Pasta is one of those things we take for granted. No matter the shape or color, it's generally inexpensive and
very easy to prepare. Pasta is incredibly versatile and we use it all the time at our house: spaghetti with meat sauce, macaroni and cheese, fettucini Alfredo with shrimp, pasta salad for a picnic, spicy sesame noodles with peppers, baked penne, spinach lasagna, ravioli with butternut squash sauce...the list goes on and on! We love carbs around here.
But where does pasta come from? How is it made? What is a pasta tree? Why am I able to store it in my pantry for so long? And how do they make rotini so curly?!
I first began my pasta-making adventure when I received a pasta maker for my birthday from my siblings-in-law, Jeff and Lindsay. They know about my love of cooking and they've been making pasta for a long time. Lindsay made us a delicious mushroom ravioli once using her handy pasta cranker and a ravioli press. I looked on, impressed and intimidated. Why go to so much trouble to make pasta when it's so cheap at the store?
Well, I'll tell you. It's delicious when you buy it at the grocery store and it's even more so when you make it fresh.
The process is involved. First you make the dough and let it rest. Then you roll out the dough using a pasta roller to make long, thin sheets that gradually dry to a leathery texture. Next you cut the long sheets of pasta into whatever size you prefer (spaghetti, fettucini, etc.). Lastly, you boil the pasta for about 90 seconds and serve it or store it. Sadly, freshly-made pasta will not last for eternity in your pantry and you'll have to find ways of serving it within a week or freezing it. In my research, I found that a lot of folks toss the cut and cooked pasta with a little corn starch and freeze it in big zipper bags until they're ready to serve it. Then at meal time, you can boil it for like 1 minute instead of 6-8 minutes since it's already cooked. I have yet to try the freezer method, so I'll report back.
If you have hours to spare and you enjoy a new kitchen adventure from time to time, do this. If you're still learning how to poach an egg and roast a chicken, click on another blog entry to read. The list of ingredients should not intimidate, but the procedure is tricky and time-consuming. Fear not, but this one classifies as advanced.
Fresh Pasta Sheets
from Gourmet magazine, January 2006
3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
4 large eggs
1 tsp. salt
2-3 Tbsp. water
A pasta machine
Evidently you can blend your flour, eggs, salt, and water in a food processor until it begins to form a ball. You're supposed to add more water gradually if the dough is too dry and stop when it is firm and not sticky. Process the dough for about 15 seconds more to knead it and then transfer it to a floured surface to let it rest. Cover the dough with an inverted bowl for about 1 hour so the gluten can relax and rolling will be easier.
Note: I didn't use the food processor technique because Peter and I recently exchanged our Kitchenaid food processor for a Cuisinart product instead and we were waiting for the shipment of our new appliance. The next time I make pasta, I will use the food processor because the by-hand method was pretty much a counter-top disaster.
To make your pasta dough by hand, mound the flour on a work surface (wooden, if you have it!) and make a well in the center. Add eggs, salt, and 2 Tbsp. of water to the well. With a fork, gently beat the eggs and water until combined. Gradually stir in enough flour to form a paste, pulling in flour closest to the egg mixture. Be careful not to make an opening in the outer wall of the well because you don't want your liquid mixture to spill out on the counter. (I made this mistake, but I was too busy recovering from the leak to photograph the incident.) Knead the remaining flour into the mixture with your hands to form a dough, adding more water gradually if it is too dry. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Cover the dough with an inverted bowl on your counter and let it rest for about an hour.
To roll the pasta, divide your dough into 8 equally-sized pieces. Flatten each piece into a rectangle and cover the remaining pasta pieces while you work with one at a time to flatten it. You do not want them to dry out. Lightly dust 1 rectangle with flour and feed it through the rollers of your pasta machine. On my Kitchenaid mixer attachment, I set it to 1 (the thickest setting) first and took it through several times to make long, even rectangles. The mixer speed was set on the lowest speed and I thought that was as fast as I would really want to work. I ran each pasta sheet through on setting 1 about 5-8 times, sometimes folding it in half length-wise to avoid getting sheets that were excessively wide. Turn the dial to the next narrower setting and fee the dough through the rollers without folding. Continue to feed the dough through each level once without folding until you reach your desired thickness. I took most of my pasta to level 7 (8 is the smallest), but if I were to do it again, I'd stop at 5 or 6 because my pasta turned out more like angel hair than I intended. Don't skip levels of rolling because the pasta will crumble out into your hand instead of sticking together and thinning out. Your pasta sheets should end up being about 3 feet long and roughly 4 inches wide. Cut the sheets shorter if you like and lay them on a lightly floured surface to dry while you roll the remaining rectangles. You can also lightly dust them with flour and hang them over the backs of chairs, a broomstick, a pasta tree, or a drying rack. When your pasta sheets are leathery but still pliable, it's time to cut them.
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Fold it lengthwise a few times while you roll it through on level 1
to make a nice, even rectangular shape. |
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If you skip any levels during the rolling process, the dough may
crumble out into your hand instead of stretching out and thinning. Go in
order 1-2-3-4-5-6 etc. until you've reached the desired thickness. |
To cut the pasta, I changed the attachment on the mixer from the rollers to the cutting tool. I carefully led each pasta sheet through the cutter and the pieces of spaghetti fell out into a bowl I had placed underneath. I should've cut the pasta into 1 foot lengths beforehand because I ended up with some majorly long spaghetti strands and they were hard to twirl and control on a fork, knife, spoon, pasta scoop, or anything!
To cook the pasta, I tossed the freshly cut spaghetti into a pot of salty, boiling water for about 3 minutes. This was too long. If you make fresh pasta and it's thin, it only needs about 90 seconds. Watch the pot! Stir the pasta so that it doesn't form a large blob because the cut dough is stickier than dried pasta. You can test the doneness of the spaghetti by pulling a single noodle out and tasting it or just using the side of a fork to cut a noodle against the side of the pot. If it takes some pressure, it's probably al dente. If it cuts pretty easily, it's "well done."
With my first batch of homemade pasta, Cynthia made a tomato sauce with herbs from my patio, diced peppers, garlic, onions, and crumbled bacon. It was fresh and delicious!
