Pasta Not So Pronto

Its days like today that although I am aware of saying that I am a patient person - that I know for sure I actually am. Now, unless you come from the foothills of Calazo di Cadore or are very particular in your pasta - you have probably avoided a pasta rolling machine. I know there are many people who use them, true, but those people have either got a grandmother called Concetta - or they are just more dedicated than I have been in the past.

Yes I have made pasta. Lots of times - using a rolling pin and working my biceps as I roll. But it is difficult to get the pasta dough thin as its very elastic and bounces back all the time.

So at Christmas just gone, The Bloke decided that was what I needed and its been looking at me - unopened - until today.

I guess it would have helped if I had made the standard pasta dough...but no. I had to be clever and made a sweet pasta dough so I could made Apple Ravioli. I am glad to say it is done and the ravioli is sitting happily in the fridge waiting for tonight to be fried and served with a blackberry compote & clotted cream. (I cooked a test one - was lovely). But be warned. It takes a while to get the hang of it. Two and a half hours to be precise! In theory it seems easy enough, but it comes with more issues than Vogue.

The main problems were a] getting the dough to stay in a straight line with one hand while you wind the wheel with the other (this is easier if normal egg pasta dough as it is considerably more stable that the sweet version). And b] getting the filling not to push through the pasta. After much tutting and huffing, I re rolled the lot in the end and made it less thin than usual - a no. 6 instead of a no. 8, which as it turns out IS thin enough for this particular dough. I'll follow this up later with a photo (before they get demolished) and the recipe.

Next time - I'll give linguine a go!