recipee for your very own fresh pasta dough!

Pasta is traditionally made from durum what flour..( it has a darker husk) and eggs.

Nevertheless we can use normal refined flour as well. ( bakers flour/ strong flour if u can get hold of would be perfect)

all you need is

flour( maida-strong)    200 grams
salt                              2 grams
Eggs                            2
Olive oil                      15 ml
Semolina (rava)           50grams

*(for every 100 grams of flour use 1 egg.)*


sift the flour , add the salt (sprinkle it and make sure it is mixed through the flour)
now make a well in the centre ...crack your eggs in the well and add the olive oil . With a fork break down the egg yolk and mix it with the oil.
Now you can get your hands dirty and make a dough!

you can always apply some flour to your hands so that the dough doesn't stick to them but remember too much of extra flour and you will change the recipe and make the dough hard.

once you have made the dough--check it..feel it with washed hands ( just a finger will do)
It should be fairly hard and not soft like our chapati dough! BUT at the same time not so hard that you can see cracks in the dough!

NOW...this is the most important step.

you will be required to wrap the dough in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
(this relaxes the gluten and makes your pasta not stretch and contract like a rubber band when u roll it)

once the dough has been rested get it out of the fridge and leave it to come at room temperature so that it becomes easier to roll! now cut it into two halves and roll it through a pasta machine , once you get a flat sheet sprinkle some semolina so that they don't stick to each other and the machine. Now cut it and boil it in boiling salted water!
( the semolina will fall off in the water and not make any changes to the taste of the final product)

To roll it and cut it is an ART...I will tell you that in another post..in the mean time you can have a look at some videos on youtube which show the rolling process!!

Abhijeet.

pasta when cut and par boiled, stored in two trays with olive oil so that it doesn't stick!

Pasta- Again

My last post was on how amazing black squid pasta can look on a plate ( i'll post the recipe soon) and so I thought i'd continue with some more of the Italian Delicacy!

       There is nothing better and satisfying than eating a bowl of freshly made pasta with some grated cheese and Extra virgin olive oil. When I say freshly made I mean freshly made pasta and not dried pasta from a plastic bag dropped into a pot of boiling water.

     Very few restaurants make their own pasta. The reason being making pasta is a skill not everyone can master! Its made from the most basic of ingredients ( flour, egg, salt) . What makes it difficult is the process of actually making the dough without any water whatsoever, resting it and then rolling it thin!

Even after you've mastered the art of making the dough and rolling thin sheets, pasta can still make you look like an amateur! as simple as boiling it on hot water sounds ...IT IS NOT! Pasta needs to be cooked 'al dente' ( which means it must still have some bite left and not feel mushy)

here's a fact! Italians use to throw pasta strands onto their kitchen walls..if it stuck they knew the pasta was cooked.!

getting back to the ART ....pasta cooked in a basic tomato sauce is bright on the plate..add some basil leaves, olive oil and parmesan cheese and you would get something as beautiful as this..!

Will upload the recipee to make your own fresh pasta soon!! Its really easy!