... when making pasta. Did I not make myself clear?
I'm not a food blogger, or for that matter, a very good cook, but I've always wanted to try my hand at making pasta. I trawled the internet and found that it was a fairly easy process, but takes a little practice to get it just right.
I used 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour (although I gather that unbleached flour or adding a little semolina is better), and just one egg plus a little kosher salt. I mixed, I kneaded, I rested (both the pasta and I), then got my other ingredients together. I figured that since I was making my inaugural bowl of pasta, I should keep the toppings simple and honest. Thanks to Trader Joes, I had some baby heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella, summer squash and olives. Add to that some extra virgin olive oil and garlic, and I was ready to try my pasta.
Rolling it out was easy. I took my time to cut very thin slices - as instructed - and wafted them through the leftover flour. When I cooked them for a minute or two, I was a little disappointed to see that my supposedly thin cut "spaghetti" looked more like overfed witchetty grubs (an Australian delicacy). Still, I'd made it lovingly by hand, I couldn't do anything else but eat it. It tasted okay definitely pasta-esque, if a little al dente. Not quite so Molte Benne as I'd hoped, but I can see it was a fairly decent first attempt. Next time, I I'll definitely have to cut the slices thinner - those food bloggers really do know what they're talking about!
Seems I also need to read up on food photography and lighting. If only work didn't get in the way so much ...
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