Making Pasta
I’ve done it a few times before and had my first “lesson” at a BNB in the Piedmonte region of Italy. We learned about what type of flour to use, how many eggs to add and when and what just the right amount of salt and olive oil was to add to the dough. The kneading is the hardest part. The dough can get quite tough and really it takes about 10 minutes or so to get to the right consistency. Once you’ve got a nice dough made, then you start to flatten it out with either a hand cranked pasta maker or you can buy an attachment for your kitchen aid mixer. The idea is to make the strips of dough flatter and flatter and thinner and thinner by adjusting the tightness of the rollers in the machine. It’s quite a process, but once you get it down, it goes easy.
Last weekend my family and a few friends got together to make pasta from scratch. We had the idea to make pasta together before the holidays as mostly a good excuse to get together and make something we could take home for a later meal during the busy season and make something we could have for dinner after our work was done.
We turned my dining room into a pasta factory, having 3 teams working the 3 machines. Everyone made their own dough and wove the pasta through the rollers at their own pace. We made flat noodles for lasagna, fettucine, spaghetti and even a large macaroni noodle that looked super cool.
While some people made dough, others made sauces and threw together a salad and some bread to go with the lasagna we would have for our meal. It was so much fun! Everyone learned a little about pasta making (including myself) and it was a good time just to talk and work and not feel pressured by having to bring gifts or dress up or do anything too special. I love a regular dinner party with friends and family, but sometimes having an activity is even better.
My garden was still producing tons of basil but I knew it would not last much longer as the weather had turned cold and wet. I decided to harvest all the basil and make pesto and freeze it for whenever the need arose.
It worked out perfectly because I was able to give everyone a little bag with a bottle of wine, a jar of pesto and their own, homemade pasta to go with it. We all agreed, we’ll meet again next year for another round…and we might even be more efficient next time.