More on Pasta

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I did not feel like I covered pasta well enough for the person who might be trying for the first time so I have included some photos of my pasta production from today and a shot of how I do it at home. The red pasta pictured is hot pepper fettuccine that was my entrée special tonight with shrimp and fresh herbs. The shot of the pasta that is being cut by my kitchen aid is the sage pasta that is on the appetizer menu. Here are some basic guides for pasta.

  1. Always let it rest for a minimum of 45 minutes before rolling.
  2. Let it air dry for 30 minutes before cutting it from the initial sheets that you roll.
  3. The finer you want to cut it, the longer you should let it dry. If you are going to make angel hair, it should feel almost like leather when you cut it. You will be more successful this way, just believe me for now.
  4. Fresh pasta takes under a minute to cook. This is not an easy transition if you are only familiar with dry pasta. Don’t overcook it. It then becomes pasta di stronzo.
  5. Properly salt the water when you cook the pasta. You will notice there is no salt in the pasta recipe. It is depending on the water for flavor. If you are paranoid about sodium, then do what you want. How much is enough salt? Taste the water, it should taste right. If you want a recipe, ask a German.

For a person making pasta at home I strongly recommend the little Atlas pasta roller you see in the photo of my home kitchen. They are only about $30 and will last

a lifetime. They clamp on to the counter so you can store them out of sight and I have owned mine since 1978, and as long as you never put them in water, you will be fine. Don’t spend money on pasta makers and equipment at first. The most important tool you have are your hands. They also store most of the knowledge you will obtain about pasta.

The kitchen aid has all the cutters you will want, but get your chops down first before you buy the Steinway.

If you run into some confusion, I will be willing to help

anyone trying to get good at this, just give me a call. Knowing people can enjoy a skill I helped them with gives me pleasure and that they will use it for many years is what

makes teaching something rewarding. Next week is the final dinner club and I don’t have anything planned, so if anyone has a suggestion, fire away.

Best,

Mike