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?

Makes: 4 bowls
Total kitchen time: 30 minutes

Shopping list:

• 1 cup pancetta, finely diced (you can use bacon if you want, but make it good bacon)
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1 small leek, diced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups shitake mushrooms, sliced into 1/8” strips
• 1 package portobello mushroom ravioli (or any other ravioli that sounds good to you – lobster, pesto or spinach all work)
• finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
• 1/4 cup shaved parmesan, to garnish
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Heat a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add the pancetta and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the pancetta has started leaving brown bits on the bottom of the pot. 
2. Add the onion, garlic and leek and continue to cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the white wine to deglaze the pot – the acid in the wine will let the brown bits on the bottom become unstuck.  Scrape them up with a wooden spoon or spatula.
3. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer.  Let simmer for at least 20 minutes, or up to 4 hours for maximum flavor.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
4. When you are about ready to serve, bring the soup to a boil and add the mushrooms.  Cook for 1 minute, then add the ravioli and cook according to the package directions, usually about 3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes.
5. To serve, ladle a generous serving of broth and a few ravioli into a bowl and top with a little parsley and parmesan cheese.

Makes: 2 people feel the warmth of winter, year round
Total kitchen time: 3 hours

Shopping list:

• 2 lamb shanks, bone-in
• 1 medium union, diced
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic
• 8 oz. shitake mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 3 tbsp. tomato paste (tomato sauce or puree will work in a pinch)
• 2 cups wine (white for a sweeter dish, red for a more savory dish)
• 2 cups beef stock
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• olive oil
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the polenta:

• 2 cups polenta, prepared
• if using firm polenta, you’ll need 1/2 cup of hot chicken stock
• 4 oz. dried wild mushrooms (porcini, shitake, morel, woodear)
• 2 tbsp. crumbled blue cheese (Rogue River is best, try Whole Foods)
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 300°F and place the top rack in the lower part of the oven.  Preheat a dutch oven or the heaviest large, ovenproof stockpot with a lid that you own.  Either way, get the pot rocket hot.
2. Season the lamb shanks on all sides liberally with salt and pepper.  Rub lightly with olive oil to coat and to promote browning.  Working one at a time, sear the lamb shanks on both sides on very high heat in your dutch oven.  Place the meat in the middle of the pot and don’t touch it for 3 minutes.  Flip it over and don’t touch it for another 2.  Place the seared meat on a platter to rest.
3. Add the onions, carrots and celery to the empty pot and reduce the heat to medium.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until the veggies have slightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic (whole cloves) and mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes.  You should have a nice collection of brown bits at the bottom of your pot now. 
4. Add the tomato paste and cook another minute or so.  Then, add the wine and turn the heat up to high.  Scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and reduce the wine until it has thickened a little, about 8 minutes.  Add the beef stock, rosemary sprig and bay leaf and bring to a boil. 
5. Put the meat back in the pot and submerge it under the liquid and veggies.  Put the lid on your dutch oven and transfer it to the oven to cook at least 2 hours. 
6. When you’re about 45 minutes out from eatin’ time, place the dried wild mushrooms in a bowl of boiling water and let them soak for 30 minutes.  Then, drain and coarsely chop the mushrooms.
7. Warm the cooked polenta in a medium saucepan over low heat.  If you’re starting with firm polenta, add a bit of hot chicken stock to thin it out.  Season the polenta with salt and pepper and add the chopped wild mushrooms.  When you’re almost ready to serve, crumble in the blue cheese and stir to combine.
8. When the lamb is done braising, remove the pot from the oven and place it back on the stove.  Let the meat rest on a plate, tented with foil.  Bring the pot to a vigorous boil and reduce the liquid until you have only 1 cup or so left, 10-15 minutes. 
9. Spoon a serving of polenta into the bottom  of a large dinner bowl and top with a lamb shank.  Cover the lamb shank with a generous helping of the reduced liquid and veggies.  If you like (and I’m sure you do) add a thin slice of blue cheese on top.

Well, that’s officially the season finale for winter cooking this year.  This dish is one of the heartiest, most soul satisfying meals I know, so the next time you find yourself out in the cold rain, you’ll know what to make.