Plenty of bang for your buck
I made fresh pasta for family on Sunday. Well, actually, I made it on Saturday, so does that make it fresh? Technically, probably not, but it is a lot easier making it ahead, and it cooks up just like fresh pasta, taking just 3-4 minutes to cook. There are plenty of traps, though, so have a quick read through my notes if you are a novice pasta maker. Once you get the hang of how to make pasta – and unless you’ve got bulging biceps I recommend a pasta rolling machine to roll it out – it is such an easy, inexpensive and pleasurable thing to make.
Is fresh pasta better than dried? What’s the difference? What about commercially made fresh pasta? Is it really fresh if it can stay fresh and supple in the fridge for 2 weeks without the flour fermenting (must be something in it, right?). Pasta is meant to be a cheap meal but should you pay more and buy a quality brand or just buy any bargain basement cheap brand? How can you stop pasta disintegrating in the pot as it cooks? How salty should the water be when cooking pasta (like, does it really matter)?
101 Making Pasta
Fresh Pasta Versus Dried
I’ve brought up Rag Noodles with Fresh Walnuts from the archives. This is a super-simple dish to make, and the perfect home for a first attempt at making pasta. You can use all the raggedy pieces and make them look like you meant them to look this way!
Rag Noodles with Fresh Walnuts
Semolina is essential when making homemade pasta – I find it so, anyway – preventing pasta sticking to the rollers of the machine, and from sticking together as it air-dries before cooking. Read about Semolina
Poor old Spag Bol. So many crimes have been committed in its name. I’ve included our Biuso family classic Bolognese sauce which is not difficult to make, it just needs time to cook away gently to form a cohesive sauce. I’ve served it with fresh pasta cut into nice wide pappardelle noodles. They are big enough to curl around and scoop up the sauce. I’ve included plenty of tips on how to make a traditional Bolognese sauce. For instance, would you opt for bog-standard mince (ground meat), or should you pay more for 95% fat-free mince? Read about it here Bolognese Sauce with Pappardelle
Traditional pasta dishes call for parmigiano-reggiano – parmesan cheese. What a glorious creation, based on a recipe unchanged since at least the 13thcentury. Parmesan cheese
Simple food, comforting food, happy days …
Julie
