Pastasana

Ha ha… I totally tricked you into thinking there is a yoga pose called Pastasana. It would probably be in the same asana family as carbohydrasana… because this post is all about PASTA.

About ten years ago, I became very interested in fresh pasta. I was living in Seattle, and a little shop popped up called Pasta & Co. At the time, they sold pasta, a few sauces, Orangina and Pellegrino. The pasta was made fresh daily and it was a quick item to pick up on the way home from work. I loved it. I also wanted to try making it on my own.

That was when I picked up a pasta maker at Sur la Table, and began making my own spaghetti, fettucine and ravioli. It changed my pasta-consumption life!

BE FOREWARNED: If you opt to make pasta, you will not be able to enjoy dried pasta ever again! And you’ll be super picky about your pasta! And you will begin to crave the super-light, super-fresh taste of freshly made pasta!

My pasta recipe is a basic pasta recipe from www.rouxbe.com, but I like adding in semolina flour as well:

• 1 cup all-purpose (double zero is best)
• 3 tbsp Semolina Flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

To make the dough by hand:

Make a well on the counter with the flour. Then add the eggs and salt. Slowly incorporate the eggs until the mixture forms a ball. Then bring together the dough together and knead for 5 to 10 minutes. Add additional flour as needed.

To make the dough in a food processor:

Add the flour and salt and pulse. Beat the eggs separately and then slowly add in the eggs, one teaspoon at a time. Once the mixture just starts to look like couscous, stop and remove from food processor. Form into a ball and knead for 5 to 10 minutes on the counter top.

Let the Dough rest:

Once the dough is fully kneaded, wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for about 30 minutes before rolling.

Rolling the Dough:

To roll the dough, flatten it slightly and roll through the widest setting of the pasta maker about 10 times, folding the dough in half each time you pass it through. Sprinkle the rollers and dough lightly with flour if it happens to stick.

Next, run the dough through the rollers just once on each setting without folding. Keep rolling the dough until you reach the second to last setting. How far you roll out the dough will also depend on the dish you are making, and your pasta machine. If you desire ultra-thin pasta, you may want to roll the dough right through to the last setting. Once the dough has been rolled to the desired thickness, it must be covered immediately to prevent it from drying out.

If desired, you can run the pasta through the cutters of the pasta machine to make various shapes, such as linguine or fettuccine.

Fresh pasta is best if eaten the same day it is made. However it will keep for a day or two in the refrigerator. Once shaped, it can be frozen for up to one month. To cook pasta, get a gentle boil going with some salt, and cook pasta for 2 minutes, until al dente.

This makes approximately 3/4 lb of pasta, which will serve 2 to 3 people as a main or 3 to 4 as an appetizer.

I threw in some wilted spinach, garlic, olive oil, kosher salt, pepper and freshly grated parmesan – viola!