I guess I'm the exception that proves the rule. I have had my
extruder for over a decade and have been very happy with them.
I like the thick and thin spaghetti and the fettuccine blades. I am
less thrilled with the macaroni plate.
Ignore the recipe that comes with the system, it is not very good.
Instead, try this...
Mike's Pasta
Put a pasta pot of water on to boil. The pasta should be cooked as
soon after it is made as possible. Start this process about the time
your sauce is close to ready. When the pasta is cooked, it should be
served at once and shouldn't have to wait on the sauce!
1 cup white flour
3/4 cup semolina flour
2 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
Make sure to use real semolina flour, NOT cous cous - the grind is
very different!
Beat together in the bowl of your mixer with the flat paddle.
The trick to using the extruder is the dough has to be just right,
not too thick or you'll crack the plastic plates, not too watery or
the strands won't stay separate.
Add flour (either white or semolina), a tablespoon at a time, to the
dough until the dough just falls apart into crumbs. Then add water,
a teaspoon at a time, until the dough just comes together again.
Now cover the dough for 30 minutes.
Put the food grinder onto the mixer, using the steel plate with the
larger holes. Cut the dough into walnut sized pieces. Crank the
mixer up to high speed and start dropping the walnut sized pieces
into the food grinder, one at a time. They should be processed
without needing to use the pusher.
Let the strands that come out of the grinder just pile up. When you
have gone through all the walnut sized pieces of dough, take the
strands and run them through the grinder, a few at a time. They
should remain separate if your dough is dry enough. If not, use a
bit less water next time.
Once all the strands from the first run have been through the
grinder, repeat the process. This is a very intensive kneading for the dough.
Once that's done, stop the mixer, remove the steel plate from the
grinder, put in your preferred pasta plate, put the retaining ring
back on, and crank the mixer back up to full speed. You can either
leave the dough in the grinder there, or pull it out and feed it back
through the grinder in the next step.
Pass the strands from the last run through the grinder again, at high
speed. When the pasta gets to the length you want, break it off from
the grinder and set it aside. I like to set it on a floured linen towel.
Once all the pasta has been run through, turn off the mixer, open the
grinder, and pull out the dough before it hardens.
Drop the pasta into your boiling water (salt the water if you want,
put oil in if you feel you need to.... when pasta sticks together
it's either because you didn't have enough water for the amount of
pasta, or because the pasta dough was too wet, oil isn't really
needed), stir gently, and put the lid on the pot. With fresh pasta,
and it doesn't get any fresher than this, when the water returns to a
boil the pasta is probably done. I use a pasta pot with a perforated
insert, so I just pull the insert out and drain the pasta in one step.
Serve at once.
Fresh pasta stores poorly. Just make it when you need it, it really
doesn't take that long. You can use this same dough for ravioli,
lasagna, or use a Acme style roller to make whatever that machine can
make for you.
When you are comfortable with the recipe, start reducing the amount
of white flour and increasing the amount of semolina. The more
semolina, the better the pasta will taste. I usually use all semolina.
Enjoy!
Mike