lostkat
26-01-2008, 21:20
I got a pasta maker for Christmas and today I decided to christen it by making tortellini and a bit of tagliatelle.
I was expecting it to be really fiddley, but I was suprised at how easy it all is. Anyway, you can make up your own fillings, but this is a classic spinach and ricotta one.
Spinach & Ricotta tortellini
Ingredients
For the pasta:
Approx 250g pasta flour plus extra for dusting
3 medium eggs
For the filling:
150g(ish) frozen or fresh spinach, cooked
200g ricotta
30g parmesan, finely grated
a good pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
salt & pepper
1. First, make the pasta. I don't have any pics of this as it was rather a messy affair. The recipe I had said 750g of flour and was the traditional method the one where you put the flour on the worktop, make a well in the centre, break the eggs in and then gradually incorporate the flour. However, I found this pretty messy, a waste of flour and unneccessary tbh so I'd recommend just mixing it up in a bowl with the right amount of flour. If it gets a bit dry, just add water in tiny amounts until it feels right.
2. Once the pasta has formed a dough, knead on a floured work surface for a few minutes until smooth and elastic, then wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest for 20mins.
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00651.jpg
3. Whilst the pasta is resting, mix all the filling ingredients up in a bowl and season to taste.
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00650.jpg
4. Once the pasta has rested, you need to roll it out to around 1mm thick on a very well floured work surface. You can use either a pasta machine or a rolling pin to do this. Break the dough up into batches though, as a little goes a LOOOOONG way. I divided mine into 4 lots, making sure I covered the rest of the dough with clingfilm so it didn't dry out. No photos of this, because you need 3 hands for the job as it is :p
5. Cut out circles around 3" diameter with a biscuit cutter, or cut into squares with a knife.
6. Dollop a small amount of the filling in the centre of each circle/square and brush the edge of the dough with a little water.
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00652.jpg
7. Fold in half to make a parcel, squish all the air out and seal the edges. If you're making squares, fold corner to corner to make a triangle.
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00653.jpg
8. Bend over the top sealed edge of the parcel.
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00655.jpg
9. Wrap it around your little finger like so, and seal the edges.
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00658.jpg
10. Et voila, you have your little tortellini. It's quite theraputic making them actually. You can also freeze them at this point, which is what I did with half of mine. Cook them for around 4 mins in boiling water until al dente.
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00659.jpg
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00660.jpg
I made a simple tomato and courgette sauce to go with mine. In case anyone's interested, I sauteed a large shallot until soft, then added a diced courgette and fried for another 3-4 mins until soft. Next, I added 2 large chopped tomatoes, which I'd removed most of the seeds from, the leaves from a few sprigs of fresh thyme and a glug of white wine. I left it to simmer whilst I panfried my Coley fillets and then seasoned it before stirring in the pasta and a handful of fresh torn basil leaves.
The verdict on fresh, homemade pasta.... tops shop-bought fresh pasta tbh. Bloody lovely!!
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00665.jpg
Crap photos I know and 0 marks for presentation, lol. Need to unearth my little compact camera to keep in the kitchen draw. The SLR is overkill for this sort of stuff, but the camphone is rubbish!
I was expecting it to be really fiddley, but I was suprised at how easy it all is. Anyway, you can make up your own fillings, but this is a classic spinach and ricotta one.
Spinach & Ricotta tortellini
Ingredients
For the pasta:
Approx 250g pasta flour plus extra for dusting
3 medium eggs
For the filling:
150g(ish) frozen or fresh spinach, cooked
200g ricotta
30g parmesan, finely grated
a good pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
salt & pepper
1. First, make the pasta. I don't have any pics of this as it was rather a messy affair. The recipe I had said 750g of flour and was the traditional method the one where you put the flour on the worktop, make a well in the centre, break the eggs in and then gradually incorporate the flour. However, I found this pretty messy, a waste of flour and unneccessary tbh so I'd recommend just mixing it up in a bowl with the right amount of flour. If it gets a bit dry, just add water in tiny amounts until it feels right.
2. Once the pasta has formed a dough, knead on a floured work surface for a few minutes until smooth and elastic, then wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest for 20mins.
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00651.jpg
3. Whilst the pasta is resting, mix all the filling ingredients up in a bowl and season to taste.
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00650.jpg
4. Once the pasta has rested, you need to roll it out to around 1mm thick on a very well floured work surface. You can use either a pasta machine or a rolling pin to do this. Break the dough up into batches though, as a little goes a LOOOOONG way. I divided mine into 4 lots, making sure I covered the rest of the dough with clingfilm so it didn't dry out. No photos of this, because you need 3 hands for the job as it is :p
5. Cut out circles around 3" diameter with a biscuit cutter, or cut into squares with a knife.
6. Dollop a small amount of the filling in the centre of each circle/square and brush the edge of the dough with a little water.
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00652.jpg
7. Fold in half to make a parcel, squish all the air out and seal the edges. If you're making squares, fold corner to corner to make a triangle.
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00653.jpg
8. Bend over the top sealed edge of the parcel.
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00655.jpg
9. Wrap it around your little finger like so, and seal the edges.
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00658.jpg
10. Et voila, you have your little tortellini. It's quite theraputic making them actually. You can also freeze them at this point, which is what I did with half of mine. Cook them for around 4 mins in boiling water until al dente.
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00659.jpg
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00660.jpg
I made a simple tomato and courgette sauce to go with mine. In case anyone's interested, I sauteed a large shallot until soft, then added a diced courgette and fried for another 3-4 mins until soft. Next, I added 2 large chopped tomatoes, which I'd removed most of the seeds from, the leaves from a few sprigs of fresh thyme and a glug of white wine. I left it to simmer whilst I panfried my Coley fillets and then seasoned it before stirring in the pasta and a handful of fresh torn basil leaves.
The verdict on fresh, homemade pasta.... tops shop-bought fresh pasta tbh. Bloody lovely!!
http://www.lostkat.co.uk/DSC00665.jpg
Crap photos I know and 0 marks for presentation, lol. Need to unearth my little compact camera to keep in the kitchen draw. The SLR is overkill for this sort of stuff, but the camphone is rubbish!