April 25, 2013

TORTELLONI



My mom visited recently, and brought Micah and I a small pile of thoughtful, food-centric gifts. Among them was a pasta cutter, which I took as a sign from the universe to revisit stuffed pasta.

Since I've made stuffed pastas a few times now, I was able to change an ingredient or setting here and there and see how it affected the final product. I switched out a flour, and used a slightly thicker setting on the pasta roller. The flour didn't really affect anything, but dang – the setting really made a difference. These ended up being just a bit too thick for my liking after they were cooked. They were delicious, mind you, and I know I'm splitting hairs here. But that's how you learn! – and that was my favorite part of this pasta "lesson" (besides using that cutter – so much fun, thaaank youuu Mommm). Each time, I become a little more aware of the subtleties of the recipes and machinery. I'm developing an eye and a sense for what a dough needs, and really learning what the most appropriate setting for each kind of pasta is. And this has been some tasty learning.