Pasta, Pasta and More Pasta
Episode 19: I took notes so you didn’t have to….We talked about the following in this episode….Today we are talking all about PASTA with the incredible, Laurie Boucher! And as she says, “There is always pasta hope!”
Laurie is the mastermind of the @baltimorehomecook on instagram! Check out all of her classes, etsy store (for her incredible Sardinian Pasta Cutters and Custom Pasta Boards), amazon store and pasta jewelry here!
I learned so much during our chat so let’s dive into this! First and foremost before you start anything…please make sure you’re in the mood to do this. I feel like when I am in the mood to do something everything works out so much better. You are making this dough by hand. Let’s get our hands dirty! Don’t be afraid to make a mess and get in there. It’s important to know what the dough should feel like.
Not all flours are equal when it comes to making pasta. Let’s find the best flour for the pasta of your dreams! The best thing to do is to start with what dish you want to make. If you are looking to make a noodle that is more silky that may go with a carbonara than you are going to make to use a 00 flour or a combination of 00 flour and All Purpose Flour. For a chewy pasta from Southern Italy that could possibly be hand shaped or not you would use a finely milled Semolina like this one. If you are in need of a gluten free Laurie recommends Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1.
Sometimes we can all use a little help from a friend. Maybe you’re comfortable with picking up a cookbook and diving in, like this one or this one. Or maybe you need a little more hands on guidance and you could sign up for one of Laurie’s classes here which still being held virtually. Or maybe you just need a little instagram pasta inspiration…Laurie’s page is great as is this one as well!
So you want to color your pasta. I don’t blame you! It’s BEAUTIFUL to look at and easier than you think to make. You can color your pasta with a dried vegetable/fruit powder like this one or you can use saffron oil, harissa paste, create your own herb or pea puree. Really, you can kind of use anything edible. Depending on the texture you would like to achieve in the end you may or may not want to strain out the puree. Totally up to you! And remember if you are adding in a puree make sure you reduce the amount of water you are putting in to the flour. And if your dough is too sticky, well, just add more flour until you achieve the correct texture.
You don’t need a ton of fancy tools to get started. Honestly! Depending on what type of noodle you want to make you may need a sheeter or pasta cutter. Or you might need a board to roll the dough on but you can also use a back of a fork or a grater. Honestly it doesn’t take a lot of fancy tools. Do they help? Yes but it’s not necessary. I love my kitchen pasta sheeter attachment which keeps my hands free to help feed the dough through the machine but that’s just me. A hand crank machine is great too like this one.
Pro Tip: When sheeting pasta start at the widest setting (it may be different on each machine, mine is 1) and work your way to the tightest setting (mine is 10). Go through each setting a couple of times until you achieve the thickness you are looking for with your noodle. I.e. for a stuffed pasta it may be 7, 8 or even thinner. For a noodle it could be 5 or 6. Really just depends on what you like. But don’t skip numbers.
For storing your beautiful fresh pasta…grab a sheet pan (whatever size will fit in your freezer) put a piece of parchment paper down on it and then dust it with some semolina. Place your pasta on the sheet pan and place it in the freezer. Once frozen, put in a ziplock bag and place back in the freezer. Use it within a few weeks and it’ll be PERFECT!
For a tortellini, make a plan. This could take a day or two so I would make these and plan to eat them another day and maybe enlist a few friends or family members to help because it’s a labor of love. Laurie’s tip, for a meat filled pasta, make your favorite meatball recipe (cook it) and then puree it into a meat paste (I know it sounds gross but it’s what you have to do and honestly it’s not gross so just go with it!). Make these little tortellini and then freeze them on the sheet pan with parchment with semolina, bag em and toss them in boiling salted water later in the week.
With fancy ravioli, say it’s an egg yolk or a beautiful stuffed pasta that’s in the shape of a rose…use a maybe a deeper skillet like pan. Enough water to cover the pasta but not super deep or if you only have a larger pot, no problem! Bring the salted water to more of a gentle boil instead of a hard rolling boil. I use a spatula to gently place the pasta in the water and shake the pan initially so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Then keep my eye on it and carefully lift them out once they are done. I also only do a couple at a time with this method because really it’s all about making sure they hold their shape and look beautiful in the end. Also to keep the bright and vibrate colors in the pasta Laurie recommends sheeting the pasta pretty thin which will help it cook fairly quickly. So “sheet thin and cook fast!”. Also with ravioli, when you are sealing them. You want make sure as you are getting the air out of them as you are sealing them up. That will help them not potentially explode in the water when you’re boiling them.
So you want to make some cut noodles with your pasta maker and you’ve made the dough. Great! So you’ve sheeted your pasta and now you’re going to let it sit out on a kitchen towel for like 5 - 10 mins until it’s a “fruit roll up” texture. Dust it with a little semolina and then put it through the pasta cutter.
Here’s a handful of recipes to get you going on your pasta journey!
https://philosokitchen.com/homemade-tortellini-traditional/
https://www.pastasocialclub.com/post/trofie-two-ways
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/homemade-pasta/
https://www.pastasocialclub.com/post/herb-laminated-pasta
https://food52.com/recipes/27825-simple-fresh-pasta
https://www.pastasocialclub.com/post/_pici
https://recipes.oregonlive.com/recipes/malloreddus-little-sardinian-gnocchi
https://www.pastasocialclub.com/post/candy-striped-caramelle
https://iamafoodblog.com/super-simple-two-ingredient-semolina-pasta-and-how-to-shape-lorighittas/
https://www.pastasocialclub.com/post/burrata-ravioli-alla-norma
Now go forth and cook some amazing food!!
Beth Fuller is a Boston based Food, Product and Lifestyle Photographer. One of the best ways to support the podcast and Beth is to write a review wherever you listen, like the podcast on your favorite platform and please keep Beth in mind for any photography projects as a gal has got to pay her bills!
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xoxo
Beth
