Title: Pasta Rolls
Categories: Appetizer Cheese Main
Yield: 1 Batch
1 | lb | Ricotta Cheese (skim milk is good) |
4 | oz | Mozzarella, grated |
4 | oz | Romano, grated |
1 1/2 | c | Parmesan, grated |
3 | | Eggs, whole or whites only |
2 | lb | Pasta, homemade & fresh is best. In STRIPS!!!!!!! |
1 | qt | Chicken broth, VERY strong! |
| | Salt & Pepper to taste. |
| | Parmesan Cheese for topping |
| | Tomatoe sauce, spaghetti sauce in a pinch. Should be smooth. |
| | Yards of string |
| | Yards of CHEESECLOTH !!!! |
Make the cheese filling. Simply mix all the cheeses and then add the BEATEN
eggs or egg whites. Make sure the harder cheeses are grated. They mix
better that way. This is a relatively bland mixture as is but don't worry.
Make the pasta. Use your favorite recipe. Green pasta is really neat for
the effect. God knows the taste is great too. Cut the pasta into ABOUT 6"
wide stips. The length is according to what it's for. If your serving this
for dinner make the strips about 18" long. For appetizers or side dishes
then only make them 6" to 10" long. Now simply lay out a piece of pasta.
Smear filling on it. Like frosting a cake. EXCEPT leave about «" free of
filliing on the EDGES. The begining END can be covered. The last few inches
of the strip should be left bare too. Now simply roll it up! Try to keep it
as stright as possible, but don't stroke out if it's a little off. Keep
repeating until you have one or two rolls per person. Set aside until all
of them are made. Cut a piece of cheesecloth long enough to fully wrap
around a roll with several inches of overlap. Repeat until you have all the
cloth pieces cut. Simply wrap each pasta roll in one piece of cheesecloth.
Tie the cloth closed. MAKE SURE IT'S LOOSE. The pasta will swell quite a
bit. Make your sauce and heat. Smooth sauce I think works for a nicer
visual effect. Keep it hot, but on the side. Now POACH the pasta rolls in
your chicken broth. Until they're done, about 15 minutes should take care
of it. But make sure it's really only a simmer. If the broth is boiling it
can cause the cheese to push out of the pasta and/or the pasta to simply
break-up (it's not pretty!) Here's the fun part. Take the pasta rolls out
of the broth. Cut the string and unwrap each one. Slice them like sausages,
into rounds, except about 2" thick. Place several slices onto each plate,
cut side up, according to appetite. Pour sauce onto plate. Swirl on plate.
I do not like covering the swirling of the green pasta and the white of the
cheese with the sauce. I think it shows up better with the sauce as a
background color. Also having to "dip" the pices of the roll in the sauce
makes for a nice taste. Sprinkle a little parmesan cheese and/or chopped
parsley. This is a really good recipe. You might try using the filling from
Tony's Manicotti with four cheeses in place of my bland one.