Ingredient
Making Fresh Pasta
Making fresh pasta from scratch is great fun and comes with the added gadget appeal of requiring a pasta machine. Here I am making Fettuccine as an example. The basic rule of thumb is one egg (70g) to 1cup (100grams) of flour. In this example I have used 400 grams of flour so 4 eggs needed. As eggs vary in size the dough may need a little more flour or a little water. When I am making fresh pasta I prefer the dough to be a little on the dry side.
Making Fresh Pasta
Making fresh pasta from scratch is great fun and comes with the added gadget appeal of requiring a pasta machine. Here I am making Fettuccine as an example. The basic rule of thumb is one egg (70g) to 1cup (100grams) of flour. In this example I have used 400 grams of flour so 4 eggs needed. As eggs vary in size the dough may need a little more flour or a little water. When I am making fresh pasta I prefer the dough to be a little on the dry side.
Ingredients
- 70 gram egg per 100 grams of flour
- 100 g plain flour per egg
Instructions
- Pasta machine needed, (get a decent Italian one it will last for years)
- Put flour in a bowl
- Stir in one egg at a time
- Mix until uniform large loose crumbs form
- Knead into a firm lump
- Divide into pieces ( for 4 eggs pasta split into 4)
- Set pasta machine to largest setting. Pass through the rollers 12-15 times folding sheet in half each time and turning 90 degrees.
- If the pasta sheet becomes tacky dust with flour before continuing.
- Once the pasta has reached a smooth (babies bottom) texture continue to the next step.
- Without folding this time turn the pasta machine down a notch
- Continue reducing by one notch until you reach the 2nd or 3rd last setting on the machine (6 on my machine). Passing the increasingly long sheet through the rollers between settings. Again if the pasta becomes tacky give a light dusting of flour.
Notes
Fettuccine
Cut the sheets to the length desired for the noodles, I go for about 20cm.
Dust with flour
Put the sheet through the fettuccine cutter
Dust with flour and lay on tray (I will normally freeze the whole tray, then put the frozen pasta into portion sizes)
Dust with flour
Put the sheet through the fettuccine cutter
Dust with flour and lay on tray (I will normally freeze the whole tray, then put the frozen pasta into portion sizes)
Nutrition
Calories: 116kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 5gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 25mgPotassium: 51mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.1gVitamin A: 95IUCalcium: 14mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Thai Green Curry Paste
Just can’t beat the fresh flavor of a green curry made from scratch. And great therapy to mash and grind the ingredients into a paste.
This recipe will make 5 to 6 tablespoons of paste. I generally freeze this, with minimal effect on flavor, and good for a few months.
See the “Thai Green Chicken Curry” post
Thai Green Curry Paste
Just can't beat the fresh flavour that comes from freshly made thai green curry paste made from scratch. And great therapy to mash it all up.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- ½ tablespoon cumin seed
- 5 white peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon grass
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped galangal I use a fine grater
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped coriander root
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped kaffir lime leaf
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 15 green chillies 20 grams
- 1-2 large green chillies
- 1 teaspoon shrimp paste
Instructions
- Chop up as fine as possible. (Note the image above shows red chillies from a previous time I made this and couldn’t get Thai green chillies) Depending on personal taste deseed chillies, or use less to adjust the hotness.
- Dry roast the cumin and coriander seeds in fry pan, this should take only a few minutes, take off the heat once you can smell the spices. Then grind and set to one side.
- In a mortar and pestle grind together all other ingredients other than the shrimp paste. (Do this starting with the salt and lemongrass and add in order as listed in the ingredients list. This adds each in order of hardness and grind into paste before adding the next ingredient)
- Finally add the ground seeds and shrimp paste and mix into a smooth paste.
Nutrition
Calories: 38kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 1gFat: 0.3gSaturated Fat: 0.02gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.03gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 614mgPotassium: 39mgFiber: 4gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 5IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 16mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Remove the woody center steam from the kaffir lime leaf.
Chop up as fine as possible. (Note the image above shows red chilies from a previous time I made this and couldn’t get Thai green chilies) Depending on personal taste deseed chillies, or use less to adjust the hotness.
- Dry roast the cumin and coriander seeds in a frying pan; this should take only a few minutes. Take off the heat once you can smell the spices. Then, grind and set to one side.
- In a mortar and pestle, grind together all other ingredients other than the shrimp paste. (Do this starting with the salt and lemongrass and add in order as listed in the ingredients list. This adds each in order of hardness and grind into a paste before adding the next ingredient)
- Finally add the ground seeds and shrimp paste and mix into a smooth paste.
Here is a slightly different version of the recipe from the TempleOfThai website.
Napoli Sauce – Italian tomato sauce
The most important step in making a good Napoli sauce is in selecting the right tomatoes. I am sure homegrown tomatoes are great for a Napoli sauce, but I have tried and get the best results by using canned Italian tomatoes. A wise Italian explained to me to only use canned tomatoes that contain only tomatoes and tomato juice. The theory goes that additional citric acid is only ever added because the tomatoes were not fully ripe when they were canned in order to preserve them. Whether or not this is true by following this tip I have ended up with the best-tasting Napoli sauce.
This is a general-purpose sauce that can be used with pasta dishes, pizza toping, etc… I generally make a big pot full and freeze it in 2-cup quantities so it is always on hand to make a quick pasta, etc…
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