Monday, November 3, 2014

FRESH FRESH PASTA WITH KITCHENAID AT HOME


An all time favorite, family comfort food, pasta is quick and easy to make and always tastes yummy. Trust me with all those carbohydrates it can be healthy too! The trick is to keep portion sizes under control and compensate by adding more lean protein and vegetables into the mix or you could even replace the refined flour with whole wheat!
THE RAVIOLI MAKER ATTACHMENT
My favorite pasta pairing is linguine and clam sauce, I am sure you have your own! The possible combinations of pasta and sauce are limitless and may even be a little intimidating when you start to think about it. The nuances of shapes and texture are less pronounced in fresh pasta than in dried and fresh pasta carries and absorbs any sauce more readily than does dried. Fresh pasta generally follows the same rules as dried: the flatter and longer shapes combine well with olive oil and cream sauces, while sturdier shapes, work well with chunkier and more assertively flavored sauces. Tomato and simple cream and butter sauces are universal and will go well with basically all pasta. The general rule of thumb is to match the delicacy of sauce with that of the noodle. For a light sage butter sauce, go for capellini (angel hair) or penne rigate rather than jumbo shells. A hearty Bolognese, on the hand, deserves something more substantial, such as fettuccine or pappardelle. And if you aren’t sure what sauce you want, go with farfalle (bow ties).
To make your own pasta at home, you will need the following equipment:
  • The KitchenAid Stand mixer to make the dough. And for those who do not know the stand mixer has a magic hub on which you can attach various attachments and can practically make anything...as of now lets talk about pasta!
  • The Pasta roller & cutter attachment for rolling out the pasta dough into sheets. ( includes Angel Hair & Thick Noodle cutters)
  • clean kitchen towels to cover the fresh pasta while it’s  drying
  • plastic wrap to cover the fresh pasta while it’s  resting
  • a ravioli wheel for making farfalle and ravioli
Step 1: Place 400g plain flour in the stand mixer bowl on a clean work surface. Crack 4 eggs into the flour. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic. (To check if the dough is ready, press it with the tip of your finger. If it springs back, it means it has reached the desired texture.) Shape the dough into a ball and coat lightly with flour. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes to rest.
Step 2: Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Use the palm of your hand to flatten the dough. Set the pasta machine on the widest setting and coat the pasta rollers lightly in flour. Feed one portion of dough through the machine. Repeat 6 more times, folding the pasta into thirds and then turning it 90 degrees to the pasta machine before you feed the pasta dough through each time.

Step 3: When the dough is the same width as the machine, stop folding it into thirds. Continue to feed the dough through the machine, gradually narrowing the pasta machine settings, one notch at a time, before you feed the pasta dough through each time. Repeat until you reach the second last setting on the machine. Repeat with the remaining 3 dough portions.

YOU CAN MAKE YOUR FAVORITE SHAPE WITH THE PASTA PRESS ATTACHMENT

WITH THE KITCHENAID PASTA PRESS YOU CAN MAKE THESE VARIATIONS
I LOVE THIS KHANDVI RAVIOILI MIXED CHEESE MASH KHAKHRA CRISP AT THE INDIAN ACCENT, DELHI AND WITH A RAVIOLI ATTACHMENT AT HOME I CAN ACTUALLY MAKE SOMETHING SIMILAR