The Omnivorous Fish

One of my (two) loyal readers posted these questions today. I’ll make a post of them:

Hey Joe — I’m so glad you put up a post about rolled pasta. I’m going to venture into my absolute first-time pasta foray today…. And I’m not going to hand-roll, I have to confess. I just received a gift of a pasta-rolling and cutting attachment for my KitchenAid mixer, so I’ll try the modern convenience, at least for my first time out.

I know that I want a fettucine/tagliatelle noodle, which my cutters can make — and I know how I want to sauce them, with fresh market vegetables and herbs and a tangy sheep’s milk cheese — but I confess, I’m a tad nervous.
What’s your favorite basic egg pasta recipe? the best ratio of flour to eggs? Should I use 00 flour? I have it, I can. What tips do I need to know? Resting time, storage of uncooked pasta….

Dear Julie,
Well, don’t sweat the hand-rolling part. You can always roll it to the 2nd or 3rd thinnest setting, then pass the rolling pin over it to get a similar dente forzu effect. I will, however, counsel you to cut them by hand. First of all, until you get your water proportions perfect, the pasta likely won’t cut properly in a roller-cutter, and second, the natural, random nature of hand-cut pasta is more pleasing to the eye, and bite. Sprinkle the dough with flour, roll it up, and slice away.

Cutting Pasta

As far as your nerves are concerned, relax. I’m working on a post about this, now, actually. The first time you make something, odds are it won’t be perfect. That doesn’t mean it won’t be edible, but it’s an adventure. My first ravioli? Che bel piombetti! my father said (“what nice little pieces of lead!”). It’s food. The people who eat it will love and appreciate what you have done for them, and if they don’t, maybe you need different friends. As far as the sauce, there are a hundred traditional sauces like it, and most are served with ricotta salata or fresh (3 months old or less) pecorino sardo, but you’ll have to go to Murray’s to get that, probably. Ricotta salata is a safe bet.

As far as the recipe is concerned, I admit I use a different one almost every time I make pasta. Unless I’m encountering a grain I don’t work with every day, I just make it work, depending on what I’m using it for. More eggs for more delicate noodles, more water for strength and stretch. Think of it as a scale with tajarin (all yolk noodles, usually served with butter and truffles) at one end, and tortellini at the other. Also, I vacillate on the subjects of salt and oil, so I live in a state of constant experiment and comparison. I also admit I have shifted in my view of the food processor: it’s actually wonderful for pasta. It mixes, hydrates and does 80% of the kneading in 30-40 seconds. That said, I used a well-tested recipe for the whole wheat pasta, and still I had to knead in another ½-2/3 cup of flour. As you may be aware, anything with flour in it varies dramatically throughout the year, depending on temperature and atmospheric conditions. The summer, in New York at least, provides the most dramatic variation, usually towards the dough being wetter.

I highly recommend the recipes and method in Lidia Bastianich’s latest book, Lidia’s Family Table, they are smaller, more manageable and better-tested than most. Trust me; a lot of people’s pasta recipes are merely lists of things to have in front of you. Here is her basic proportion with water:
2 cups flour
2 large eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons water

If you find yourself mixing, though, especially by hand, and you’re certain your dough is too dry, a spray-bottle is the most forgiving way to get some water into that dough. Resting time is like 10 minutes, maybe 15, unless you have really made a mess of it. Then, there’s nothing an hour won’t cure. Wrap it in plastic wrap, let it rest at room temperature and when depressions from you finger don’t bounce back, she’s ready.

Spreading out pappardelle

Storage? Well, some people swear by drying. They also swear by resting the pasta covered with a towel. It’s because they are living in the past. Fresh pasta’s character is dramatically different when it’s been dried. It’s not bad, but it’s different. The best way to preserve the fresh-pasta taste is freezing. Make nests of noodles on floured towels on a sheet pan (smooth towels, not linty ones), or for wider noodles, lay them out flat. It’s a pain, but it makes a big difference.

I would skip the 00 flour for the maiden voyage. It’s a finer grind than AP flour, which doesn’t affect the protein content (contrary to popular belief), but it does dramatically affect how the gluten behaves and- most importantly- how it absorbs water. When your hands know how the dough is supposed to feel, bombs away with the 00 flour. For now, though, what you want is unbleached all purpose flour. I recommend King Arthur, Gold Medal and Hecker’s, in that order (at least, for flour you’ll find in the supermarket).

Nothing else pops into my head at the moment, but please post a comment and let us know how it went. Sorry this became kind of a question and answer, but my first post was scratched when I hit the BACK button. Grrr. This post is being safely written in a word processing program.

Listening: A Prairie Home Companion