Pasta

So Aunt Kate (the one who is cooking with me on Monday) gave me a pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer.  I was very excited to try it.

But the recipe in the book didn't strike my fancy.  I had just seen Emeril Lagasse make fresh pasta.  (I told you I watch a lot of cooking shows.)  I wanted to make it as close to authentic as I could get.  I had already purchased some semolina flour, so last Monday I rolled up my sleeves and got started.

My technique definitely needs some honing.  My "well" of flour didn't have steep enough sides.  I was chasing eggs all over my counter.  I felt that I needed to add a little water before the dough came together.  And an additional egg.  I fear this may have made for a "gummy" dough.  It sure looked pretty though when it came time to wrap and refrigerate.


So I wait my 30 minutes, attached my attachment, and start to feed small  balls of dough into the feed.  I was so proud of myself as I fell into this rhythm where I could cut the pasta and feed more dough into the apparatus all without turning the machine off.  Problem was, as you can see from the photo, I wasn't separating the strands.  And consequently, the buccatini fused together.


All in all, the pasta tasted fantastic.  I just renamed it "blob-sta" as no amount of flour on the board or olive oil in the water could un-fuse the noodles.  We couldn't even save the leftovers.  I mean really, who wants to need a knife to eat their pasta.

So, I will try again.  I will use a different technique.  I'll try mixing the dough in my food processor.

Do you have any experience with this that you could share?  I'd appreciate any tips I can get.

happy cooking