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It all started a bunch of years ago when I boldly ventured into a cook shop and laid out fifty bucks for a pasta machine having barely enough room in my apartment for storing winter socks in summer let alone a pasta machine year-round. I was bet ten more bucks that I'd never use it. Unlike most kitchen gadgets purchased on a whim, this one gets used so I won the bet.
A few years later, in culinary school, I got to play with a professional-sized one that would crank out 8.5-inch wide sheets of pasta with the turn of the wrist. Maxwell and I were making our own pasta at least once a week during that time because I was so jazzed. Then there was the summer time my friend Amy and I were riffing off Mario Batali's Goat Cheese Tortelloni with Dried Orange and Fennel Pollen just about every weekend when we'd cook for friends in a big old barn.
This is just to say that you can and should make your own pasta and you might even get as excited about it as I still get. Just this weekend Ursula and I made orecchiette together (see photo above) and that shape, along with many others, doesn't even require a pasta machine. All you need is a strong arm.
Homemade pasta is a totally different creature from dried, or even fresh store-bought pasta.
Emma, one of our writers, declared that at the top of her list of New Year's resolutions was a promise to make pasta. I loved watching her go through the process. Here are the results. I think she's caught the bug.
To get you started on a egg-based pasta dough, which is pretty darn easy, check out Emma's big pasta post.
More on fresh pasta:
• Best Pasta Roller?
• Choosing a Pasta Maker
• Word of Mouth: Al Dente
• Dry Pasta vs. Fresh Pasta: What's the Difference?
• Video: Italian Grandmothers Know How To Make Pasta
(Pasta rolling image from Flickr member kiloindiatango licensed for use under Creative Commons)
Last Week's Posted Email: Recipe: Raw Kale & Pig Cheek Salad, You Know You Want It
I have been attempting to just jump in and make fresh pasta one day (think of the image of playing double dutch... and just sort of anticipating the flow of the rope and just jumping into the twirling insanity...)
And have had a question about fresh pasta, that I always forget to research, and well, i'm sure thekitchn would love to help :) and it's quite of a amateurish and probably simply answered question...
what do i do with the pasta once its done and I cant eat all of it? what is the best way to go about storing it? i'm thinking laying it out individually and freezing it and then portioning it after its frozen.... any other tips for keeping and storing fresh pasta?
that's all :) thanks!!!! and hopefully i'll get to it sometime soon...
view MikeyV's profile
For more on how the pros make pasta, check out:
http://newyork.metromix.com/restaurants/photogallery/pasta-schmo-to-pasta/901492/content
view jcesar4's profile
I love making pasta more than so many things!
Emily
view Emily Sneds's profile