.   That's Italian!

Kabocha With Sweet Onion Soubise

Soubise
Documented first in 1836, soubise is a stewed onion cream sauce that tastes almost nothing like onion!   It is an excellent accompaniment for any meat dish, and quite a few pasta and vegetable dishes.  I first had Soubise on the Porcini Fazzoletti at the Lazy Goat, where it was finished with fresh pureed herbs to give it a bright green color.  You can also finish it with a bit of curry or paprika flavored tomato puree as I did below.  The amounts of butter and dairy you use will determine how rich your sauce comes out -- from cloyingly rich to delicate.  

Sweet Onions -- spring onions, Vidalia, Maui, Walla Walla or generic Sweet, not Spanish
Butter
Cream or Half & Half or Whole Milk
Finish -- tomato puree, pureed herbs, or powdered "base" such as vegetable or chicken

For my dish I used two large Vidalia sweet onions, a couple tablespoons of butter, half a cup of Whole Milk, a couple tablespoons of tomato paste, and a 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder for a hint of India.

Slice the onion(s) and cook them -- roasted or pan-sweated but not browned, stewed, even microwave them (as I did) as if you were going to make French Onion Soup. 

You want the cooked onions to be falling-apart soft and finely translucent, with no hint of brown.  Stir in "some" butter with the hot onions until it's melted.   Transfer to your food processor and puree.  Add dairy (or even non-dairy 'milk') to get a gravy/sauce consistency.

Last, add a couple tablespoons of your Finish and puree again until well combined and you have the flavor you want.   

I served my soubise on:

Kabocha Squash
Kabocha Squash, in Japan, is called 'pumpkin'.  Sweeter than Acorn or Butternut and with an edible green skin, it's an excellent vegetarian main dish or main ingredient when stuffed with flavored rice, served in stir fries, soups, or casseroles.  

As you see above, I chose to simply cut mine into wedges, dust with Everglades Seasoningtm, airfry them at 400 for 30 minutes, and accompany them with the Soubise.

Kurkuri Bhindi
I admit, I detest boiled okra.  This Indian crispy-fried okra, on the other hand, is to die for!  We first had this at the Chai Pani Indian Street Food restaurant in downtown Asheville, NC,  8 or 9 years ago, and it has become a ritual for us to to indulge every time we fly into/out of Asheville.

Of course I came home that first time and started working up a copycat version.  The secret ingredients are Amchur Powder, an Indian ingredient which is simply dried, powdered Green Mango (very tart and tasty) a bit of Lime Salt or pinch of salt and lime juice applied to the cooking okra.  I get my Amchur powder from the nearest Indian grocery for a couple bucks and it lasts a lonnnng time.

For this recipe you need a flat griddle pan or large diameter thick bottomed skillet.

1 lb fresh Okra
Oil for cooking
1-3 Tbsp Amchur Powder
1-2 tsp Salt and Lemon Juice, or Lime Salt  -- for a no/low salt alternative use Mrs Dash Caribbean Citrus Seasoningtm

Cut the tops off and split the pods in half or quarters lengthwise.  Heat a bit of oil in your pan and fry them, turning frequently, with several additions of Amchur and salt.  

Fry until seriously browned, even blackened and serve hot and wonderful! 

Lime Salt?   1 cup of plain salt and fine zest of one lime mixed together.  Spread it on a parchment-lined baking sheet at bake at 250F (yes, that low) for about an hour.  Cool and store in a jar.  

Mango Lassi
Lassi not Lassie!  Lassi is one of several Indian yogurt-based drinks similar to a milkshake or smoothie. Thawed frozen mango from last year's harvest (or fresh from this year) is combined with yogurt and milk -- in our case, Icelandic Skyr  and almond-based unsweetened creamer -- with a bit of fine fresh ground cardamon or nutmeg for accent.   Take it all for a spin in your blender for a perfect summer dessert.   

Make sure the mango is really ripe, not like those frozen mango cubes you get in a freezer section of the megamart.  If that's all you can get, add some honey or your lassi will be too tart.