And now for what you've ll been waiting for, the long awaited results!! For the full recipe go here.
I originally wanted to try this recipe because I wanted to a pasta dish with a twist. I've often had pasta made with semolina flour before, I am Italian after all. But I had never tried a recipe that called for toasted semolina, so my curiosity got the better of me and I was soon in the kitchen standing over a hot smoking pan.
The toasted Semolina adds a natural nutty flavour to the pasta. During the toasting the whole house smelt like roasting chestnuts, and I'm happy to report that some of that flavour is carried over the cooking process. I admit I should have not been so afraid and toasted the flour for a little longer. Its hard to see in my photos, but you can actually see the speckled effect of the toasted semolina grains. If I had gotten them a little more golden the effect would have been mre pronounced, and most likely the flavour would have been more intense.
Semolina: Toasted on left, Untoasted on right
Making the pasta was a real breeze. Using my KitchenAid to mix the dough and then using my neat Christmas present (from Daz) to roll and cut the pasta. At over $300 a set for the KitchenAid pasta maker the price is a little steep, but long gone are my days of wearing my arm muscles out manually cranking a tiny pasta machine. I remember the first time I told my mum about my cool new gadget, she quickly informed me she would be over to make some pasta!
If you leave out the truffle this whole dish is extremely cheap. I made half the recipe and ended up with 3 very generous serves. I imagine that the truffle would add a very earthy flavour and which was distinctly lacking. I would substitute truffles with some mushrooms to try to replicate that flavour, or just go the full hog and get some truffles!
This recipe is definitely going on the "make again" pile. Its quick, easy, cheap and has runny gooey egg and melted cheese in it, its a winner all round!
12 comments:
Oh yeah - no one loses with gooey egg and cheese! And I love the look of that pasta - I adore pappardelle! Which of course is just very broad fettuccine :) And I can draw a very similar cultural parallel - was making chicken rice the other day and it requires you to fry the uncooked rice grains before cooking (much like toasting semolina prior to making pasta) - quite a novel experience! Oh and I'm curious, does having a KitchenAid pasta maker make a huge difference to the natty $50 ones? I've been clocking pasta makers at shops recently and always wondered...
Hi Vee - it really depends on how much pasta you make. The small hand cranked pasta machines are fine, in fact they do a great job. But the kitchenaid set is just so easy. A little while ago i made dumplings, and using the kitchenaid roller was just so easy. Usually it takes me 2 hours to roll out and package all the dumplings, it only took me 30 min with my new device. They are over 300 dollars, so if you are going to get one, see if you can source a cheap one online.
Kudos on the handmade pasta - looks delish
I don't think I ever had toasted pasta before. I have to make some myself. Big fan of pasta.
Wow. Yum! Although this seems to be a very simple recipe I bet there would be a lot going on when the fork hits my taste buds. Beautiful!
Great dish! I've never made my own pasta before. That looks so much better than store-bought. Makes me wonder if I should get me one of those.
Sounds like you're getting good use out of your pasta maker, especially if you're mum is using it too. Maybe you should charge a hiring fee - in pasta, cupcakes or chocolate currency :) I love the sound of the toasted semolina and the egg and cheese.
Oooh I want some shiny, snazzy KA attachments! Might need to sweet talk Alastair. ;)
Damn, serious late night pasta craving now. I have never made my own pasta, but my sister has made it for me so perhaps I need to flick this recipe and a winning (hungry) smile her way.
You are so absolutely lucky that you got that kitchen aid attachment... I have been eyeing one from Essential Ingredients but at the moment I can't justify getting it (I dont make pasta that often). But your recipe on the toasted flour carbonara sounds interesting - and absolutely delicious... I may decide I love it so much that I'll be making it so often I can finally get one of these attachments!
what a delicious pasta this must have been!! I never thought of toasting the flour first, what a great idea!
thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe!
I'd love to try this recipe for myself and make my own pasta. I've made gnocchi before but never rolled out my own pasta sheets. Looks like I might need to buy yet another kitchen gadget!
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