Corzetti with Pine Nuts, Herbs and Parmesan

 It is common in Liguria to add a little wine to the pasta dough.

makes about 90 corzetti

Dough:

1 cup all purpose flour or Italian 00 flour

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup white wine

Sauce:

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced or grated

1/8 cup pine nuts, plain or toasted*

handful of chopped herbs (parsley, basil, etc.)

freshly ground black pepper, salt to taste

freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

Make pasta dough:  Place flour on workspace and make a well in the center.  Place the egg yolks in the well and beat lightly with fork. Add white wine to beaten eggs and mix with the fork.   Slowly incorporate the flour with the fork until a dough forms.  Knead and add flour until the dough is not sticky any more. A pastry scraper helps a lot.  This may take a little more flour - you need to just go by the feel of the dough.  Wrap in floured plastic and let rest at room temperature for 15 - 30 minutes.  Cut in half and take each piece and run it through pasta rollers on the widest setting.  Fold in thirds and run through several more times.  Adjust rollers to next thinnest setting and pass pasta through. Pass through until you get to the thickness you like - usually #4 or #5 for corzetti.  If you make the pasta thinner, using #5, you will be able to make a few more corzetti. Lay pasta sheets on floured counter and cover with towel.

Cut out discs of pasta with your corzetti base and lay on sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet.  You can take your scraps and run them through the pasta rollers again to get the maximum number of corzetti. Repeat until all pasta has been used and you have 80 - 100 corzetti.  

Stamp corzetti:  Turn corzetti base so design is right side up.  Place one pasta disc on the base.  Take the corzetti stamp and press down.  Remove pasta disc to parchment.  If pasta sticks to stamp, lightly flour. Repeat until all discs are stamped.

Place corzetti in boiling, salted water and cook two minutes.  Lift with a strainer and dress with sauce.

(You can place the corzetti in the freezer on the baking sheets and then put them in plastic bags and keep in the freezer, if you like.  No need to thaw to cook them.)

Sauce:  Heat olive oil in a skillet and saute garlic for one minute.  Add pine nuts and herbs.  Add pepper and salt to taste. When corzetti are done cooking, lift them out with a strainer and place right into skillet.  Toss with sauce.  Place pasta in a serving bowl and toss with as much freshly grated parmesan cheese as you like.

* To toast pine nuts (this brings out their flavor a little more) place in a small, dry skillet and toast over medium heat until lightly golden.

 The Italian Dish Food Blog