Pasta di Semola (Semolina Water Dough)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large wooden cutting board or clean work surface
• •Bench scraper
• •Butter knife or small rounded knife (for orecchiette)
• •Plastic wrap
• •Sheet tray for drying shaped pasta

Instructions

1. 1

   Form the well

   Pour the semolina onto a wooden board or clean work surface. Make a wide well in the center, pushing the flour up into walls like a volcano crater. The well must be wide enough to hold the water without breaching. Dissolve the salt in the warm water.

   A wooden board is traditional and helpful. The rough surface creates texture on the pasta. A clean countertop works adequately, but wood is better.
2. 2

   Add the water

   Pour the salted warm water into the center of the well. Using a fork, begin incorporating flour from the inner walls of the well, working in a circular motion. Move gradually, pulling in more flour as the mixture thickens. When the dough becomes too stiff to stir, set aside the fork.

3. 3

   Bring the dough together

   Using a bench scraper and your hands, gather all the flour and shaggy dough into a single mass. Press and fold the mixture, incorporating the dry bits. The dough will look rough and unpromising. It will feel dry and crumbly. This is correct. Semolina resists hydration at first. Do not add more water.

   The temptation to add water is strong. Resist it. Semolina hydrates slowly. What feels impossibly dry now will become supple with kneading and time.
4. 4

   Knead the dough

   Knead the dough aggressively for 10 minutes. Push it away from you with the heel of your palm, fold it over itself, turn it ninety degrees, and push again. The rhythm should be steady and forceful. Your arms will tire. This is how you know you are working. The dough will transform from shaggy and resistant to smooth and elastic. When you press it with your finger, it should spring back slowly.

5. 5

   Rest the dough

   Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap. Let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours. This rest is not optional. The gluten relaxes, the semolina continues to hydrate, and the dough becomes workable. Skip this step and your pasta will fight you.

   The dough can rest up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Bring it to room temperature before shaping.
6. 6

   Test the dough

   After resting, unwrap the dough and knead briefly, about one minute. It should be noticeably smoother and more pliable than before resting. Press it with your thumb. The surface should feel satiny. The dough is now ready to shape.

7. 7

   Shape orecchiette

   For orecchiette: Cut a piece of dough and roll it into a rope about half an inch thick. Cut the rope into small pieces the size of chickpeas. Working on an unfloured wooden board, place a piece under a butter knife or small rounded knife blade held at an angle. Press down and drag toward you in one motion. The dough will curl around the knife and form a rough textured disk. Invert it over your thumb to create the characteristic ear shape. The roughness is intentional. It holds sauce.

   Work on an unfloured surface. The friction between dough and wood creates the texture that grips sauce. Too much flour makes the surface slick and the pasta smooth.
8. 8

   Shape cavatelli

   For cavatelli: Roll the dough into ropes about as thick as your little finger. Cut into pieces about one inch long. Press two or three fingertips into each piece and drag toward you, curling the dough into a ridged shell. The ridges should be visible and pronounced. Set shaped pasta on a semolina-dusted tray.

9. 9

   Dry or cook

   Shaped pasta can be cooked immediately or dried for storage. To cook fresh, boil in abundant salted water until they float and are tender but chewy, about 4 to 6 minutes depending on thickness. To dry, spread on a semolina-dusted tray in a single layer and leave at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours, turning occasionally. Dried pasta keeps for weeks in an airtight container.

   Fresh semolina pasta has more chew than dried. Dried pasta has more bite. Both are correct. Both are traditional. Choose based on when you plan to cook.

Chef Tips

• •Use semola di grano duro rimacinata if you can find it. The 'rimacinata' means remilled, a finer grind that hydrates more easily while retaining the golden color and firm texture. Coarse semolina works but requires longer kneading.
• •The hydration ratio here is approximately 50 percent. Southern Italian grandmothers adjust by feel, not measurement. If your kitchen is very dry, you may need a tablespoon more water. If very humid, slightly less. Learn to trust your hands.
• •Do not flour your work surface when shaping. The drag of dough against bare wood creates the rough texture essential for holding sauce. This is not a flaw. This is the point.
• •These shapes pair traditionally with vegetable-based sauces: broccoli rabe and sausage for orecchiette, a simple tomato sauce with ricotta salata for cavatelli. The firm chew of semolina pasta stands up to bold flavors.

Advance Preparation

• •The kneaded dough can be refrigerated, tightly wrapped, for up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before shaping.
• •Shaped pasta can be frozen on a tray until solid, then transferred to freezer bags. Cook directly from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the cooking time.
• •Fully dried pasta keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for several weeks. It will require slightly longer cooking than fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 180g cooked)