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How to Make Espresso in a Moka Coffeemaker

Components:

 

    • Boiler
    • Basket
    • Chamber

 

What You’ll Need:

  • Coffee ground to espresso setting or slightly coarser
  • Dish towel or oven mitt
  • Kettle or electric water boiler

 

Method:

Step One: Boiling (optional but strongly recommended)

Boil water
Boil enough water to fill the Moka Pot boiler up to its release valve. Starting with boiled water is beneficial to the extraction process – it limits the possibility of burning the coffee grounds, which produces off-flavors. But it is not wrong to just fill the Moka Pot boiler straight away with water of any temperature, it will just take slightly longer for the water to get to steaming temperature inside the mechanism. IF YOU USE PRE-BOILED WATER, THE OUTSIDE OF THE BOILER WILL BE VERY HOT. USE A DISH TOWEL OR OVEN MITT FOR ALL CONTACT WITH THE BOILER.

Step Two: Filling the Boiler

Fill boiler with water up to, but not beyond, the midway point of the release valve
Fill the Moka Pot boiler up to the midway point of its release valve, but no higher, with pre-boiled water. Overfilling will cause displaced water to leach into the basket containing the coffee grounds, water-logging them when the object is to extract solely through steam passing through the grounds. The water-log caused by overfilling will lead to off-flavors and an imbalanced extraction.

Step Three: Loading the Grounds

Moka 017Fill basket with coffee grounds, level out, and place inside the boiler
Fill the basket with coffee of your choice, ground to an espresso setting or just slightly coarser. You want the volume of the basket to be filled evenly. Once you’ve scooped enough coffee grounds to fill the chamber, lightly level out the surface of the coffee so it is flush with the lip of the basket. DO NOT TAMP THE COFFEE! The Moka Pot is equipped to withhold only a moderate amount of pressure, and tamping the coffee grounds can impede the movement of steam from the boiler through the basket and into the chamber. This will cause an uneven extraction at least, and at worst the results can be, literally, explosive. So just brush off the excess grounds, wipe away any that are clinging to the outside surface of the basket as well, and place the basket into its snug resting place inside the boiler.

Step Four: Closing the System

Screw chamber onto boiler until just tight – then give an extra quarter turn
Screw on the chamber until just tight, then screw another quarter rotation to firm up its connection to the boiler to avoid any pressure leaks. Remember the outside of the boiler will be hot if you’ve used pre-boiled water, so hold only with a dish towel or oven mitt. Once the chamber is screwed on, be sure to pop open the lid so you can monitor the upcoming action!

Step Five: Heating

Put your Moka Pot on medium-low heat
Place your Moka Pot on the stove-top and heat on medium-low. Be mindful of the placement of the handle, which is plastic – accidentally melting this is a tragic sensory compromise that strongly overshadows the coffee aroma you were hoping for, and the burnt plastic smell will linger in your kitchen for hours or even days. I always turn the handle to the outside of the burner.

Step Six: Extracting

Moka 016Watch Your Coffee!
As the water in the boiler turns to steam, pressure forces it to rise up into the basket. It continues through the basket, extracting vitamins, oils, caffeine, and all the flavors that are soluble at that temperature range from the coffee grounds. It rises into the small, dual-opening channel within the chamber, recondensed into liquid form as coffee!

The extraction occurs in a few stages: the first bit of coffee that escapes into the chamber is typically a bubbly, light-hazel honey colored foam. Quickly after this first spurt, the coffee will begin to stream through both openings, running down the channel in the chamber as a thin, cherry-dark, syrupy ink with a thoughtful constancy. Coffee will stream through like this and at this pace for almost the entire extraction process. As the extraction nears its end, the coffee begins to thin significantly and become pale, almost straw-colored.

Step Seven: Stop Extraction

Remove Moka Pot from heat, run boiler under cold water to halt extraction
Learning when to stop the extraction is the true art of the Moka Pot. The extraction will continue until all of the water from the boiler has passed through the grounds into the chamber. But the flavors change dramatically toward the end of the process, and knowing what taste profile you desire will inform how long you allow the coffee to extract. As a general rule, cutting your extraction short, as the coffee is still prominently dark and streaming, before or just as it becomes light in color and puffing bubbles through the channel, will produce a rich, robust, concentrated drink. BUT DO NOT BE FOOLED: THE EXTRACTION WILL NOT STOP JUST BY REMOVING THE MOKA POT FROM HEAT. To stop extraction, you must cool the boiler rapidly. I blast the bottom of the pot – the boiler component – under cold water for 5 seconds or so, until coffee stops passing through into the chamber. For more pure volume, you can allow the extraction to go longer, knowing that the tail of the extraction period is pulling less and different soluble components out of the beans. This will water down the overall flavor of your drink and can produce a less delicate, balanced tone in your coffee. Whichever way you choose, enjoy your drink!

Moka 015

Making the Perfect Espresso Read more

Components:   What You’ll Need: Coffee ground to espresso setting or slightly coarser Dish towel or oven mitt Kettle or electric water boiler   Method: Step One: ...

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Make Your Pasta the Simone Way

 

Learn how to make tagliatelle by hand with our good friend Chef Simone Proietti-Pesci, owner of Le Delizie del Borgo restaurant in Bevagna, Italy.

Chef Simone quarantined with us in the US for nearly six months when his early spring return to Italy following his annual winter pilgrimage to the US was delayed.  We made good use of the time together, including putting together this instructional video shot in our kitchen during the lockdown.

Enjoy!

Screen Shot 2020-06-10 at 3.40.51 PMChef Simone makes pasta!

Chef Simone makes pasta Read more

  Learn how to make tagliatelle by hand with our good friend Chef Simone Proietti-Pesci, owner of Le Delizie del Borgo restaurant in ...

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Michael Ruhlman’s Classic Five-Layer Lasagna with Bolognese, Bechamel, and Mozzarella

Editor’s note – This lasagna recipe was taken from Michael Ruhlman’s From Scratch cookbook, which was reviewed recently by Lindsey Menard. To read her review click here.

Lasagna (1)

The thing people often forget about lasagna is that while the end result is one beautiful bite of pasta, the lead up to that result is three to five individual, time consuming recipes that are all layered together to create that bite. There is no reason that you can’t skip some of those steps by buying dried pasta and fresh mozzarella, using store bought bolognese (gasp!), or substituting the bechamel for a blend of cheeses that will melt down to mimic the flavor, but there is definitely something satisfying about going through the motions of creating each of those components yourself from scratch. Taking a bite of lasagna, any lasagna, simply means more, becomes more special once you have made it once from scratch, as you learn how to decipher the different parts that have been layered together and acknowledge the hard work of the person serving it to you.

For our purposes we set out to make our lasagna mostly from scratch in that we wanted to use the shredded mozzarella we already had on hand rather than wait until we could seek out the ingredients (citric acid, rennet) that were missing from our pantry. We opted to make ricotta instead to balance the need for a creamier cheese to top our lasagna. We made the ricotta first because it’s one of the few steps you can’t hurry along by turning up the heat if you get impatient.

Lasagna 015
Lessons learned from making ricotta: It is incredibly simple. It also uses way more milk than you’d think.

 

Making pasta from scratch is one of the most rewarding things you can do, and is also something that gets far easier the more you do it. There are no real tricks to making pasta, you just have to take your lead from the ingredients you’re using and work at it until you learn the feel for what is correct and what needs adjusted. Having a pasta machine helps but isn’t necessary- the only thing that’s necessary is having the time and patience to work your dough until it’s done.

Lasagna 016 Lasagna 017

Lessons learned from making pasta: Always make more than you think you’ll need because there is absolutely no downside to having fresh pasta stored in your freezer for later on in the week.

 

Next come the sauces. Yes- sauces, plural. The first step, one you can absolutely skip if pressed for time but definitely enhances your feeling of accomplishment at the end is making your own tomato sauce as a base for the bolognese. This step is not complicated- it merely requires sauteing onions in olive oil (or butter) and then simmering them in pureed tomatoes over low heat for about an hour. If you’re using high quality canned tomatoes, you can definitely skip this step (and you can do so even if you aren’t) but embracing it lends a depth of sweetness and flavor to your bolognese that makes the added time worth it.

Lasagna 018
Lessons learned from making tomato sauce: don’t use an immersion blender in a short container- make sure whatever you’re blending has enough room to splash around without staining your favorite shirt.

 

Once that tomato sauce has simmered, or while it’s simmering if you have enough functional burners to run two things simultaneously, start to work on the Bolognese. Again, there’s nothing fancy here- Bolognese is simply a pot of chopped vegetables cooked for a long time with alternating choices of liquids starting with milk and wine, and ending with your beautiful tomato sauce. The most important thing about cooking the Bolognese is patience- let the individual pieces cook as long as they need to before moving on to the next step- there are few benefits to rushing them.

Lasagna 019
Lessons learned from making Bolognese: Precise knife cuts matter less when you’re cooking something over a long period of time. Also that there is milk in Bolognese- who knew?

 

The final component to make before you get to stacking is the Bechamel. Making Bechamel is basically an intricate dance of applying heat and creating motion so as not to let it become too hot. As I’ve said many times (twice) the two main ingredients of Bechamel are milk and a spoon.

Lasagna 020
Lessons learned from making Bechamel: Use a long handled spoon because it gets really hot really quick over the burner. Make sure you buy a ton of milk before setting out to make lasagna- seriously the dish is apparently mostly milk.

 

The next and final step is arguably the most fun. Take all of these delicious ingredients you’ve made and start stacking them together. Tomato sauce first, noodle second, bolognese and bechamel third, and repeat until your dish is nearly full and then sprinkle as much cheese as you can possibly fit on top. The lasagna needs to bake for an hour and then sit for forty-five minutes before it’s ready to serve so that it holds its shape which gives you plenty of time to let your mouth water over the sight and smell of a perfectly browned lasagna.

Lasagna 021

Lessons from making lasagna: Make sure you carve out enough time and space to make all the components. Many of them can be made days in advance and can be reheated to assemble when you’re ready. You never need as many noodles as you think to build your lasagna but leftover lasagna noodles make a great maltagliati later in the week. There are very few ways to irreparably ruin a lasagna.

Lasagna made "From Scratch" Read more

Editor's note - This lasagna recipe was taken from Michael Ruhlman's From Scratch cookbook, which was reviewed recently by Lindsey Menard. To ...

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Tagliatelle with Fava Beans

Tagliatelle with fava beans, peas, guanciale,  and pecorino means spring is officially here.  
TAGLIATELLE WITH FAVA BEANS
INGREDIENTS

4 oz shucked and blanched english peas

3 oz shucked and blanched and peeled fava beans

2 garlic cloves, sliced thin

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 T sage, julienned

4 oz guanciale, diced

4- 4oz portions Tagliatelle

      DIRECTIONS

In a saucepan, cook the guanciale on med high heat in oil. Slowly caramelize and brown.  Add the English peas, favas, garlic and slowly saute. Add the sage and crushed red pepper. Saute for another 2 minutes.While cooking, boil salted water for pasta. Add tagliatelle to pasta water.
Add 2 cups pasta water to the guanciale mixture. 2 T of butter, 1 cup grated pecorino, salt and pepper. Drain pasta, and add to this mixture. Finish with more pecorino, EVOO and black pepper.

 

A taste of Spring Read more

Tagliatelle with fava beans, peas, guanciale,  and pecorino means spring is officially here.   TAGLIATELLE WITH FAVA BEANS INGREDIENTS 4 oz shucked and blanched english ...

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Simone’s Christmas Tortellini

Simone’s Christmas Tortellini is an explosion of flavor.  Light pasta stuffed with sausage and ricotta served on a potato puree.  A holiday indulgence.
SIMONE’S CHRISTMAS TORTELLINI
INGREDIENTS

for the dough:
10 eggs
2lb type 00 flour

For the sauce:
1 pound loose sausage cooked
1 cup ricotta
3/4 cup grated parmigiano

For the puree:
1 lb gold potatoes cubed
1 small onion chopped
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

 

      DIRECTIONS

Add the flour on a flat service and make a hole in the middle.  Add the eggs and mix well until you have a smooth dough.  Let the dough sit for 1 hour.

Saute sausage and mix with ricotta and parmigiano until smooth.

Using a rolling pin, stretch the pasta into a flat, thin sheet.  Cut into 2″ squares. Place a small ball of the stuffing in the square and fold into a triangle and then pinch the two edges together.

Drop in boiling salted water – when they float to the top they are finished.

In a large pot saute the onions in olive oil.  Add potatoes and water and simmer until soft.  Use an immersion blender to make a puree.

Toss the tortellini with butter, sage and parmesan.  Make a thin layer of the potato puree on a serving plate and top with the tortellini.  Add sage for garnish.
—

 

Sausage stuffed Tortellini Read more

Simone's Christmas Tortellini is an explosion of flavor.  Light pasta stuffed with sausage and ricotta served on a potato puree.  A holiday ...

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White Truffle Parmigiano Sformato

White truffle flan is a great way to start off a holiday meal and represents everything that is great in Italian regional cooking.  A simple preparation, with relatively few but pristine and highest quality ingredients and the perception of a difficult undertaking that none of your guests need to know about.  The magic of white truffles.

 

Yields 8 – 4oz. souffle cup portions

 

WHITE TRUFFLE PARMIGIANO SFORMATO
INGREDIENTS

1 quart Heavy cream
2.5 Cups Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1 T white truffle paste (optional…but preferable!)
4 whole eggs
4 T all purp. Flour
Salt to taste

White truffles, fresh (avail. at Via Umbria) to garnish

      DIRECTIONS

Heat Cream in a saucepan, add the cheese and blend. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, crack eggs, whisk, add the flour and whisk some more until combined. Add the truffle paste to cream mixture and slowly pour cream into egg mixture. Add the nutmeg and adjust seasoning with salt.

 

Meanwhile, get souffle cups, and spray with non stick spray. Ladle in the mixture. On top of stove, pour approx. ¾ ” of water into a shallow stove top-ready baking dish. Place souffle cups in the water bath and cover the whole pan in plastic wrap. Cook on stovetop at medium high heat for about 30 minutes, steaming the flans. They are done when the mixture does not jiggle like jello. Serve warm. Unmold from dishes if desired.

 

Shave white truffles on top of the sformato and serve with crostini and aged Balsamico.

 

Great way to start off a holiday meal Read more

White truffle flan is a great way to start off a holiday meal and represents everything that is great in Italian regional cooking.  ...

Experience Italy, Food & Drink, How To, Recipes
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Simone’s Savory Thanksgiving Turkey

Thanksgiving isn’t an Italian holiday but Italians really romanticize it.  It fits perfectly with their love of family, food and tradition.  Our friend and practically adopted son, Chef Simone Proietti-Pesci from Umbria makes an annual pilgrimage (no pun intended) to Washington to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Menard family and to do some special guest chef appearances at Via Umbria and as a private chef in customers’ homes.
This is Simone’s delicious take on turkey that uses a few fresh ingredients to bring out the flavors in a turkey.  And this recipe is best enjoyed with a special bird.  Try it with one of our local, cage-free Fields of Athenry Farms turkeys.  You can order yours online and pick it up on the Tuesday or Wednesday before Thanksgiving!
SIMONE’S TURKEY RECIPE
INGREDIENTS

14-16 lb turkey
Pork lard
Rosemary, Sage, Bay Leaves, Juniper Berries, Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Peeled Chestnuts

      DIRECTIONS

Mince together the herbs and garlic and mix into the pork fat.  Season the turkey with salt and pepper on the skin and inside.  Rub the turkey with the pork fat – on the skin and under the skin.
Place the turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan surrounded with olive oil and peeled chestnuts.
Roast the turkey at 325* for 15 minutes per pound.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.  Serve with the roasted chestnuts.

 

family, food and tradition Read more

Thanksgiving isn't an Italian holiday but Italians really romanticize it.  It fits perfectly with their love of family, food and tradition.  Our ...

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Ernesto’s Torta d’Autunno

One of the special treats of our Food & Wine Tours is our small group cooking class at our friend Ernesto Parziani’s restaurant Perbacco.  Cooking with Ernesto, as many a guest will attest, is an all day affair, preparing course after course followed by a long, leisurely meal (accompanied by numerous wines).  The icing on the cake is often a karaoke session led by Ernesto.

And speaking of icing, last week’s cooking marathon with Ernesto introduced us to a new seasonal dessert, an autumn cake that highlights apples and raisins – Torta d’Autunno.  This dessert couldn’t be easier or more delicious.  Give it a try and let us know how it came out!

 

ERNESTO’S TORTA D’AUTUNNO
INGREDIENTS

3 eggs beaten
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter softened
1 ½ cups walnuts
½ cup raisins
zest of 1 lemon
2 cups flour
1 pk.  pane delgi angeli (baking powder)
1 apple peeled and sliced

      DIRECTIONS

In a mixing bowl add butter and sugar and mix together. Add eggs, raisins, walnuts, lemon zest, pane degli angeli and flour and beat together.

Pour into a buttered cake pan. Press apples lengthwise into the batter.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until done.

 

Apple Cake Read more

One of the special treats of our Food & Wine Tours is our small group cooking class at our friend Ernesto Parziani's restaurant Perbacco. ...

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Ernesto’s Onion Soup

There’s something satisfying about a low-and-slow dinner that pairs perfectly with crisp autumn weather. So while we’re getting into sweater weather here in D.C., we’re outsourcing dinner ideas from our Italian friends in Cannara—this hands-off onion soup is a minimalist masterpiece that transforms the humble onion into a creamy and rich soup that’s perfect for when you want something warm and simple to fill you up.

ERNESTO’S ONION SOUP
INGREDIENTS

White onions

Water

Olive oil

Salt

Garnish (pink peppercorn, black olives, celery, herbs, etc.)
      DIRECTIONS

– Start with 3 or 4 white onions and slice into thin strips. Add them to a wide pot and pour in a 50/50 mix of water and olive oil until onions are half submerged.

– Add salt, then cook for about 30-40 minutes on medium-low heat, until onions are translucent and soft.

– Blend mixture, adding about 1/2 cup of olive oil to emulsify. Texture should be smooth and creamy. Add salt to taste.

– Garnish as desired. Serve.

IMG_0508

IMG_0515

warm and simple Read more

There's something satisfying about a low-and-slow dinner that pairs perfectly with crisp autumn weather. So while we're getting into sweater weather here ...

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Suzy’s Chicken Farro Soup

There’s nothing like a hearty soup to keep your belly full and spirits high as the weather gets chillier. With Via Umbria’s grab-and-go stock of pantry essentials and dinnertime lifesavers (we’re looking at you, oven-roasted chicken!) it couldn’t be easier to get dinner on the table. This week, tuck into a humble but delicious chicken  farro soup bolstered by flavorful parmigiano and garlic.

SUZY’S CHICKEN FARRO SOUP
INGREDIENTS

1 c farro
3 c water
1 small onion diced
1 carrot diced
1 celery stalk diced
1 garlic clove
1 c cooked chicken diced
2 T tomato sauce
EVOO
Parmigiano

      DIRECTIONS

In a medium saucepan add farro, water, onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes or until farro is soft.

Add more water if necessary. Add chicken, tomato sauce and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a shaving of Parmesan

 

couldn't be easier Read more

There's nothing like a hearty soup to keep your belly full and spirits high as the weather gets chillier. With Via Umbria's grab-and-go stock ...

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Lemon Ricotta Ravioli

These ravioli stuffed with a zesty lemon ricotta mixture are going to be your new favorite meal. All you need is patience and a bit of confidence—your reward will be a plate full of citrus-y, creamy deliciousness.

PASTA DOUGH 
INGREDIENTS

200 g semolina flour

200 g type 00 flour

4 eggs

      DIRECTIONS

On a large wooden cutting board, make a well with the flour. Crack eggs into the well. Using a fork, slowly beat the eggs and mix in the flour, being careful not to break the walls of the well.

After most of the egg and flour is incorporated, begin to knead the dough. Knead for at least 10 minutes, until very smooth.

Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit for 15-30 minutes
before rolling.

LEMON RICOTTA RAVIOLI
INGREDIENTS

2 c ricotta

Zest of 1 lemon

1 c ground pecorino or parmigiano

1 egg yolk

Salt and pepper to taste

Pasta dough (above)

      DIRECTIONS

Combine ricotta, lemon zest, pecorino/parmigiano and egg yolk. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Roll out pasta dough until paper thin. Dollop the ricotta mixture onto your pasta sheets. Cover the mixture with another sheet of pasta, sealing around each dollop to encase the ricotta tightly.
Cook in boiling water 2-3 minutes until ravioli rises
to the top of the pot.

 

citrus-y, Read more

These ravioli stuffed with a zesty lemon ricotta mixture are going to be your new favorite meal. All you need is patience ...