Nearly to the day Ruth from Once Upon A Feast announced the Presto Pasta Nights. Foodbloggers around the world collected together gazillions of pasta choices. Check here for the year 2007 and here for the last 8 weeks in 2008.

For the big birthday party I prepared the German response to Mac ’n Cheese

Allgäuer Käsespätzle – Spätzle mixed with grated cheese from Allgäu and fried onion

The boys said, it tasted like the Bavarian original.

No translation for Spätzle, it is a specialty from Southern Germany, made by boiling small lumps of dough made from flour and eggs. Here is a discussion how to translate the word Spätzle. The Allgäu is an area in the southwest of Swabia, belonging to Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, two federal states of Germany. This region produces a cheese like Emmental cheese, which is called Allgäuer Emmentaler.

Making Spätzle is very difficult for a North German, a real Swabian housewife scrapes her Spätzle with a knife or a scraper like Rike. I used a fool-proof tool.

The recipe is simple, the rule of thumb says per person 100 grams Spätzle flour add one egg. Work up the ingredients with water and salt to a thick batter and shape the Spätzle into boiling water.

To make Spätzle to Käsespätzle, layer alternating Spätzle and grated cheese in a warm dish, cover the last layer with fried onions. Put on lid and let warm through for 5 minutes in a warm oven until the cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy!

My elder son – he cooks as John Kabys – had a movable holiday. So we had a lot of time to modify the recipe from page 30 of the Essential Pasta Cookbook, Spaghetti with herbs and tomatoes for Ruth’s Presto Pasta Nights.

The homemade pasta recipe is always the same: 300 grams flour, 3 eggs size M and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place eggs, flour and salt in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater. Turn to speed 2 and mix until crumbly. To test for correct dough consistency, pinch a small amount of dough together after mixing with the flat beater. If the dough stays together without sticking your fingers, it should work well. Remove dough from bowl and knead by hand for 1 or 2 minutes. Divide dough into 5 pieces before processing with the roller attachment. Roll out pasta and cut into into desired shape. While John Kabys was shaping and cooking the pasta, I made the sauce and both came together to

Tagliatelle with herbs and tomatoes

Great!

-=========	REZKONV-Recipe – RezkonvSuite v1.4
Title:	Tagliatelle with herbs and tomatoes
Categories:	Pasta
Yield:	4 Servings

Ingredients

20	grams		Bread crumbs
500	grams		Tagliatelle, fresh
4	tablesp.		Olive oil
2	cloves		Garlic, finely chopped
30	grams		Fresh herbs like basil, parsley, thyme, finely
			— chopped
250	grams		Cherry tomatoes, halved
30	grams		Walnuts, chopped
30	grams		Parmesan, freshly chopped plus for serving

Source

*	Das große Pasta Kochbuch* ISBN 978-3-8331-3213-1

	Edited *RK* 01/28/2008 by
	Ulrike Westphal

Directions

1. Fry bread crumbs in 1 tablespoon oil until golden. Remove from pan and set aside.

2. Cook tagliatelle until al dente, drain.

3. Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan and cook garlic until soft.

4. Add remaining oil, the herbs, walnuts and parmesan cheese. Add the pasta, mix well and reheat for 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with bread crumbs and parmesan.

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*=Affiliate-Link to Amazon

I own the German issue of this pasta cookbook. My sons like the idea to cook us through this book for Ruth’s Presto Pasta Nights

*

„Pumpkin and pine nut tagliatelle“

from page 139

-=========	REZKONV-Recipe – RezkonvSuite v1.4
Title:	Pumpkin and pine nut tagliatelle
Categories:	Pasta, winter squash
Yield:	4 servings

Ingredients

30	grams		Butter
1	large		Onion, chopped
2	cloves		Garlic, crushed
380	ml		Vegetable stock
750	grams		Pumpkin, I used butternut squash, cubed
1	pinch		Nutmeg
			Pepper
250	ml		Cream
80	grams		Pine nuts, toasted
500	grams		Tagliatelle, fresh
2	tablesp.		Chives, chopped
			Parmesan, freshly grated to serve

Source

*	Das große Pasta Kochbuch* ISBN 978-3-8331-3213-1

	Edited *RK* 01/21/2008 by
	Ulrike Westphal

Directions

1. Melt butter in a saucepan. Cook the onion about 3 minutes until soft and golden. Add garlic and cook for another minutes. Add the stock and the squash. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook until tender.

2. Season to taste on low heat with pepper and nutmeg. Stir in the cream, don’t let the sauce boil again. Blend the sauce until smooth.

3. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and give back to the saucepan.

4. Add sauce and reheat carefully. Add pasta and pine nuts. Sprinkle with chopped chives.

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*=Affiliate-Link to Amazon

 
 
My first submission in 2008 for Ruth’s Presto Pasta Nights is

Linguine with basil pesto

Linguine are flat but narrow like spaghetti. I rolled out the pasta dough with my pasta attachment thinner as usual and so I got linguine instead of spaghetti. For the pesto blend together:

1. 3 tablespoons roasted pine nuts
2. 100 g basil, fresh
3. 2 cloves of garlic
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 5 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan
6. 120 ml olive oil

until smooth. Season to taste with pepper. Cook the fresh linguine (300 g flour and 3 eggs), drain, but save some cooking water. Mix with the pesto and add cooking water to the desired consistency. Serve and enjoy!

 
Autumn arrived, everywhere you find all kind of pumpkin and squashes on the farmer’s markets. So it’s a must to serve this versatile vegetable once a week. I like the nutty taste of butternut squash and I am a big fan of spinach unlike my sons. But hidden in a lasagne they eat it without any comments.

Butternut squash lasagne

-=========	REZKONV-Recipe – RezkonvSuite v1.4
Title:	Butternut squash lasagne
Categories:	Pasta, Pumpkin
Yield:	2 Servings

Ingredients

1			Onion, finely sliced
			Oil for frying
500	grams		Butternut squashes, peeled and cut into small
			— cubes
1	pinch		Of cinnamon
			Nutmeg
100	ml		Milk
150	grams		Frozen spinach
3			Fresh lasagne sheets
1			Ball of mozzarella, about 125g

Source

	Recipe from olive magazine, February 2007.
	//www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4104/butternut-squash-
	lasagne.jsp

	Edited *RK* 09/24/2007 by
	Ulrike Westphal

Directions

1. Fry the onion in a little oil until soft, add the butternut squash and fry until tender and slightly browned around the edges. Add the cinnamon, a grating of nutmeg and the milk and mash roughly. Heat the spinach with another grating of nutmeg.

2. Meanwhile, cook the lasagne slices in boiling water for 3 minutes and drain. Put a sheet of lasagne in a small baking dish, add a layer of butternut squash and half the spinach. Season. Add another layer of lasagne and the rest of the butternut squash and spinach. Season and follow with a final layer of lasagne. Rip the mozzarella into pieces and scatter it over the final sheet, grill briefly until the mozzarella bubbles and browns.

:Easy
:Ready in 30 mins
: Nutrition per serving:476 kcalories, protein 23.6g, carbohydrate 53.2g, fat 20.2g, saturated fat 9.3g, fibre 8g, salt 1.28g

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