Pasta
The process of pasta making
from scratch had piqued my interest in
the whole process, after reading many blogs, recipes, I finally came up with a
winner, here is how I did it and the results were amazing now I understand how
people ate their pasta just with a smidgen of butter or olive oil. Homemade
fresh pasta beats any pasta I ever ate hands down and that too from a beginner,
I cannot imagine how it would taste coming from a pro who would do it every
day!
Quantities
Fresh pasta with eggs: for four persons, take 2 eggs and 220
gram/1 cup) flour ( I used half whole wheat and half all purpose flour), and a pinch of salt. This
should serve 2-3 people.
Mixing the
dough
Make a heap of flour on the worktop, with a hole in the middle
(like a volcano). Pour the eggs (whisk them before lightly ) in the hole, and start to mix. Just add some
flour from the mountain to the beaten eggs in the centre, and stir with your
finger (or you could use a fork to do this). Use one hand to mix the dough, use
the other hand to keep the eggs from breaking through and running all over the
table. You could use a bowl and a fork / whisk for the mixing, Check the
consistency of your dough (not too moist or dry). If it stays too moist, add
flour. If, on the other hand, the dough is too short (crumbly), add water or
milk a tablespoon at a time (milk should be better I think mine turned out just
fine without any additions). Once a ball forms.
Clean the worktop, and wash and dry your hands.
Kneading the
dough :- Now knead the dough for
at least ten minutes. Use both the hands, Fingers, Knuckles and the ball of
your hand. Fold, knead and twist the dough until you get a supple, slightly
elastic ball. Pack the dough in plastic foil and let it rest for thirty
minutes.
To roll out the dough :- To make thin pasta sheets
use a wooden, thin roller and start
rolling the dough till a thin circle is formed and you can see through the
sheet of pasta. Or you could use a pasta machine.
Dry the pasta before cutting :- Let the sheets of pasta
dough dry on a clean kitchen towel for fifteen minutes before cutting. If you
don't, the strands are in danger of not separating properly.
To cut the pasta: - Use a ruler guide to cut
the pasta or roll the sheets loosely and cut with a sharp knife. Let the pasta
rest for at least five more minutes before cooking.
Dry
pasta to keep it for a longer period of
time, it is best to let it dry in loosely formed "bird nests" on a
tea towel.
Boiling pasta: - Fresh pasta only needs a
few seconds in boiling water! Bring plenty of water to the boil, add some salt.
Add the pasta. As soon as the water is boiling again, add the pasta and look
for done-ness (this should not take more than 3-5 mins depending on the flour
used). Drain the pasta immediately. Make sure that the sauce and accompaniments are ready to serve before you start boiling the
pasta.
You
can keep uncooked pasta a long time without refrigerating (over a month). Just
let the pasta dry out well, rolled very loosely. Then keep them in a large bowl
without cover in a dry closet. Take care that the pasta is completely dry
before placing it in a bowl. When pasta is dried for a longer period, it needs
to boil longer, up to several minutes. Just test your pasta while it is
boiling.
