Before we delve into making fresh pasta, let me just say I DON’T COOK! I participated in one Zoom call with Chef Raffaella on how to make fresh pasta. I could do that – how hard could it be?
My first attempt was a dismal failure! I knew something had gone wrong when after 30 minutes of cooking the pasta it was still not done. First indication and the second was the extra chewiness of the noodles. What happened?
On the first attempt, I tried to knead and roll out the dough by hand – don’t try it. Unless you are an Olympic weightlifter or one of the Pasta with Grannies crew, you do not have enough muscles to knead and roll out the dough to the proper thinness required.
My second attempt is pictured above when I borrowed a pasta machine. Before you ask, my kitchen counters are too thick for the machine to properly clamp on, so I used the boards instead. But the boards moved, hence the 45lbs kettle bells that kept everything on the counter nicely. I received quite a few comments on Facebook as to what the weights were for.
This pasta came out thin and delicious with very little arm-wrestling. If you want to see a true master, check out Pasta Grannies on YouTube. These grannies have perfected the art and make it look effortless.
[…] On a side note, even a novice cook can use this pasta maker. Check out Angela’s second attempt at making homemade pasta. […]