I don't have a pasta sheeter. Yet. So last week when I was desperate to make Ravioli from scratch, I just decided to do everything by hand. It seemed like a massive undertaking. It hadn't seemed so overwhelming in the beginning but as I started to look for videos and blogs about making Ravioli at home, I realised that every single one of them used the sheeter. That's when it started to seem very difficult. So, as with every hard journey I prepare for, I decided to spend a lot of time and do everything very slowly, without any hurry.
I kneaded just half a kilo flour with eggs, rested it and then started to roll out little, even and very thin circles. While the dough was resting, I made some pumpkin filling by roasting pumpkin cubes, onions and garlic, and then mashing everything into a smooth paste. After almost an hour of rolling and cutting perfect circles from the dough, I had 30 pasta sheets ready to be raviolied! I mean, now I could place tiny portions of the thick pumpkin paste on each sheet and cover it with another sheet, sealing the edges with some eggwash. Next, I dunked them in threes into lightly boiling water for 3-4 mins and served them with some sage and lemon butter. They were beautiful.
That gave me the impetus to make some Tagliatelle the next day. It was time consuming but all the rolling and cutting and drying flowed like wine. I made some pumpkin and chickpeas sauce and very proudly presented it to my friend for dinner.
So this post is about making by hand. From scratch. And watching every step unfold quietly. Honestly, it wasn't at all so hard. Just a great lesson in patience. You will smile as you see those perfect Ravioli circles or those long strands of Tagliatelle. I don't know what it is about the slightly asymmetrical homespun stuff but it fills you with something and you swell out like a sail.
Sweet Paul has a great recipe for fresh pasta dough (if you want to try) and some beautiful pictures.
I kneaded just half a kilo flour with eggs, rested it and then started to roll out little, even and very thin circles. While the dough was resting, I made some pumpkin filling by roasting pumpkin cubes, onions and garlic, and then mashing everything into a smooth paste. After almost an hour of rolling and cutting perfect circles from the dough, I had 30 pasta sheets ready to be raviolied! I mean, now I could place tiny portions of the thick pumpkin paste on each sheet and cover it with another sheet, sealing the edges with some eggwash. Next, I dunked them in threes into lightly boiling water for 3-4 mins and served them with some sage and lemon butter. They were beautiful.
That gave me the impetus to make some Tagliatelle the next day. It was time consuming but all the rolling and cutting and drying flowed like wine. I made some pumpkin and chickpeas sauce and very proudly presented it to my friend for dinner.
So this post is about making by hand. From scratch. And watching every step unfold quietly. Honestly, it wasn't at all so hard. Just a great lesson in patience. You will smile as you see those perfect Ravioli circles or those long strands of Tagliatelle. I don't know what it is about the slightly asymmetrical homespun stuff but it fills you with something and you swell out like a sail.
Sweet Paul has a great recipe for fresh pasta dough (if you want to try) and some beautiful pictures.
No comments:
Post a Comment