Home-made pasta

There were grand plans to go to New Farm Park today with some friends, but the wet weather meant we had to change the venue to the Sow's Ear. I couldn't face another wet day with just my children - it's good to have company on wet miserable days.

To amuse all the kids, I retrieved my old inherited pasta making machine from the bowels of the kitchen drawers. They were going to make fresh pasta for lunch.  My friend Kelly and I love making our children work.

Pasta making machine. An old Marcato Atlas 150.

Alex, my trusty assistant, helped make and knead the dough. She did a great job getting the dough to a nice texture. The recipe was from the booklet which came with the machine -  1 pound (it must be an old machine to have the imperial measure) of plain flour, 5 eggs, a pinch of salt, a splash of olive oil, and a little water (this will feed six people).

It was a nice easy recipe for the kids.

All the boys helped feed the pasta dough into the machine to get it to the right thickness. I hadn't used the machine for ages, so it took a few practice runs to work out the best thickness to make the noodles. You can't make the pasta too thin, we quickly realised. It tends to clump when you feed it through the noodle attachment.

(Sorry for the lack of photos. I didn't think to take any until it was all too late)

Anyway, the pasta cooked beautifully and also quickly. I made a very simple cream sauce with ham, garlic and grated Parmesan cheese.

Home-made egg pasta

It wasn't bad at all. The kids enjoyed the experience and it was really quite simple to make.

The pasta machine is not something you'd whip out for a mid-week dinner, however I'm thinking I should use it more. I could definitely make pasta in bulk and freeze it.

If the wet weather lasts, I think that will be on the cards.