Foodie Chap With Chef Thomas McNaughton Of Flour + Water

Chef Thomas McNaughton started working in kitchens at a very young age in Southern New Jersey. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, Thomas moved to the Bay Area and started working at La Folie under renowned French Chef Roland Passot. He then went on to become sous chef at two of San Francisco's most respected restaurants: Gary Danko and Quince.

In addition to his time in San Francisco, McNaughton traveled throughout Europe to work and stage at Michell Rostang in France, Tantrise in Germany, and Sassege in Italy. Just prior to the opening of flour + water, McNaughton spent a good deal of time at Bruno e Franco's pasta "laboratory" in Bologna, Italy, where he honed his pasta making skills under the watchful eyes of committed pasta artisans.

Chef Thomas McNaughton making pasta with Liam Mayclem (credit: Foodie Chap/Liam Mayclem)

The James Beard Foundation nominated Thomas for Rising Star Chef in 2011, 2012 and again in 2013, and flour + water was nominated as Best New Restaurant in 2010. In addition to flour + water, Thomas currently oversees the growth and development of Central Kitchen and Salumeria cafes, two projects that the Ne Timeas restaurant group opened in spring 2012. Now in 2014 there is no slowing down Chef Thomas. A new venture with The Bon Vivants in the former Cafe Du Nord space will add restaurant #3 to his already full plate.

The Flour + Water Pasta cookbook has just been released. It tells the tale of the journey of Flour + Water and with it comes 50 delish recipes, stunning photography and many stories behind the dishes we love. The recipes will appeal to pros and the ambitious home cook.

We met in the private dining room above F+W for our foodie chap chat. Chef and I talked as he also taught me how to make tortelli pasta. I am not the best student but he is indeed a master and a patient teacher. The celery root tortelli is the perfect pasta and Thomas made it look so easy to make. Try the recipe, the reward will be the most delish dish.

Enjoy my chat with the young chef who has risen to become teacher and mentor – Chef Thomas McNaughton of Flour + Water and Central Kitchen.

Cheers!

KCBS Foodie Chap Podcast:

Chef Thomas McNaughton

KCBS Radio

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Chef McNaughton's Celery Root Tortelli (credit: Foodie Chap/Liam Mayclem)

Celery Root Tortelli with Brown Butter, Balsamico & Walnuts

Not every recipe in this book has a type of pasta as its starting point. This dish began with the sauce.

Traditionally, a classic brown butter sauce is made by toasting butter in a pan and then adding lemon juice to halt the browning of the milk solids and also to act as an acidic balance. Citrus, however, isn't the only way to apply acid to a dish; another way is vinegar.

With this in mind, we experimented making brown butter sauce with balsamico condimento, a variation of balsamic vinegar made in Modena. The results pretty much blew our minds. Since the acid level of balsamic is lower than that of lemon juice, a larger volume can be added, essentially creating a thick, dark (almost black) emulsion.

Although the other components of this dish change frequently, it always includes a combination of a root vegetable– stuffed pasta with some sort of nut and the balsamic brown butter sauce. We make this sauce every autumn and then tweak the rest of the players, whether it be rutabaga and pistachio, sunchokes and hazelnuts, or, as we have here, celery root and walnuts.

Serves: 4

Equipment:
Blender + Pasta machine + Rolling pin
Straight wheel cutter (optional) + Fluted wheel cutter Piping bag (optional) + Baking sheets
Store-bought option
Any fresh, cheese-stuffed pasta

Filling:
1 tablespoon pure olive oil

3 small celery roots, peeled and cut into small dice (455 grams)
10 sprigs thyme

1 medium yellow onion, cut into small dice (255 grams)

3 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt

1 1⁄2 cups heavy cream (355 milliliters)

1⁄2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (50 grams)

Tortelli
1 recipe Rav Dough

To Finish
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (85 grams)
1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon balsamico condimento
1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for finishing

To make the filling, heat the olive oil in a 12-inch sauté pan on high heat until almost smoking. Add the celery root and thyme and cook until the celery root is golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Decrease the heat to low and cook gently until the celery root is completely soft, about 30 minutes.

Add the cream and increase the heat to high. Remove the thyme sprigs and immediately transfer the mixture to the jar of a blender. Puree until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl and, while still hot, fold in the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Adjust the salt to taste and cool completely. You should have about 21⁄2 cups filling.

Dust 2 baking sheets with semolina flour and set aside.

To make the pasta, using a pasta machine, roll out the dough until the sheet is just translucent. Cut a 2-foot section of the dough sheet and cover the rest of the dough with plastic wrap.

With a straight wheel cutter or a ruler and a knife, halve the pasta sheet lengthwise into two 3-inch-wide strips. Using a piping bag or a spoon, place 11⁄4-inch logs of filling in the middle of each strip, keeping an inch of separation between each log of filling. Fill both strips.

Gently fold the dough over the filling, bringing the two edges together to completely cover the filling. Use a spritz of water from a spray bottle to help seal it if necessary. Using your thumb, seal the top edge of the pasta, but just the very edge. To form the individual tortelli, start on the right side of one strip and press down along the pasta with your index finger, sealing the pasta and pushing out all the air, creating a vacuum between the filling and the pasta dough. You want to create a tight capsule of dough around the log of filling. Move down the line, pressing down around one log at a time.

Using a fluted cutter, trim the edges, leaving 1⁄4 inch of pasta between the filling and the cut. Working quickly, place the tortelli on the prepared baking sheet, spaced apart, until ready to cook. Don't let the tortelli touch each other or they may stick together. Repeat until you run out of dough or filling. You should get about 50 tortelli.

To finish, bring a large pot of seasoned water to a boil.

Heat a 12-inch sauté pan over high heat. Add the butter and salt and cook until the butter is browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

When the butter is just starting to color around the edges and bubble, add the walnuts, stir to incorporate, and then turn off the heat. Add the balsamico condimento.

Drop the pasta in the boiling water. Once the pasta is cooked 80 percent through, until almost al dente, about 2 to 3 minutes, add it to the pan. Reserve the pasta water. Add a few tablespoons of pasta water and increase the heat to high. Toss to combine. When the pasta is tender—in less than 1 minute—add the parsley and toss. Remove from the heat.

To serve, divide the pasta and sauce between four plates. Finish with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.