Introduction Of Culinary skills week 12

PASTA

Pasta is Italian dishes. Pasta is macaroni or are popular alternative to other starch food. Made of water, flour and eggs.

COMMERCIAL DRIED PASTA

• The best pasta from Semolina Italy.
• Should be yellow not gray and hard brittle, and springly.

SPECIALTY PASTA

Whole wheat pasta 

Pasta is multicolored and using vegetables purees or other ingredients:

• Spinach
• Red pepper
• Hot Chile
• Seaweed
• Beet
• Tomato
• Pumpkin
• Pasta containing squid in black in color, and goes well with seafood dished.

INGREDIENTS :

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour

2.  2 extra large eggs

3. 2 teaspoons butter

• 

 

• 4. Generous pinch of salt

HOW TO MAKE PASTA:

1. Heap the flour on your workspace, and form a large shallow well.

2. Crack the eggs inside the well, and add the oil and salt.

3. With a small fork, start to mix up the eggs, being careful to draw in as little flour as possible.

4. Once it’s mixed up pretty well, start adding flour from around the inside of the well, still using the fork.

5. Once it’s starting to become something you can handle with your hands, fold more flour in to get the consistency you want using your hands.

6. As you begin to knead the dough, it will initially be pretty shaggy and feel dry. Keep kneading it.

7. Knead until smooth, about 15 minutes or less. This photo is about half-way there.

8. Look how smooth! Cover with a bowl or plastic for 30 minutes to an hour to give the dough a little rest.

9. Separate the dough into three sections for easy working with the pasta machine. Wrap two of the sections in plastic, and move the third section to your workspace. Flatten it out by hand, and fold like a business letter. (I should note here, that if you elect to make your pasta later, you can refrigerate the dough overnight. I allow the dough to warm up on the counter for 15 minutes before beginning the process of putting it through the rollers.)

10. Flatten the edge you’ll feed through the pasta machine first. Start the pasta roller at the lowest numbered setting. For some this is number 1, for some it’s 0. I use a pasta roller that sticks into my Kitchen Aide mixer. But whether you're using something similar to mine, or using a hand cranked model, all of these pasta machine directions apply.

11. Feed the pasta dough through the rollers. This photo is after the first time through.

12. Fold the pasta dough like a business letter again, but in the opposite direction than it was folded the first time. This is in attempt to build structure in the dough. Flatten one edge again and feed it back through the pasta machine at the lowest numbered setting.

13. Repeat the previous step until the dough begins to feel silky. This can take 10 – 12 passes at the same setting. Once  achieved the silk stage, fold the dough in half lengthwise, and feed it through the machine for the last time at the lowest setting.

14. ready to change your setting to the next highest number. For me that was #2. You now need only to pass the pasta through each setting once, while ensuring that the pasta is floured well enough so that it won’t stick or hang up on the rollers. When I’m making fettuccini or lasagna,for spaghetti and ravioli.

15. Cut strip the dough