After reading my brother's post on making fresh whipped cream in the food processor I
decided it was time to make my fresh pasta post I have been meaning to do for a while. I started
making fresh pasta couple months ago when my neighbor lent me her pasta maker for some
lasagna and chicken noodle soup I wanted to try. It only took one time and I was hooked. Almost everything about fresh pasta is better except maybe convenience but sometimes not even then. My first time I looked at Mark Bittman's Fresh Egg Pasta from my iPod app How to Cook Everything. He has a full text but I am too cheap but will mostly likely eventually invest. I followed his recipe, which called for all-purpose flour, egg, salt and water (just a little). It was amazing. However I wanted to try it with Semolina, which is what is supposedly the best for pasta. My second go around I tried Grandma Rosa's recipe from a You Tube site. She used Semolina and did more of a ratio mix which I liked as well. When it all came down to it though I really couldn't tell a difference and all-purpose is cheaper. The basic ingredients for both recipes called for a couple cups of flour, couple eggs, dash of salt, and a smidgen of water if needed. The only difference I saw was that the semolina dough was easier to mold and shape, that was until I followed Mark Bittman's advice to mix it in the food processor. Call me, a purist, snob or weirdo but I like to mix it by hand on the table, it's how Grandma Rosa taught me. The food processor changed my opinion. I tried it tonight dumping all the ingredients into the processor. Turned it on and watched it blend. I used all-purpose this time and it made the dough a easy to mold and shape as the semolina dough. I did however knead it a bit by hand to make sure it was the right consistency.
The most best thing about making fresh pasta is how easy it is . It isn't always quicker, like when you are rushed and want slop spaghetti but if you wanna do lasagna or anything else right? Whip up a batch of dough, only takes five minutes, roll it out and you won't be sorry.
I just wanted to comment here. I have started making fresh pasta often. I find that mixing it by hand is easier than cleaning up the food processor. I start things in a bowl with a fork and when most of the flour is moist I turn it out onto the counter and knead for 5 minutes or so. That works rather well. I use Ruhlman's ratio of 3 parts flour to 2 parts egg. I will sometimes add a pinch of salt when I remember. Fresh pasta is a fantastic thing.
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