pasta, pasta, and more pasta!! I NEED HELP

[isaac]

hello everyone. i am wriring a research paper on pasta... home made that is. i would like to ask everyone their recipe for basic pasta. next week, i will be making each recipe and write about it in my paper.

also, has anyone rolled out there pasta by hand rather then using a pasta machine? if you have, could you suggest any tricks or the like to roll your pasta out really thin?

thank you all

[thebighat]

I made pasta the other night. 3 large eggs, pinch of sea salt, and something less than 2 cups of king arthur all-purpose flour. It made a really stiff dough, which I kneaded for 5 min, all I could take, and then rested for 20, and then rolled it by hand with a pasta pin. I got it as thin as I could, then took one wrap around the pin and stretched it around. When it was really thin, I rolled it up like a cigar, and cut 1/4 in wide noodles, which I unrolled into a pile, and boiled till al dente in salted water. served it with muir glen organic basil and tomato sauce which I dechunked with a hand blender. Not bad....even my Italian neighbor liked it, and this guy's mother will whack out 500 ravioli on a sunday morning.

[bouland]

My basic recipe is 2 eggs, salt, and about 1-1/2 cups flour. But there are exceptions...

For a raviole de foie gras aux fines herbes I use water, lard, flour and salt.

For Chinese dumplings I use just flour and water.

[W.DeBord]

Rolling out by hand is fine, the only tip is to make it as THIN as possible. Fresh pasta cooks differently than dried pasta. It really plumps up when you cook it (it often curls/wrinkles more in the h2o). Look closely at purchased pasta it really is very thin, try to get that same thinness. You can!

Then don't over cook it, it won't look and cook the same as purchased... again, the most common mistakes with homemade is over cooking and letting it be too thick.

It can be a fun and very creative medium.

[Jim]

As for handrolling dough, when I produce Pierogi I prefer the hand-rolled product. Pierogi dough is thick and 'bulky' and does not seem to be condusive to be passed through a mechanical roller.
A well-floured surface and French rolling pin work the best, for me.

[isaac]

pierogi-- what is this and do u have a recipe for it?

[Jim]

Without getting too complicated, pierogi are pretty much Polish-style ravioli, with the exception that the dough is thicker and the filling usually (not always) has some form of potato, or another.

2 cup Flour
2 Egg
1/2 tsp Salt
1/3 cup Water
Savory cheese filling
1 1/2 cup Farmer cheese
1 tsp Lemon juice
1 tsp Sugar
1 Egg
1 Egg yolk
1/4 tsp Salt
Procedures

Mound flour on a bread board and make a well in the center.
Drop eggs and salt into well.
Add water; working from the center to the outside of flour mound, mix flour into liquid in center with one hand and keep flour mounded with the other.
Knead until dough is firm.
Cover dough with warm bowl 10 min. Divide dough into halves.
On floured surface, using half the dough at a time, roll dough as thin as possible.
Cut out 3-inch rounds with large biscuit cutter.
(or whatever).
Place a small spoonful of filling (see later) a little to one side on each round of dough.
Moisten edge with water, fold over and press edges together firmly.
Be sure they are well sealed.
Drop dumplings into boiling salted water.
Cook gently 3 to 5 minutes, or until pierogi float.
(1 ½ to 2 doz) there are all kinds of fillings.
Mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese, potatoes with sauerkraut, etc. They are often garnished with sauteed onions and a monster-size puddle of butter. Often served with Kielbasa and kraut.
Hope this is what you were looking for.

[Mezzaluna]

Oohhh, do I love pierogi! I've made them and also bought the frozen ones in pinch. After simmering them in water, I drained them and browned one side in butter until golden and a bit crispy, then poured the browned butter over them. Polish ambrosia! I believe the Eastern European Jewish version my grandmoter made were called pierogen, and were filled with a kasha/onionfilling, mushroom/onion, or leftover pot roast/gravy filling, same as the knishes I mentioned elsewhere. Boy, is my mouth watering....