Tumminia Flour Busiate with Fire Roasted Red Sauce
I was delighted to receive a package from @gustiamo with this incredible tumminia flour from Filippo Drago's flour mill in Castelvetrano, Sicily. I've never worked with this variety before - an ancient variety of wheat native to Sicily. I was intending on making a wood fired pasta alla norma with handmade tumminia busiate, but because of the chaos at the supermarkets and the threat of coronavirus I wasn't able to source all my ingredients and instead just opted for a simpler wood fired red sauce in the @oonihq Pro. The flour has an amazing smell and flavor, and I'm looking forward to using it to make a traditional pane nero next. A compromised vision - but a pretty tasty dish none-the-less. Full video about the process below.
The Dough
1/2 cup of Tumminia Flour (or regular whole wheat)
1/2 semolina flour
1 cup of cold water
Olive oil
Salt
The Pasta
Form a mound in the center of your work surface with your blended flour. Using your finger tips, create a well in the center like a volcano. Slowly pour in the water a little at a time and use a fork to start combining the flour with the water. Incorporate the water completely and the mixture will be somewhat crumbly. Now start working the dough together with your hands for about 5 minutes. it will start to feel smoother. Drizzle on a little bit of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and continue working the dough for another 5 minutes until it is very smooth. If the dough feels too sticky, use a little more flour to dust the surface until the dough does not stick to the work surface or your hands. Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Unwrap a corner of the dough and start pulling out one of the side to form the shape of an elongated pear. You’ll keep pulling more dough off the end while keeping the remainder wrapped in plastic so it doesn’t dry out as you work. Rip off small balls about the size of a large grape and roll them into thin “snakes” about 6 inches long with the palm of your hands. Gently dust with more flour.
There is one essential tool you’ll need for this which essentially is a thin wooden dowel which in Sicily is referred to as a busa. Any thin wood dowel safe for food should work for this. The original way to roll the pasta was with the stem of a piece of native grass grown in Sicily. The translation of stem is busa. Hence busiate.
Take the tip of the busa and lay it over one of the ends of the rolled out dough “snake” and it should be at about a 45 degree angle. Now gently roll the busa so that the dough begins to wrap around the wood. Use gentle pressure but don’t push too hard. Here is where you’ll realize that if you don’t dust the dough enough, it will start sticking to the wood, and you’ll start to get frustrated. I promise. So be calm and make sure the dough is not sticky. After the dough is coiled around fully, gently wiggle the busa so it comes loose, and slide it out of the corkscrew shape that you just created. Repeat. Repeat, until there is no dough left. This recipe makes about 4 medium sized plates of pasta.
The video is helpful to visualize how the process looks.
The Sauce
Stewed whole San Marzano tomatoes
Garlic
Yellow onion
Basil
Parmesan Rind
Salt
Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
The key here is simplicity, and good ingredients (especially the tomatoes).
For this recipe I’m using my wood fired Ooni Pro, but this is wonderful done on the stove top as well. When cooking with fire, you’ll just need to be more mindful of temperature regular but it makes more a wonderful rustic and smoky sauce. Lightly puree the tomatoes in a processor or with a stick blender. Be careful not to aerate the tomatoes too much. For a chunkier sauce you can simply crush the tomatoes by hand. Set aside in a bowl. Peel and dice three to five cloves of garlic and set aside. Peel and chop the onion in half. By cooking the entire halves you will impart the flavor of the onion and the sauce won’t have chunks of onion in it.
Heat a generous pour of EVOO in your saucepan at medium to low heat. Add your garlic and onion halves and let saute for a few minutes. Be careful not to burn anything. Add a piece of parmesan rind into the hot oil, and let it simmer for another minute. The oils from the cheese will add depth to the sauce. Add your tomatoes to the pan, and bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add some chopped basil, stir, and set on medium/low. You want your sauce to simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir frequently to make sure it's not sticking to the bottom.
Finishing
Boil the pasta for about 4 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl with the sauce. Use tongs to roll the pasta around so it coats all of the noodles. Plate your pasta and finish with a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan and fresh basil. Enjoy.