If you caught my post last week on smoking your own salt, you learned how easy it is to turn ordinary salt into an extraordinary seasoning.  But did you know that you can pull off the same trick with flour?  In this recipe, I’ve smoked Semolina flour – the most common kind used for pasta making.  The finished pasta takes on a subtly spicy smoke flavor and is a great match for Morel mushrooms. 

Makes: 2 Smoky Bowls
Total kitchen time: 2.5 hours

Shopping List:

• 1.5 Cups Semolina Flour
• 2 Cups Hickory wood chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 tsp. hickory smoked salt
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. water

For the morel cream sauce:

• 1/2 cup dried Morel mushrooms
• 2 cups simmering water
• 1 tsp. butter
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp. hickory smoked salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Set up your grill or smoker for smoking.  Add the hickory chips, and set the heat to medium low.
2. Place the semolina flour in a shallow, heat-proof dish like a jelly roll or cake pan and set inside your grill or smoker, away from the heat.  Smoke for 1 hour, or until your wood chips burn themselves out.
3. To make the pasta, combine the smoked flour, eggs, salt, olive oil and  tbsp. of water in a large bowl until it forms a dough.  Knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is elastic.  Wrap the dough in a towel and let it sit 20 minutes before rolling.
4. Divide the dough into four equal parts.  Using a rolling pin or, better yet, a pasta maker, roll the dough until thin (I use setting 6 on the pasta maker).  Cut into 1/4” strips for fettuccini.  At this point, you can cook the pasta immediately, or hang it to dry for 2 hours, then store in an air-tight plastic container. 
5. Boil the pasta in a large pot of water for 4-5 minutes, or until tender

For the morel cream sauce:

1. Soak the dried morels in 2 cups of simmering water for at least 30 minutes.  Reserve the water.
2. Heat the butter over high heat in a large skillet or saucepan.  Add the morels and sauté until they are lightly browned. Add the white wine, heavy cream and about 1/4 cup of the reserved mushroom water.  Cook until the liquid has reduced by half, about 3 minutes.  Season to taste with smoked salt and pepper.

Fettuccini is, of course, just one of the many uses for smoked flour.  The same principle applies to bread, pizza dough – hell, I bet a chocolate chip cookie might even taste great with a little smoke.  Or, for that authentic campfire flavor, why not make your own smoked graham crackers?  So, Seattle, what else are you smoking?