Our pals at Rio Vista Olives sent us the incredible oil that we cook with in this post. Like everything that we recommend on our blog, we use and love their products, and hope that you will too!
The Story
Last week we tried to escape the mists and frosts of winter with a little touch of the seaside, but this week we’re embracing it. Or at least trudging on, bolstered by a hearty bowl of chewy wholemeal spelt gemelli. Their twisty texture and earthy flavour makes for a fortifying plate of pasta, whether it’s stirred through a hearty ragu, or tossed with a bit of butter and pepper.
Despite their initial appearance and name, meaning ‘twins’, gemelli are traditionally made from single strands of pasta, folded in half and then twisted around themselves. We’re not too invested in tradition though, and decided to save a bit of time by chopping ours from longer rolled pieces. We also changed things up a bit by using equal amounts of wholemeal spelt to bread flour, giving us a bold, tasty pasta to pair with a hearty ragu. This is another flour and water classic, made entirely by hand; so leave your tools in the drawer, put on your favourite pasta-making playlist, and roll up your sleeves.
The Pasta
This recipe is similar to our cassarecce, and starts off like all good pasta should: mix the flour and water into a ball, and then knead for 10 minutes. Rest it in an airtight container away from heat or direct sunlight for another 30. Note that the high percentage of wholemeal spelt in this pasta does make it a more difficult dough to work with, so if you’re not quite up for a challenge, replace 25-75% of the spelt flour with 00 flour.
To speed things along, we passed the dough through the pasta machine’s widest setting a few times, before chopping across the resulting sheet. This left us with wide strips that we then rolled by hand into long pieces of pasta. You can just as easily use a rolling pin though, or skip that step entirely and divide the main ball of dough into smaller sausages with your hands.
Lengthen these out into thin strands of pasta by rolling each piece back and forwards as you move your hands gradually outwards from the centre. If you have trouble getting the pasta to sufficiently grip the board, give it a light spritz of water.
Once you’ve formed your long pasta pieces, fold them in half. Then, anchoring one end under one hand, roll the other end away from you, causing the pasta to twist around itself. Chop it up to lengths of 5-6cm, and transfer to a baking paper lined tray.
Little Al and I made this to serve with a hearty osso buco, and we heartily recommend that you do the same! It definitely hit the spot. You can find the recipe here.
One final tip: this is a pasta best made with passion rather than precision! Mindful cooking doesn’t have to be perfect cooking, so don’t stress if you end up with a batch of gemelli all-sorts.
Have fun, and buon appetito!
– Al & Al.
PS. If you’re new to our little blog, and would like to know a bit more about us, check out our story here!
Equipment
- Pasta roller and cutter (if not using a rolling pin and knife)
- Air tight container for resting
Ingredients
- 100 g wholemeal spelt flour
- 100 g bread flour
- 80 g water plus more if required
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Mix the flours and salt together, and form a well in a mixing bowl or kneading surface.
- Gradually pour in the water, using a fork to combine with the flour mix, until it begins to hold together as a ball.
- Knead vigorously for 10 minutes. Ensure that you add water one teaspoon at a time if the dough is too dry, and flour one teaspoon at a time if too wet. The dough should hold together well, without sticking to your hands or the kneading surface.
- Transfer to an airtight container and rest out of direct sunlight or heat for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough out into long sheets using a rolling pin or pasta machine. If using a machine, fold the pasta over itself a few times in between passes to further develop the gluten bonds.
- Chop across the sheets to form short flat pieces of pasta, about 1cm in width. Cover what you won’t be immediately working on.
- Roll each strip of pasta into a long thin sausage. Move your hands from the centre to the outside edges as you lengthen them.
- Fold each piece in half, pressing the ends together. Then anchor one end under one hand, as you roll the opposite end away from yourself. The two halves should twist together as you roll. If you find that your pasta is becoming difficult to handle at this point, it may be drying out; if this is the case, give it a light spritz of water.
- Chop into 5-6cm pieces, and transfer to baking paper lined trays.
- Refrigerate for up to one week, uncovered (this will assist it to dry out and develop a firm bite when cooked). If you’re looking for the perfect sauce to pair with this gemelli, try our osso buco! Retain a little water when you cook the pasta, to help the sauce and pasta emulsify as you stir them together.
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