Home-made pasta

[grahame]

I'm interested in peoples thoughts and experiences with home made pasta.  For me its one of the simple delights in the kitchen.  Something about getting your hands into flour and eggs on a counter top (freaks out my wife's neat-freak cousin :) ) and rolling out big sheets of pasta.  

I've only tried plain pasta (flour and eggs) and I always seem to end up making ravioli, typically with whatever is at hand - some combination of things like olives, spinach, fetta (some great stuff from the yarra valley here in Australia), porcini mushrooms, anchovies, capers... all pretty standard stuff, but no less pleasing!  I always seem to get carried away with the sizes too - once they're cooked they end up pretty big...

Anyone with favorites or inspired combinations?

[Katherine]

My favorite is portobello and brie: Cut cheap brie, crust and all into 1" cubes. Sauté sliced portobellos in butter until cooked, add sherry or other wine and salt to taste, cook until dry. When mushrooms are cool, place an equal amount in the food processor as the brie. Chill until ready to fill raviolis. Serve raviolis with a little butter and cream, so as not to overwhelm the delicate flavors.

You might want to get a ravioli frame or two (or three or four). They make nice uniformly shaped raviolis, and are available in lots of shapes and sizes. Though I haven't found anyplace that carries them all. Start with www.fantes.com.

I always use my KitchenAid stand mixer to make pasta dough.

Two servings is such a perfect amount of ravioli to make, you get to stop before you get really bored...

[Rosie]

Try making a butternut squash ravioli. Browned butter on top or a cream/sage sauce is delicious with this. Pumpkin works well also.

[Varmint]

I don't have any great inspirations, although an uncooked sauce of tomatoes, basil, olive oil, garlic and sea salt is awesome -- make sure you warm the plates first.  However, we purchased a small electric motor to attach to our machine.  It made the pasta making so much simpler.  I'd make the sauce, my wife would make the pasta.  She'd be ready with the pasta by the time the water was boiling.  We were able to eat much sooner than if we used dry pasta!

[Andy Lynes]

Couple of questions, how far do you click down on the machine when making Ravioli. I have stopped 2 clicks before the lowest setting which makes the pasta easy to handle but the sealed edge a little thick. Any further seems to be too thin and the filling in danger of tearing the dough. By the way, I make raviolis by cutting discs of pasta using pastry cutters.

Second question is, do you let the ravs dry before cooking, or plunge straight in to boiling water once they are made. Does it make any difference, and if you do wait before cooking, how long would you leave them?

[Rosie]

You can also make ravioli using wonton skins.

[Katherine]

How thin you roll them (as far as setting number is concerned) depends on the calibration of your machine. I have heard that the better quality small machines can be adjusted. The one I used to use was a cheapie, and the thinnest setting was too thin for anything but strudel. The next thicker setting was too thick. In any case, the pasta wasn't wide enough to fit on a frame and seal properly.

I bought a Trattorina, which I highly recommend. It is so superior that it is a joy to use compared with my old motorized small machine. The thinnest setting is perfect for raviolis, while sometimes for extraordinarily delicate ones, I roll them out a little thinner by hand. Maybe you need to roll your dough out a bit more by hand if you machine doesn't have the correct setting.

If the dough is too stretchy to handle at the thickness which it seems ought to be right, you might try making it just a little bit drier.

I've seen recommendations to dry the pasta for an hour on a floured cloth. If I don't cook it right away (like if I'm making a huge batch), it goes onto a lightly floured sheet pan, and after a while, they get flipped over. If I'm not using it immediately (within hours) it will then go in the freezer, but not for more than 2 weeks.

Usually, I just have the water boiling and cook it immediately.

[=Mark]

This recipe is a little involved, but the results are more than worth the effort...<p>Shrimp & Pesto Ravioli with Sherry Cream Sauce & Shitakes

Ingredients:

1 lb. 31 to 40 count shrimp, peeled, deveined and boiled for 4 minutes. Drain and cool.

2 cups durum semolina flour

2 eggs

water

pesto

pitted calamata olives

1/2 lb. shitake mushrooms

1/4 cup diced shallots

1/4 cup dry sherry

1 pint heavy cream

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

olive oil

1/4 stick butter at room temperature

1/4 tsp Old Bay Seasoning

Pasta:

Combine eggs and flour thoroughly. If necessary, add water until proper consistency is attained. Knead for 5 minutes, then let rest on counter under a bowl for 20 minutes. Roll out dough with machine into a thin sheet suitable for making the raviolis. Lay pasta on wax paper sprinkled with semolina to prevent sticking.

Raviolis:

take a shrimp and smear one side with a dab of pesto and place pesto side down on pasta sheet. Place half of an olive on top of the shrimp. Repeat until there is a double row of 10 or 12 shrimp. Using your finger or a pastry brush, moisten around each shrimp with water.

Roll out another sheet of pasta, and carefully lay over shrimp. Using your fingers, press the air out from around the shrimp and press pasta together around the shrimp.

Use a pasta/pastry crimper/cutter to cut the individual raviolis. if making a large quantity, separate single layers with wax paper sprinkled with semolina (raviolis touching each other tend to stick and tear) and stack in a baking dish or tray. Raviolis may be prepared and frozen for later use. (Cook frozen raviolis for 2 extra minutes)

To cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add raviolis and cook for 4 or 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from pot and drain in a colander. If not serving immediately, drizzle with a little olive oil and gently toss to prevent sticking.

Cream sauce:

Heat cream in saucepan until it is boiling vigorously. Reduce to 1/3 of its original volume and add nutmeg and Old Bay.

In a sauté pan, sauté shallots and shitakes in a little olive oil until tender. While over high heat, add the sherry to the pan and flame off the alcohol. reduce until most of

the liquid has evaporated. remove both the mushrooms from the heat, combine with cream in the saucepan and simmer for a few minutes. Add butter and whisk until sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle sauce over the raviolis and serve immediately.

[grahame]

Hmm, some good ideas - I think I'll have a play this weekend.

As far as how thin - I roll mine all the way to the thinnest setting.  I have an Imperial machine (or something like that), and this seems just right - strong enough, but the edges just cook.  I generally make a big batch, cook enough to eat straight away, and put the rest straight into containers in the freezer.  Its a great feeling to come home and remember you have a few constainers of fresh ravioli int he freezer!

Has anyone tried making flavoured (for want of a better word) pasta - i.e. using other ingredients in the pasta dough itself?  I've always meant to try some, but never got around to it.  I've also read somewhere about including fresh basil leaves sandwiched in the pasta dough when you roll it out.

[Andy Lynes]

Sounds like pasta machines vary quite a bit in terms of calibration. It's a matter of getting to know your own I suppose. I'm doing duck ravioli tonight, so I'm going to try and get those edges nice and thin.

I am currently using Tom Colicchios pasta dough recipe at the moment which seems to work very well indeed, eggs, 00 flour and olive oil. Gives a nice workable dough. Any other favourites?  

[Fat Guy]

Andy, as a technical matter, how much do you know about "00" flour and different types of flour in general? I'd be interested in a primer. Should that be a new thread, or is there a short answer?

[Andy Lynes]

Short answer from me is that 00 is the grade specified by many recipes, I tried it and found the texture of the dough to be noticably smoother and the resultant pasta lighter textured than using plain flour. I know there are many types and grade of flours but I just use plain, self raising, strong (for bread) and the 00. I have been using corm meal for pancakes just recently and have used bluecorn meal as well, but thats about it as far as my expertise goes.

[Shiva]

I love fresh pasta prepared simply.

2 cups semolina (AKA Pasta Flour)

2 eggs

salt

olive oil

water (if needed)

I mix using the well technique, sloshing with the right hand and pushing flour in with the left.

As soon as the dough is smooth I stop kneading, wrap it in plastic and let it rest for 10 minutes.  The rest allows the gluten to relax and helps make a more tender noodle.

I use an Atlas machine and roll the pasta to "5" ("7" being the thinnest) then through the linguine cutter.  I'm not into filled pastas.  Gilding the lily, IMO.

A minute or two in highly salted boiling water, drain then into a pan of hot garlic oil.  This time of the year I'll sautee tomato chunks in the oil first.

Garnish with some basil and parmigiano-reggiano.

Ooh, now I'm hungry.

[pastalady]

For those of you who like to make pasta, there is a machine called Trattorina made by Belpasta.

you can make fresh pasta . I got mine at the JP Prince Co. in New York. Their web site is pastamachine.net

Laura

[helenas]

I had the idea to buy pasta machine for a long time;

and this thread convinced me, so i did a research and

here are the options:

- Kitchenaid mixer with pasta attachment or

- Trattorina pasta machine.

Both are recommended by Wolf's "New Cooks' Catalogue"

Kitchenaid looks like a better option (although i don't have one, and i have a bread maker for kneading), but Tratttorina has a ravioli attachment, that is also recommended to the book.

Any recommendations?

[Katherine]

I have the Trattorina ravioli attachment, but I've only used it once. It's good if you're feeding a crowd, but the ravioli you make using it are very full pillows, and you have to make a lot to bother setting up the operation. I only need to make a serving or two at a time, and I like handmade style anyway, so I use a frame or make them on my board with a zigzag wheel or use a drinking glass to cut out circles.

The Trattorina would be more convenient with a motor, but it's so convenient compared to the motorized Ampia I used to use that I've never bothered to adapt it. I don't doubt that it could be used in a small restaurant that wants to serve some pasta (as they say on the website).

[helenas]

So if i don't go with Trattorina because of the ravioli attachment, are there still advantages of having pasta machine instead of pasta attachment. I make lasagna

almost twice a week, and somehow all the stores in vicinity stop to carry frech lasagna sheets one by one.

( i'm in the central NJ, in Wegmans, Delicuios Orchards, Dearborn Farn triangle)

[mpav]

Hi, I'm considering making room in my tiny place for a pasta maker. The three piece attachment for the Kitchenadi stand mixer seems like an interesting choice. I read two opinions on epinions however, one of which was great, the other maintained that it will not stand up to a stif dough. Anyone have experience with the product to help me decide? Any other options I should consider instead? Space is a consideration, as is cost. How often will a dough be stiff enough to create a probelm? I haven't made pasta more than a few times and can't recall pasta being very stiff. Thanks for any info.

[Suzanne F]

I've made pasta dough following the non-American recipes* in the KitchenAid booklet that comes with the pasta roller/cutter attachment, with the one change of using half semolina flour and half all-purpose (plain). Worked just fine. I had no problems rolling it and cutting it with the attachment. If you've already got a KA stand mixer, you won't need to take up any more room.

*Why the recipes are different, I have no idea. They just are.

[stevea]

I don't have ready access to 00 flour, but I've had great success with both all-purpose and bread flours. It seems like every italian cookbook I own has a different flour to egg ratio, but I've found the following to work very well:

1 lb. (about 4 cups) flour

5 large eggs

If I use more eggs, the dough sometimes sticks to the rollers of the pasta maker and I have to do a lot more flouring.

I'm lazy and use the Jamie Oliver method (plunk it all into a food processor and run until if forms coarse pellets and then merges into a rough ball -- less than a minute). Then knead for a couple of minutes, wrap in plastic and store in the fridge for an hour before rolling.

I have an Imperia machine and roll out to the thinnest setting, even for filled pastas. I've tried the next setting up, but the noodle is just too "horsey."

Lately, I've had fun doing the shaped, filled pastas, cappelletti or tortelloni. I'm not sure exactly which name fits what I made, because I think the only difference between the two is just the size. Anyway, take the sheet as comes out of the pasta maker, cut lengthwise into four strips, then into squares. Drop filling into the center, fold into a triangle and seal, and then with your finger against the long edge of the triangle, pull the legs around your finger and clasp them together. As you do this the other corner of the triangle pops up and you have the cool little bishop's hat. I made really ugly hats for a while, but I finally got the hang of it.

I usually make a double batch of pasta, make filled pasta until I run out of filling, then cut the rest into rough, wide pappardelle, which is really easy to do, but hard to find at the store (at least, where I live).

[mpav]

Thanks all, I'm anxious to get started, and your replies are helpful, especially concerning the Kitchen Aid attachments. Think I'll go place my order.

[JosephB]

Andy, as a technical matter, how much do you know about "00" flour and different types of flour in general? I'd be interested in a primer. Should that be a new thread, or is there a short answer?

According to Maestra Hazan, "00" is talcum-soft, with less gluten than bread flour. She thinks unbleached all purpose is a good substitute. I've been using the "00" lately.

Very recently, I've been modifying the pasta recipe I use to include more egg yolks. I'm not so sure about the chemistry of yolks v. whites, but I love the deeper egg color the yolks produce. I've had no problem with the texture.

I see that a lot of recipes for pasta, including ones mentioned here, call for oil to be added to the flour and eggs. I've never added oil, and have never read anything that explains the addition. Does it make the pasta more elastic? If so, how?

[ambra]

I use oil in my recipe, but that's really because my mother in law told me to. Her recipe calls for Flour, Eggs, Water, a little salt and a little olive oil.

The dough comes out very smooth and managable. I don't know if thats because of the oil or not though, so I guess I am not that much of a help.

Lately I have been using durum flour that I found at the Italian deli and the pasta comes out absolutely fantastic. Before that, I was using 00 flour, but I really like this durum flour better.

Oh, and with my Imperia machine I use the thinnest setting for ravioli and then one setting up for pasta.

-Ambra

[JPW]

Has anyone tried making flavoured (for want of a better word) pasta - i.e. using other ingredients in the pasta dough itself?  I've always meant to try some, but never got around to it.  I've also read somewhere about including fresh basil leaves sandwiched in the pasta dough when you roll it out.

I'll make flavored pasta on occasion depending on the sauce I'm using (ie if you're making a big heavy spicy ragu, you won't be able to taste the flavorings in the pasta). Sometimes I just start grabbing things from the spice cabinet - pepper, red pepper flakes, thyme, etc.

Small pieces of fresh herbs make an interesting visual in raviolis. I made an interesting (aka tasted ok) squash and leftover turkey ravioli with some sage in the pasta.

You just need to be careful when adding things to pasta when you are rolling it out. It tears even more easily than typical.

Finally, in "My Two Villages' Mario Batali has recipes for a squid ink pasta (black pasta! cool!) and pasta with nettles. Haven't tried these, but they could be the source of inspiration.

[Katherine]

Freshly ground black pepper and grated lemon rind make an exquisite pasta.