Help me make pasta.
It's about time that I made my first batch of homemade pasta. I've made gnocchi before and it went quite well, so I'm ready to move on to more serious endeavors. That and my boyfriend and I are doing the whole crappy long distance thing and whenever I see him I try to wow him with my kitchen skills. If I can make decent homemade pasta (pasta being his favorite food), I think I will be one step closer to getting him to grow up and move in with me ... but that's another story.
So, I don't have a stand mixer and I don't have one of those fancy pasta roller things that thins out the pasta with each crank. I do have my hands, a food processor and a basic pasta dough recipe. I want to make butternut squash ravioli. I have the stuffing mixture in mind, I just need some tips from any Serious Eaters who've done homemade pasta before.
Please offer me advice, recommendations and well wishes because I have the distinct feeling that I'm really going to f$&* this up.
Thanks in advance.
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10 Comments:
The butternut squash ravioli sound delicious, and very similar to the winter squash filled pastas that are popular in the north of Italy. They're traditionally served in a simple butter and sage sauce (not too much, just enough to coat), and sprinkle of parmigiano and black pepper.
If you have no doubts about the pasta and stuffing recipes that you have, then definitely go with them. It's important knead the pasta dough enough to make sheets that are thin and strong, and not a bit sticky. If the dough isn't strong, then you'll have to make thicker sheets, which tend to cook up lumpy and coarse.
'The Splendid Table' has a great recipe for a butternut squash filled pasta, which I have used with great success. I really recommend looking it over (p. 145, 'Cappellacci con la Zucca'), just to get a sort of strategic overview. There are instructions for making pasta dough by hand or in a food processor (pp. 80-82, and 83 or 85).
If you can't get your hands on this book, I can post the recipe.
If you make the ravioli in advance, remember to turn them every few hours, or the bottoms will become soft and sticky, making them hard to remove from the cloth without tearing (do set them on a cloth, not on a non-porous surface); they'll also tend to stick to one another when you cook them.
P.S. I really recommend buying this book, or taking it out of the library, or at least going to B&N or whatever, and taking notes; it is filled with great, straightforward, and extremely delicious recipes (some are time consuming, but none are intimidating), which have been consistently successful.
mongoose at 5:23AM on 12/01/08
i don't have a stand mixer, food processor or pasta machine either, and my kitchen bench is so tiny it's impossible to roll out dough larger than a sheet of printer paper. then i found this recipe that just uses a stick you can find in a hardware store:
http://gourmettraveller.com.au/rustichella_casarecci.htm
since you have to roll each piece one by one this will be really time consuming, hence i haven't made it yet, but i should have the time this summer holiday (i'm in australia).
i know you're looking for butternut squash ravioli recipe, but i thought perhaps you'd like to try this too especially as it's pretty simple for first try.
natamari at 6:06AM on 12/01/08
I have no doubt you will be able to produce beautiful pasta. And girl, your arms are going to be KILLER if you are doing it all by hand.
Check out this link. It demonstrates how to make fettuccini without a machine. You can probably apply this technique to any long pasta you like.
Also found this Mario Batali recipe for the basic dough.
Homemade pasta is really a labor of love. Make sure you have plenty of time. You may have to rig up a "pasta drying rack" if you don't have one. An oven rack works great for this.
Good luck! Can't wait to hear how it went.
therealchiffonade at 6:26AM on 12/01/08
Having made a lot pasta by hand, and for a long time not having the sheet roller, my advice to you would be to start with tagliatelle. The kneading process is very easy to do manually. It is very very hard to get dough down to a reasonable thickness by hand, let alone for ravioli. Sheets of pasta for ravioli have to extra thin because they get doubled over to hold the filling. Do get some experience with the dough first. It is so satisfying and delicious. By no means do I intend to discourage you, I just think you should take baby steps, as ravioli are pretty tricky, and I'd hate for you to make something that didn't live up to your expectations.
simon at 11:19AM on 12/01/08
the mario recipe is what I use and it is perfect every time. The only thing you might add is a half a teaspoon of salt to the flour when you are mixing it up. I have a big mixer but I don't use it for pasta as I am worried I will over mix and have it be tough. You might want to start with something plain like fettucine just to get the feel of it. Just remember have fun and it will be delicious!
love2cook at 11:59AM on 12/01/08
@love2cook: It's really difficult to over-mix pasta, since it is important to develop the gluten, in order to end up with the proper consistency. I'd worry more about frying the motor.
mongoose at 1:42PM on 12/01/08
lol, totally right. I fried the motor on my kitchenaid running semolina pasta through the rollers. Good thing it was still under warranty.
simon at 1:51PM on 12/01/08
You can definitely make the ravioli without the pasta machine. Just roll the dough out really thin and use a wine glass to cut the circles out.
http://5starfoodie.com
5starfoodie at 1:58PM on 12/01/08
I tried making my own pasta once but I have to say it was a failure. I tried making the orrecchiette shape by hand and it just didn't work out for me. I suggest buying a pasta maker. You can still make the dough yourself!
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 2:27PM on 12/01/08
Unlike gnocchi, which you have to very careful not to overwork, pasta must be kneaded alot until it's smooth and elastic. I've never used a mixer for this, always by hand. It's much more satisfying and chiff is right, you're arms will be tired and STRONG. When it comes time to roll it out divide the dough into pieces and just do small portions at a time. Remember to sprinkle some semolina flour on the surface on which you put your finished pasta to keep it from sticking. You'll do great! Let us know how they turn out.
carolrsfMISSESTEXAS at 2:30PM on 12/01/08