Creating homemade pasta is surprisingly easy so I found out after taking one of In Good Taste’s cooking classes this past weekend, taught by Italian-Brazilian Chef Andre Pianucci. And the results are much better than any store-bought packaged dry pasta you can buy.
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Beef stuff ravioli served with a light sage brown butter sauce
It only takes a few ingredients, about 20 minutes of your time to prep, and 90 seconds to cook and boom! You’ve got some delicious fresh pasta, perfect for a weeknight meal or easy entertaining.
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My mom working hard!
We made three different pastas – ravioli, cannelloini and mezzaluna (a half moon ravioli like pasta), all using the same recipe, which makes it even easier.
For 1 pound of pasta, it is a simple recipe of 2 cups unbleached flour, 3 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. That’s it. Insanely simple, right?
To make it even easier for yourself, use a food processor to mix the flour and salt. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl then slowly add to the flour mixture. Pulse until it is combined and forms a ball. It should only require kneading once or twice, until elastic. Add just a few tablespoons of flour if it seems too sticky.
Then start the rolling and stretching to form the pasta shape you desire. While we used a pasta-maker attachment for the Kitchen Aid mixer to make the pasta thin, you can always just use a rolling pin. It will just require a little more patience.
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Fresh cannelloni pasta stufed with turkey and spinach and topped with bechemal sauce and parmesan cheese
We also prepared lots of great fillings for our stuffed pastas – a roasted beef to go with a simple sage brown butter sauce; spinach and ricotta paired with a pomodoro tomato sauce; and my favorite, turkey and spinach topped with fresh bechemal cream sauce and baked until bubbly and golden brown.
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Mezzaluna pasta filled with spinach and ricotta cheese and topped with pomodora sauce using San Marzano tomatoes
You can never have dinner without dessert! Our fresh apple crostata was a perfect finish to a wonderful, informational class and delicious meal.
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Apple crostata filled with cranberries, orange zest and spices
Check out more of In Good Taste’s great classes here: http://www.ingoodtastestore.com/
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