I couldn’t help but think today how multi-cultural we are in Australia – especially food-wise. I know I have yet to report about the Balti production, but I have been a bit side-tracked by other cooking.
Multi-cultural you say … are you sure? Well, if the aforementioned Balti (Anglo-Indian) on the meal plan for this week, beside Fettucine carbonara con pollo, fish and chips, burgers and yiros (although technically a kebab*) and crêpes this morning for breakfast, doesn’t scream it, then I don’t know what will convince you!
So, today’s post is actually about the fettucine. I’ve always had a hankering to make pasta. Dried is great – and very convenient – but since being put onto fresh egg lasagne sheets by a dear Italian friend, who was HORRIFIED to hear I used dry sheets, the lure of fresh pasta was definitely there. By the way, I can heartily recommend fresh lasagne sheets. You will never look back.
Now I’m sure after my last post, you were convinced I was turning into a Wild West mama, making all my preserves and jams for the winter. Hey … I thought that’s what I was sounding like … but this week brought out my inner Nonna. Neither of these have anything to do with my true heritage roots – otherwise I would be living on a diet consisting of mainly potatoes, with a variety of sausages thrown in. (My husband did remind me that last week we did have sausages … in a different meal we also had potatoes … so there you go …)
But the pasta idea was pushed along a bit further by coming across (accidentally) an el cheapo pasta machine in a kitchen appliances/knickknacks shop. It did not take me long to decide to take the plunge and purchase one. With its totally manual operation, it is compact and in addition to the flat roller (which is used for lasagne, ravioli and cannelloni) has two cutters – for spaghetti and fettucine.
Pasta is apparently easy – and my experience so far has been two-one, win-fails. The fail was definitely over-confidence on my part. Having had success with my first batch, I thought I was the pasta queen. Instead I was presiding over wet mixture that was not going anywhere useful. Lesson learnt!
Armed with flour, eggs and a little salt, the pasta machine beckoned. 140g of fine flour (also known as “00” flour, or surprise, surprise, “pasta flour”), an egg and two yolks, with a little salt. That is all you need to reach pasta heaven. (I find this does four very generous servings of about 50g each. In actual fact, it’s more like 5 not-so-piggy people servings.)
I use a fork to mix my egg into the flour. There doesn’t seem to be enough egg to go around, but do NOT fall into the temptation of thinking it needs water to help it along. Just tip the mixed-up bits with what feels like leftover flour onto a clean surface and start to knead.
Like bread, the kneading process is the thing that gets the gluten in the flour doing its 
thing, so get your hands floured up and make the most of the next 10 minutes or so. And when is it ready? Like falling in love, you’ll just know.
Seriously though, the texture does change, and like bread, has to take a big breather before you roll it out.
If you don’t have a pasta maker, you could do as I saw demonstrated on a live video stream from Michael Bublé & Luisana Lopilato recently, where Michael rolled out his dough onto the bench and then attempted to cut it into thin slices. This works too … if you flour the bench first … a small detail his wife neglected to tell him.
So, fresh pasta. It doesn’t have a long shelf life and it does taste different to dried. Is it cheaper? Not on average, but for 200g of dried fettucine I would pay about $1.05 and for fresh, about $1.40. Is it healthier? I think most of that depends on what you eat with it. Of course, a creamy sauce isn’t going to be as healthy as a tomato based one. Most writers suggest that more substantial and heavier sauces work better with dried, just because it is a hardier beast and can cope with the weight. Plus it is convenient. Fresh pasta does require a bit of preparation in advance.
But for show-off points, for all its simplicity, fresh does win. And so, when I’m feeling in the mood, fresh it shall be 😊
*** Edit ***
On further attempts, I should add one batch should really = 6 servings. You can split it up before resting and freeze the dough for one-two weeks. Thaw, rest a little longer, then roll.
Today’s title is from Federico Fellini – an Italian film director who presided over many films, including La Dolce Vita. I think he makes a fair point!
* for those curious, a kebab is Turkish or Lebanese and uses a flatbread; yiros is Greek and uses a pita bread. There is a difference in the spices used for the marinade. As the one I make is a Greek marinade but with a flatbread, who knows what I should really call it …
cheapandcheerfullife 