The Fresh Pasta Topic

[Franci]

I'm making a lot of egg yolk pasta lately. Tajarin then get dehydrated in the Excalibur 

 

 

yesterday it was time for ravioli filled with a pork roast

[Smithy]

Franci, those look lovely.  I've been meaning to get back to making fresh pasta again - especially something filled, like ravioli - and see if I can get the technique down.  Your photos are inspiring.  Thanks for bringing this back up!

[Okanagancook]

On March 2, 2014 at 3:26 PM, Twyst said:

Ive been trying my hand at home made ravioli quite a bit lately, and while the results have always been delicious, my ravioli are always very wrinkly and shriveled looking when I take them out of the water.  What is causing this?

Air bubbles in the ravioli stretches the dough when cooked, then it falls back down over the pasta resulting in wrinkles.

The ideal ratio is a 2 inch round of dough to 1/2 inch mound of filling.  This gives you enough space to press out the air.

my reference for this is p 79 from Mastering Pasta by Marc Vetri.

[Franci]

Thanks,  Smithy. Ravioli are so versatile and fun to make. If you go back to it, you'll enjoy. My only issue with it it seems I never make enough for my kids

 

 

7 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

Air bubbles in the ravioli stretches the dough when cooked, then it falls back down over the pasta resulting in wrinkles.

The ideal ratio is a 2 inch round of dough to 1/2 inch mound of filling.  This gives you enough space to press out the air.

my reference for this is p 79 from Mastering Pasta by Marc Vetri.

 

And if you feel there is still air there, take a toothpick and make two tiny holes on the raviolo, at the base of the filling area and press gently to release all air.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Franci (log)

[KennethT]

Jeez Franci, those pics look fantastic!  Are you sure you weren't a food stylist in a former life?  I want to eat my screen...

[LindaK]

Franci, lovely ravioli!  Can you share your technique for filling and cutting them so uniformly?  I don't have any problems making the pasta, but my ravioli always look a little sloppy.

 

btw, I really enjoyed the videos you posted on the previous page. I've never seen anyone roll such large pasta sheets before. masterful.

 

 

 

[Franci]

Thanks, Kenneth! I wish.

 

Linda, I'm not a "sfoglina" like that woman in the video. My mom always used a raviolamp and that's what I use, especially if I'm in a rush and I just want to have the job done. 

 

[teajay]

I really like that tray on the right Franci, might need to go order one... Have the one in the center and enjoy it. Highly recommended for speed and ease. 

 

Recently restarted the fresh pasta kick too. Did a batch of tortellini on the weekend that found their way into some reduced chicken stock flavored with parmesan and nutmeg. Filling was pork shoulder, sausage, prosciutto & mortadella, egg, parm and nutmeg (Classico e Moderno by Michael White). Have recently been rolling out the pasta sheets with a large wooden rolling pin vs using the machine. So far seems to be less finicky and easier to do as a one-man job. 

 

Added Flour + Water and Mastering Pasta to the bookshelf lately so will likely play with those for a bit.

 

 

[Okanagancook]

Got a new toy, a chitarra.  I think I got a pretty good price, $37.  It's $94 on Amazon.ca.  Sheesh.

Here is my first batch.  Dough is from Mastering Pasta by Marc Vetri and is semolina, egg, and oil.  I was looking the UTube for videos on how to use and especially how thick to roll out the dough.  Sadly most of the videos are in Italian but I did manage to learn the rolling technique.  I rolled my dough out to #3 on the hand pasta roller and it made kinda square noodles which was what I was after.  They took around 8 to 9 minutes to cook.  I'm dieting at the moment and only had a few pieces but DH loved the texture.  The noodles would be a fine base for a hearty ragu.

[SLB]

ohgodthatlooksgood, <deep breath>

 

[Franci]

 I made raviole (yes, in this case ends with e) del plin (pinch). Filling not traditional but with what I had available. I just love the texture of pasta with eggs yolks. 

 

 

 

and some special shapes for a little surprise in the plate for my children (as it was for me when I was little)

 

[teajay]

Those look fantastic, especially the surprise shapes... Huge fan of the rustic style plin. 

[pufin3]

You might try using a couple of Ts of 'high gluten' flour. It will help the dough stretch.

[pufin3]

I make my pasta from scratch using half AP flour and half Durum Semolina and farm eggs and extra yolks. Food processor mixing method works great!

Anyone wants the recipe ask here.

[ProfessionalHobbit]

And now for something a little bit different...

 

 

1 1/2 cups AP flour in a food processor. Pulse for 5 seconds to aerate the flour.

 

 

Slowly add 1 cup VERY COLD water with the motor running on low. The dough will eventually cohere into a ball.

 

 

 

Turn out onto a floured surface.

Knead a few times.

 

 

Flatten into a disk.

Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1/2 hour before using.

 

 

Remove dough from refrigerator and slice off a small section, about 1-inch wide, then slice that in half. Roll both pieces against a lightly floured wooden surface to form tubes slightly skinnier than your pinkie.

 

 

Cut tubes into segments as long as your thumb is wide.

 

To begin shaping cavatelli, stick your right thumb up and then turn hand so thumb is pointing left. Maintaining even pressure, use thumb to push a piece of dough forward and up, like an airplane taking off. The dough should spring up and form around the curve of your thumb. Use a bench scraper or knife to transfer cavatelli to a baking sheet covered in parchment paper and sprinkled with flour, making sure no pieces of pasta touch. Continue until all dough is used.

 

 

 

\

 

If you're wondering why there are multiple photos that don't look the same, that's because I'm showing you pix from two different occasions when I made cavatelli.  It's not something I do often enough which needs to change.  Unfortunately now that I'm in my mid-40s, I don't eat pasta as often as I used to.  But when I do, this is one of my favorite shapes to make.

 

The amount of cavatelli shown above in the first and third pix is about 3/4 of the total amount of pasta dough I made for that batch. 

 

Let pasta dry slightly, 30-45 minutes. Laying them atop a sheet of parchment paper will ensure they don’t stick to the surface they’re resting on.

 

 

[Smithy]

What sort of sauce would be favored for cavatelli, ProfessionalHobbit? Asked another way: what would be the application for this particular dough and shape?

[ProfessionalHobbit]

One of the traditional preps is cavatelli con broccoli e salsicce ("cavatelli with broccoli and sausage").  I'll do that occasionally, instead preferring cavatelli con cavolfiore ("cavatelli with cauliflower") or cavatelli con cime di rapa ("with broccoli rabe").

 

The technique is pretty much the same.  It's not really a sauce like carbonara or bolognese, so much as it is pasta with vegetables and sometimes meat with a base of olive oil and a battuto/soffrito of onion or garlic and herbs..

[ProfessionalHobbit]

If you make the cavatelli rounder and smaller, you basically end up with orecchiette.

 

We don't have a pasta machine, instead preferring to make the shapes by hand.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Personally, I like cavatelli with roasted bell peppers and Italian sausages (and I make them with a little hand-cranked machine). It's not a pasta shape you see too often but they are delicious!

Edited September 9, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
typo (log)

[ProfessionalHobbit]

They're typical of pasta from historically poorer regions of Italy such as the south.  Notice the lack of eggs and dairy in the version I made.

 

I'm thinking primarily of Puglia and Basilicata.

[ProfessionalHobbit]

Egg-based pasta is nice but I think the south just doesn't get enough airtime.  The south of Italia that is.

 

 

1 3/4 cup AP flour, a pinch of kosher salt, 3/4 cup lukewarm water.

 

Make a well, add the salt, add the water.  With a fork, incorporate the interior of the well into the liquid and continue until you obtain a soft, pliable dough.

 

 

 

Dough will cohere. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 10 minutes,.

 

 

 

Wrap with plastic wrap and let sit for at least half an hour.

 

 

 

To shape the pasta, cut off a chunk and roll with your fingers until you have a cylinder about 1/2" (1 cm) in diameter.

 

 

 

Cut into pieces about 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" in length.

 

 

 

Press your fingertips to create depressions in the pasta.

 

 

 

Transfer completed pieces onto a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet to dry until you're ready to cook them.

To cook: simmer in lightly salted boiling water for about 5 minutes or until pasta floats to the top, then lift out with a slotted spoon.

 

 

 

Strascinati pasta.

 

This recipe makes enough for 2 servings.

[pufin3]

Franci your pasta looks excellent!

Would you mind putting up the recipe/measurements.

I have dozen of hand made egg noodle pasta recipes.

Some I've tried are pretty 'out there'. LOL

[FrogPrincesse]

All these gorgeous pasta pictures by @ProfessionalHobbit made me crave fresh cavatelli! So I made a batch (using fresh homemade ricotta and grated tangerine zest) and froze them for future use.

 

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Following a fresh pasta hiatus I recently purchased a set of KitchenAid roller/cutter attachments.  For my first attempt I used the serious eats pasta recipe, though I had to add an extra tablespoon of water to get the dough to come together.  For the second batch I added two additional yolks and skipped the water.  Also per MC I added one percent xanthan gum to the second batch:

 

 

 

The noodles were pretty enough and easy to roll out but the texture was discordant.  This might have been amusing at el Bulli but it was not what I wanted for my dinner.

 

I think I'll skip the xanthan next time.

 

[kayb]

I am thinking 2017 may be the year I dive into pasta making. One always needs a new challenge.