Why Make Fresh Pasta?
The simple answer to that is that it can taste better; my personal favourite is spinach and black olive pasta. If you are a black olive fan then nothing tastes better than fresh pasta with black olives, it has a unique rich complexity of taste.
As big a fan as I am of fresh pasta I love it, it does depend on what the finished product is going to be. For instance for me spaghetti needs the hardness of the semolina that means it is better to use dried spaghetti. Fresh pasta is softer and more malleable than dried. Fresh Orecchiette is a type of dried pasta which resembles an ear and as a vegetarian it is one of my favourites, because it is particularly good at holding vegetable sauces and making their taste more complex in the mouth. Most shop bought dried pasta is made from hard wheat four, but I love the taste and texture of homemade orecchiette
Definitely all ravioli's need homemade pasta as does lasagne and cannelloni. I love beetroot cannelloni with goat's cheese. Pasta is the generic term for a type of Italian noodle, made with flour and water and sometimes enriched with eggs or egg yolks, and flavoured with spinach, (homemade green pasta or pasta Verde) or black olives, pumpkin, or beetroot. I also make black pasta for fish dishes which is flavoured by squid ink. Pasta infused with the zest of lemon, lime or orange is a taste to savour.
Pasta Verde or Spinach pasta enriched with egg
2 large organic eggs
10 Ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped;
OR 6 Ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed completely dry
400g unbleached organic stone ground flour
Method
Make a large mound of flour on your work surface and make a well in the centre with your hand. Finely chop the spinach and beat in the eggs, and then pour into the well of the flour on the work surface. Work the flour into the centre with your hands; it is a thankless messy task, but the best way of making pasta. When the dough comes together, knead it loosely for about three to four minutes. It should be sticky, but still elastic. Continue kneading by hand until the dough becomes satiny and elastic do not attempt to cut this step because it is one of the most important steps.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature for about three hours. When Italian housewives roll out pasta dough they use a large extra long rolling pin, but it can be done with a regular rolling pin, just don't try to roll out more than a quarter of it at a time. Sprinkle a large work surface with a dusting of flour, shape the dough into a ball and start to roll out. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than push it out into shape, so to stretch it, give it a quarter turn after about five rolls. Home made pasta should be an even thickness, but it should be thin enough to see through it. If you want to make tagliatelle, then roll up the dough and cut with a very sharp knife. However to cut pasta it is far easier with a pasta machine. If I have not bothered to get my pasta machine out , I tend to make sheets of lasagna, by using sheets of very thin dough.
The simple answer to that is that it can taste better; my personal favourite is spinach and black olive pasta. If you are a black olive fan then nothing tastes better than fresh pasta with black olives, it has a unique rich complexity of taste.
As big a fan as I am of fresh pasta I love it, it does depend on what the finished product is going to be. For instance for me spaghetti needs the hardness of the semolina that means it is better to use dried spaghetti. Fresh pasta is softer and more malleable than dried. Fresh Orecchiette is a type of dried pasta which resembles an ear and as a vegetarian it is one of my favourites, because it is particularly good at holding vegetable sauces and making their taste more complex in the mouth. Most shop bought dried pasta is made from hard wheat four, but I love the taste and texture of homemade orecchiette
Definitely all ravioli's need homemade pasta as does lasagne and cannelloni. I love beetroot cannelloni with goat's cheese. Pasta is the generic term for a type of Italian noodle, made with flour and water and sometimes enriched with eggs or egg yolks, and flavoured with spinach, (homemade green pasta or pasta Verde) or black olives, pumpkin, or beetroot. I also make black pasta for fish dishes which is flavoured by squid ink. Pasta infused with the zest of lemon, lime or orange is a taste to savour.
Pasta Verde or Spinach pasta enriched with egg
2 large organic eggs
10 Ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped;
OR 6 Ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed completely dry
400g unbleached organic stone ground flour
Method
Make a large mound of flour on your work surface and make a well in the centre with your hand. Finely chop the spinach and beat in the eggs, and then pour into the well of the flour on the work surface. Work the flour into the centre with your hands; it is a thankless messy task, but the best way of making pasta. When the dough comes together, knead it loosely for about three to four minutes. It should be sticky, but still elastic. Continue kneading by hand until the dough becomes satiny and elastic do not attempt to cut this step because it is one of the most important steps.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature for about three hours. When Italian housewives roll out pasta dough they use a large extra long rolling pin, but it can be done with a regular rolling pin, just don't try to roll out more than a quarter of it at a time. Sprinkle a large work surface with a dusting of flour, shape the dough into a ball and start to roll out. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than push it out into shape, so to stretch it, give it a quarter turn after about five rolls. Home made pasta should be an even thickness, but it should be thin enough to see through it. If you want to make tagliatelle, then roll up the dough and cut with a very sharp knife. However to cut pasta it is far easier with a pasta machine. If I have not bothered to get my pasta machine out , I tend to make sheets of lasagna, by using sheets of very thin dough.
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