There’s more to Italian and middle European cuisine than spaghetti, and the different varieties of pasta used are mind boggling. While most types of pasta are found in supermarkets, there are some that are best when made at home. Here’s a simple pasta recipe. Take 500 gm flour and five eggs. Make a well in the centre of the flour

and crack the eggs in one by one. Knead well till the dough forms and keep aside for 30 minutes. Make rough balls and roll out the balls till they are really thin (much thinner than a chapati).

Hazelnut Torte

Tortes are middle European in origin and the word basically means cakes that are baked with eggs, sugar, groundnuts and very little flour. It has a rich a chocolate flavour with a moist almost pudding-like texture.

Ingredients
½ cup roasted hazelnuts (roast the nuts in a preheated oven (170°C) for around 15 minutes;
¼ cup flour; ¼ tsp salt; 4 eggs
170 gm dark chocolate, chopped
150 gm butter, cut in pieces
¾ cup sugar; 1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 orange

Method
Once the hazelnuts are roasted, put in a food processor along with the flour and salt and process till finely ground.
Increase the oven temperature to 190°C. Grease a cake tin with a little butter and dust with flour and keep aside.
Separate the eggs while they are still cold, placing the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another. Cover the two bowls with plastic wrap and allow the eggs to come to room temperature before using.
Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl, over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter. Remove from heat and set aside.
Beat the egg yolks with ½ cup sugar until pale and thick. Beat in the vanilla extract. With a rubber or wooden spatula gently fold in the orange zest and warm chocolate mixture and the hazelnut and flour mixture.
Now whip the egg whites until foamy and till soft peaks form. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat till the egg whites are stiff but not dry. Fold a small amount of the whites into the chocolate batter to lighten it. Quickly fold in the remaining whites. Do not overmix or the batter will deflate. Pour the mixture into the greased baking tin. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, till a toothpick inserted into the centre shows moist crumbs.
Cool the torte completely in the pan on a wire rack. Do not be alarmed if the centre falls leaving a higher rim on the sides. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Caramella of mint and ricotta cheese

This recipe comes out best if you make your pasta at home. Since most of us do not have the time to make pasta at home, you can buy pasta sheets available in the market or even thin rice sheets readily available for making spring rolls will do. One has to moisten the sheets to make them soft and cut into roughly 3-inch squares so the filling can go inside.

Ingredients
Pasta sheets moistened and cut into 3-inch squares
340 gm buffalo ricotta cheese (paneer will do)
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ nutmeg, grated
Small bunch of mint leaves, finely chopped
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
40 gm butter

Method
Make the filling by mixing together the ricotta/paneer, lemon zest, nutmeg, mint and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Squeeze a little lime juice and lightly mix. Make little balls of the filling with each ball comprising of roughly one teaspoon of the mixture.
Prepare the caramellas. Place each ball in the middle of the moistened pasta squares and fold one half over the other. Roll into lozenge shapes, twisting the ends a little. Ensure that there are no air bubbles. Add the caramellas in a pan of salted boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain, reserve some of the water and keep the caramellas aside. Melt the butter in a pan with the juice of ½ lemon and a couple of tbsps of water. Add a pinch of salt, pepper and toss the caramella in the flavoured butter. Serve immediately with grated Parmesan.