Pasta

A couple of years ago I gave Cecile a pasta maker for Christmas, as what often happens with these kinds of presents I end up getting a lot of use out of them while Cecile gets a lot of enjoyment. The pasta maker that I got was the Imperia SP150. Being an Italian brand I figured it would do the trick. The Imperia 150 is a compact unit that comes in two separate parts, the main one has rollers to progressively flatten the pasta into a sheet of the desired thickness. The second is an attachment with two blades to make either spaghetti or fettuccine. The whole thing clamps on to the bench top which is not as secure as I would like. The pasta maker came with a recipe that was easy to follow so I stuck with it: 400g high grade flour 4 eggs salt. If I want to increase the amount of pasta I make, I add an extra egg for every 100g of flour, I’m not sure if that is orthodox but seems to work. Some people mix the ingredients in a bread maker however I prefer to knead it, even though it takes more time: form the flour into a mound on the bench top make large crater in the middle and add the eggs and salt. with a fork mix the egg and flour together taking the flour from the inside edge. once it is all mixed knead the pasta dough. I often leave a little flour behind so that the initial mix is wetter and then add more flour towards the end. Once the dough is complete, wrap it in glad wrap and let it rest in a cupboard for half an hour or so. Next step is to cut off a portion of the dough, about a quarter or three fingers width. Flatten it out with a rolling pin then feed it though the rollers of the pasta machine on its highest setting. Fold it in three and feed it though again. Do this a couple of times, I’m guessing this helps make sure that the dough mix is even. Then run the dough through the rollers each time decreasing the setting by one. For fettuccine or spaghetti stop at the second to last setting. At this point you’ll have a sheet that is 40-50cm long, cut it into a more manageable length and lay it flat or hang it on a rack to rest for 10-15min. I normally proceed to cut up and roll out the rest of the dough, so that by the time it is all done the first lot is ready to be cut. At this point you can either use the sheets for lasagne, cut it into shapes, for ravioli or pass it through the blades for fettuccine or spaghetti. My preference is for spaghetti. To cook the pasta bring a large pot of water to boil then drop in the pasta and cook it for two to three minutes, no longer. Once cooked, drain the pasta in to a colander or sieve but do not rinse it under water. At this point the pasta is ready to serve, however I normally follow up by heating some olive oil, crushed garlic and fresh basil in the pan and mixing that through the pasta before serving. Unused pasta can be hung to dry and stored for a couple of days. While the cost of making your own pasta, both in time and ingredients cannot meet the cost of store brought dried pasta, the difference in flavour is day and night making it well worth the effort.