Ingredients
1 3/4 c. durum flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 c. boiling water, plus more as needed
3 plum tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, grated
3 1/2 c. salmon broth
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. miso
1/8 tsp. MSG
1/4 tsp. ground green Szechuan peppercorn
1/2 carrot, chopped
3/4 c. chopped jicama
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, diced
Kosher salt
Freshly chopped herbs, for serving (optional)
Preparation
Step 1Make the pasta: In a large bowl, stir together flour and salt. Stream in boiling water slowly while stirring with a pair of chopsticks or a wooden spoon. Knead mixture with your hands until dough is moist and pliable, but not at all sticky, about 10 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons of flour or water as needed and knead until your dough feels right. Cover and rest dough for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.Step 2To shape the pasta: Divide your dough into 4 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece out to ⅛" thick. Using a sharp knife or a pastry wheel, cut dough into 1"-wide strips, then cut each strip into 1½" pieces. Pinch each small rectangle in the middle to shape into a bowtie. Step 3Make the soup: In a large pot over medium heat, combine all ingredients and bring to a simmer. Add in half the pasta and cook until al dente, 3 to 4 minutes.Step 4Garnish with herbs before serving, if using.
If you don’t have any of the spices I list below and can’t access them, don’t worry—none of them will make or break the deal. I can’t stress this enough: Use what you have! It will be good enough. Make no mistake: This was a struggle meal. It’s basically odds and ends that I managed to clobber together into a bowl, and then made Aaron eat it. He then told a very surprised me that it reminded him of childhood canned soups, but better. Which just goes to show, just because it’s a struggle meal doesn’t mean it can’t be good. It all depends on whether you win the struggle or not on any given day. I used durum wheat beerries that I ground into a flour in my high-powered blender for this recipe because that’s all I had on hand to use that week. I’m sure it’ll be fine if you use all-purpose flour—just adjust with more flour or water as you see fit, until the dough feels moist and pliable but not at all sticky. Or, you know, just use prepackaged pasta! Boil it for a couple minutes longer. It’s all good.
