Friday, May 21, 2010

Fresh Pasta

I was home in Toronto for a week visiting family and friends before school starts next week (I can't believe how soon it is!). It was great to see everyone, to catch up with old friends and meet new ones, and share some delicious food. The only small downside to the trip was finding out that my favourite Indian restaurant closed. I was sad :(

My mom bought me a pasta attachment for my mixer, something I've always wanted. We made fresh pasta with marinara sauce for dinner, and it was amazing. I actually made a second batch another day for my family to freeze before I brought the machine back home, and then I made a batch the day I arrived home so A could try.

The dough is a bit dry, so it was a little bit difficult to work with at first. But the machine is so much fun - I love seeing the dough come together and flatten out, and it is so cool using the cutter and seeing the finished pasta roll out of the machine. I will definitely experiment with some different flours and ingredients in the dough, and I also want to try some raviolis.


spaghetti:


fettuccine:


Basic Egg Pasta
Yield: 6 servings
Print recipe

4 large eggs
3 tbsp water
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
  1. Place all ingredients in mixer bowl.

  2. Using the flat beater, mix for 30 seconds.

  3. Switch to the dough hook, and knead dough for 2 minutes.

  4. Remove dough from bowl and hand knead until dough comes together.

  5. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

  6. Divide dough into 6 pieces. Flatten each piece slightly.

  7. Set the pasta attachment to the largest opening. Turn mixer on.

  8. Feed flattened dough into rollers.

  9. Fold dough in half and roll again.

  10. Repeat folding and kneading process several times until dough is smooth and pliable and covers the width of the roller.

  11. Move adjustment knob to the second setting. Feed dough through rollers.

  12. Continue to increase roller setting until desired dough thickness is reached (about 5 for spaghetti, 6 for fettuccine).

  13. Cook immediately in salted boiling water for 2 to 5 minutes.

  14. Pasta can also be dried by laying in a single layer on a towel for up to an hour. Dust with flour and form into nests to freeze in an airtight container.

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