Advice from Pasta Makers

[emilycat]

Hey, y'all!
I'm planning to make an asparagus/Bechamel lasagna this week; it looks incredible, but I'm having a bit of difficulty. The recipe emphasizes using only fresh lasagna noodles, and I can't find them anywhere -- not at Whole Foods, Harry's, anything. So my other option is to make them myself, but I don't have a pasta maker, hand-cranked or otherwise. How difficult would it be for me to roll the noodles out and cut them by hand? Would I be able to get them thin enough, and would they handle properly? Thanks!

Emily

[lorilei]

Emily - Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for you... I spent part of my weekend looking for fresh pasta sheets around here! I ended up giving up on the recipe I planned to try, and hoped to come back this morning and ask this very question.

I know my grandmother used to make fresh pasta by hand... but I'm curious to know if there's a trick to this!

[karen w]

Emily,

I'll try to make this a short story. I have the kitchen aid roller attachments and make fresh pastas at home. However, before I bought the rollers, I initially tried their plate attachments(they were alot cheaper!).
Anyway, the first time I tried the plates, I had such a difficult time with them, I finally gave up, cleaned them up, reboxed them, and returned them to the store. I did not want to waste the dough I had made, however, so I got out my trusty rolling pin. I'm sure I did not get my pasta as thin as I do now with my roller, but sometimes for lasagna alittle thicker noodle is nice. So, yes, it is very "do"able by hand. Make sure you knead the dough well and let it rest before rolling(~15min.) Whatever dough you are not rolling out at the moment, keep wrapped in saran. And I cut the dough scraps in fun shapes with a cutter used to make the fluted edges on a pie. They are great to toss in soups, or in my case...give them to my kids for dinner. They love homemade pasta!
Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Karen

[This message has been edited by karen w (edited 05-14-2001).]

[emilycat]

Thank you so much, Karen!
I'm so glad to know I can do this without the aid of any mechanical devices.
I suppose I'll be getting my arm workout tomorrow -- and I'll probably rue not lifting weights recently. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[aggie94]

So, Emily, how the lasagna noodles work out for you? I'd also love to know what you thought of that recipe -- sounds yummy! And if you did like it, would you mind sharing it?

[emilycat]

I have actually postponed this until tonight -- I'm sneaking out of the office early so I can get to work on my pasta. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

I'm starting off with an arugula and roasted red pepper salad in a red wine/balsamic vinaigrette, then serving the lasagna with roasted marinated broccoli, yellow squash and grape tomatoes.

I'm a little nervous about the lasagna, but it sounds delicious, so I hope it turns out well. And certainly, I'll post it tomorrow.



[This message has been edited by emilycat (edited 05-17-2001).]

[Anne]

Good luck Emily. Let us know how it turns out. I have made noodles the night before - hand rolled, cut, and left out to dry. This works very well in my cool damp climate, not sure if it would work so well in a warm, dry area. They are well worth the effort and uncooked extras can be carefully frozen for a later meal.

[lorilei]

Your lasagna sounds scrumptious, emily. Please let me know how it turns out... I'd be genuinely interested in the recipe (if I can do the dough by hand!) http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[emilycat]

Okay, just an update -- I'm so ridiculous; I'm not even finished making the lasagna yet, but I had to share my enthusiasm http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

I just finished making my noodles, and I'm too excited -- it was definitely easier than I thought; I did use the bread machine for most of the kneading, so I only did it by hand for about 2 minutes. I finally found out what weight lifting is for, though -- rolling out the dough as thin as it needs to be is hard as h#*!
And let's just say that my dough and I had some choice words before I figured out that spraying Pam on the countertop would keep it from gluing itself to the surface. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif
And I didn't use egg or spinach pasta, like the recipe called for; I made a whole wheat one (surprise, surprise) instead. I'll let ya know how it turns out http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[cchhbb]

thanks for the info. I also was wondering about this.

I am planning on making homemade pasta for cooking club this weekend and didn't want to invest in buying a pasta maker. I guess Saturday morning I'm going to be busy.

Does anyone know how long I can let the fresh pasta sit before cooking?

[emilycat]

Yippee! Now I'm on a fresh pasta kick.
The pasta was soooo good, and the lasagne was delicious. Really elegant and very fresh- tasting. These were my modifications: I halved the recipe, first of all; I made whole wheat lasagne noodles, I used no butter and half the amount of olive oil, and I of course used the Low-fat Bechamel. I'll post that one; if you'd like the classic Bechamel recipe, don't hesitate to let me know. If you need a pasta recipe, I'd be happy to post that too. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Here's the recipe, for those of you who were interested:

Lasagne with Asparagus, Fresh Herbs and Parmesan
from The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook

Serves 6

Without tomato sauce or mozzarella, this dish is especially light and delicate. Dried lasagne noodles are simply too thick to work here; if you don't have the time to make or buy fresh, choose another recipe. It's also imperative to use thin asparagus, which will fit snugly between the layers of fresh pasta when halved lengthwise. Otherwise, you will need to quarter larger spears. All basil or all parsley may be substituted for the combination of herbs below.

2 1/2 pounds thin asparagus
salt
2 T. unsalted butter
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium shallots, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c. minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 c. shredded fresh basil leaves
1/4 c. shredded fresh mint leaves
1 recipe Fresh Egg Pasta or Fresh Spinach Pasta(each of these makes 1 pound), rolled into thin sheets for lasagne, or 1 pound fresh store-bought noodles
1 3/4 cups Classic Bechamel or Low-Fat Bechamel
1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Bring quarts water to a boil in a large pot for cooking the asparagus.

2. Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus spears. Cut the spears lengthwise in half(quarter thicker spears) and slice them on the bias into 1/2-inch pieces. When the water comes to a boil, add the asparagus and salt to taste and cook until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Drain and set aside.

3. Heat the butter and oil in a large saute pan. Add the shallots and saute over medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the asparagus, 1 t. salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Stir in the herbs and set aside.

4. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot for cooking the pasta. Add salt to taste and 3 or 4 sheets of pasta. Cook the pasta, stirrin g occasionally, for 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the noodles to a large bowl filled with cold water.Let the noodles cool for about 30 seconds and ten transfer them to clean kitchen towel to dry. Repeat, cooking 3 or 4 sheets of pasta at a time. (The cooked pasta can be set aside for up to 1 hour.)

5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 13 x 9 inch lasagne pan.

6. Smear 3 T. of the bechamel across the bottom of the pan. Line the pan with a layer of pasta, cutting with scissors as necessary so the noodles touch but do not overlap. Spread 1 cup of the asparagus mixture over the noocles. Drizzle 1/4 cup bechamel over the asparagus and sprinkle with 3 T. cheese. Repeat the layering of pasta, asparagus, bechamel and cheese four more times. For the sixth and final layer, coat the noodles with the remaining 5 T. bechamel and remaining 5 T. cheese.

7. Bake the lasagne until golden brown in spots, about 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Cut into squares and serve immediately.

Low-Fat Bechamel
Makes about 3 cups

Despite its thick, creamy texture, regualr bechamel is not especially high in fat. You can reduce the fat by using low-fat milk instead of whole and switching from butter to olive oil. The color will be more yellowish than traditional bechamel.

3 cups low-fat milk
3 1/2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
3 1/2 T. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 t. salt, or to taste

1. Heat the milk in a small pan until hot but not scalded or boiling. While the milk is heating, heat the oil in a medium nonstick saucepan. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Stir-cook for 2 minutes over medium heat. Do not let the flour brown.

2. Whisk in the hot milk all at once and continue whisking to break up any lumps. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir often as the sauce thickens, making sure that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

3. After 10 minutes or so, the sauce should have the consistency of light cream. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salt. Pour the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer or briefly whip it in a blender if any lumps remain. Use immediately or cool to room temperature and whisk until smooth before using. (The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Before using, bring it to room temperature and whisk until smooth.)

Well, there you have it! If any of you try it, let me know how it turns out! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Emily

[This message has been edited by emilycat (edited 05-18-2001).]

[clairea]

Emily,

Can you post the recipe you used for whole wheat pasta? I only have a recipe for egg pasta.

Thanks,
Claire

[Chefmom]

Just in case, the new "Fine Cooking" has a homemade pasta spread in it!!

Tami

[emilycat]

Claire,

Sure! Do you need the instructions, or just the amounts?
I have a cookbook at home called The Pasta Gourmet, which has loads of fresh pasta recipes, so I used one of those, but in the amounts called for by the lasagne recipe.
Whole wheat flour makes a really stiff dough, so if you don't combine it with all-purpose, it won't be pliable enough -- I'm sure that manufacturers use all whole wheat flour, but I'm not sure I could roll it thinly enough at home.


I used:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 T. water

I combined all of this in the bread machine, let it knead on the dough cycle for 10 minutes, then kneaded it by hand for about 2 minutes, until it was smooth. Then I let it rest for about 20 minutes before proceeding to the rolling stage.

Is that good, or do you need more details?

[clairea]

Wow Emily, you're fast. That's perfect -- I have made egg pasta lots of times, but as I have mentioned before I am on a mission to switch to using almost exclusively whole grains.

Thanks a lot http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif