Ravioli and Fettucini

[saycheese]

Carter asked what I've been up to lately.  I've given cheese making a break since we are going to be out of town -- going up to the San Juan Islands, Washington to look for property, next week, won't be around to turn the new cheeses and monitor the cheese cave.  So, to keep busy, I've been putting together some butternut squash ravioli and freezing it, as well as making some fettucini. (However, I don't think the fettucini is going to live beyond this evening's meal).

[Cheese Head]

saycheese, congrats on Ravioli and Fettucini.

My vote is for Whidbey Island, used to go camping at Deception Pass State Park lots when I was a kid, fantastic tall trees and area. Whidby Is has bridge to mainland and ferries to Port Townsend on Olympic Pennisular and to Seattle and of course, close to Canada .

Have a great trip!

[Tea]

Safe trip, and I hope you find what you are looking for.

[Cartierusm]

Do you make your pasta from scratch? I make a mean ravioli, the best part is since I'm making all the ingredients I'm able to go one step further and make the ricotta as well. Fresh is way better than anything you can buy, even if you buy that super expensive "fresh" stuff.

I make a sauce that is some pesto, alfredo and marinara, it's freakin' great. I got the idea when I lived in Hollywood there's a restaurant on Melrose near Cloverdale and they make ravioli con fungi with the sauce made out of all three.

Once you learn how to make pasta from scratch, and I've had to hold parties at my house to teach all my friends how to make it (mostly women), you find it hard to buy anything already made. It so easy once you do it a few times. I can roll out dough from start to finish in about 10 min. I throw everything in the Cuisinart and weight even the liquids so it's pretty spot on. While the dough blade is spinning I set up my pasta roller, the rest is easy. The only thing I hate is the dam flour getting everywhere no matter how neat you are.

[saycheese]

Yes, pasta is from scratch.  I use a recipe from Marcella Hazan's More Italian Cooking.  Or sometimes I make my mom's recipe which is just flour and eggs and perhaps a little water.  I've made pasta with semolina flour and once with buckwheat flour as well (it was an iteresting recipe -- rather heavy, but a good winter dish).  As for sauce-- yes-- from scratch-- we made alot of tomato sauce in September and froze it in quart ziploc bags.  Only have one quart left  and tomato season is along way off.

[Cartierusm]

What is Marcello's recipe?

[saycheese]

Adapted From Marcella Hazan's More Classic Italian Cooking --

Yellow Egg Pasta Dough

About 1 cup unbleached flour
2 large eggs at room temperature

1) Pour out flour on a work surface.  Form a well in the middle of the mound of flour. 
2) Break the two eggs in the well.  Add about 1 TBSP milk if making filled pasta dough(eg. ravioli, capallacci, tortellini, etc.).  Mixing with a fork, beat eggs and slowly incorporate flour from the sides of the well until the eggs are no longer runny.  Mix in the remaining flour into the egg flour mix and knead at least 8 minutes -- if dough is sticky add a little flour to the work surface as you knead.
3) Roll out by hand with a long rolling pin until very thin or roll into sheets with a pasta maker gradually working from lowest (thickest) setting to highest (thinest setting). 
4)  If rolling sheets with a pasta machine, coat the sheets with a thin layer of flour and allow to rest/dry ona flat surface for about 20-30 minutes so the sheets will be easier to cut in the pasta machine. If making ravioli or other stuffed pasta, you can just coat the sheets with a thin layer of flour and begin filling/shaping into ravioli as each sheet is made from the pasta maker.
5)  Cut the sheets into the desired pasta shape (linguini, fettucini, capellini, etc.) and place on floured cookie sheets to rest until ready to cook. 

For spinach pasta -- use 1/2 10oz. package of frozen spinach thawed, cooked and well-drained  or 1 lb. of raw spinach cooked and well drained-- be sure to squeeze out as much water as possible(placing spinach in a cheese cloth helps do this).  Mince the spinach very fine with a knife. 

Place 3/4 cup flour on work surface-- form a well- place 1 egg and spinach in the well and proceed as for egg pasta above.  You can also make red pepper pasta by pureeing some roasted red peppers and using them in place of the spinach.

Buon Appetito!

[Cartierusm]

Great thanks. Seems like the recipe I use already. I weigh out the flour so everytime I'm pretty much on the spot and just have to chuck everything into the cuisinart.

[newbie001]

I love making ravioli and other fresh pastas.  The general rule that I go by is 100gms of flour 1 egg. Works perfect everytime. What is a quisinart?  I assume some kind of blender/mixer.  Is it really that hard to mix with your hands? I guess Westerners are that lazy, I have never heard of people using machines to mix the dough for pasta.
Definately use semilina. Or at least a mix of it with white. White flour by itself makes a very gummy and flavorless pasta. Also instead of resting the pasta flat it is usually better to hang it. I have wooden dowels spaced evenly on a wood block. Really good for hanging the pasta and not letting it stick to each other.

I sometimes mix about 1/4c of boiled and drained pumpkin or squash and a little extra flour.

Carter, that sauce recipe sounds interesting. Is it slightly overwhelming though? I always try to keep my flavors simple and articulate so they don't dominate everything. If the sauce is too powerful, you don't enjoy the fresh pasta as much. Do you make the alfredo from scratch? I have tried a few times but it never comes out like when I was in Europe.