Hanging pasta on cupboard door to dry
Yesterday I got out the pasta machine to make flat bread. It hadn’t been out of the cupboard in several years and I had forgotten how easy it was to use and how well it kneaded dough. Today I heard Italian food being discussed on the radio and the recipe for pasta was given. Last time I made my own pasta I ended up with strands all over the kitchen all stuck together, and I didn’t think it tasted all that good. This time I made a small quantity and served it as a side with garlic, olive oil and a small amount of cheese. It was absolutely beautiful.
Ingredients
- 100g plain flour (00 flour if available)
- 1 egg
Method
- Mix the flour and egg together (can do it on the bench like Italians do) to make a dough or use the dough hook on the mixer. Add the egg first then slowly add the flour so it incorporates as it goes.
- Add flour to the bench and gather the dough together into two flattish disks. Set up the pasta machine. If I open one of the kitchen cupboard doors I can attach the pasta machine to the bench top and the open door makes a great place to hang the drying pasta.
- Open the wheel out to the widest setting and run the dough through the machine, folding and rotating and repeating and working down to narrower settings. Add flour to both sides of the pieces as necessary, attach the slicing wheel and run the pieces through, catching the strips and hanging them over cupboard doors to dry.
Cooking
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil, adding 1 tsp salt per litre. Add the pasta and cook for approximately 6 minutes. Drain into a seive.
- This is so tasty – it is best eaten tossed with garlic, olive oil and a small amount of parmesan cheese.