Handmade pasta!

Eureka! I finally did it! I made my own pasta from scratch! Muahahahaha! I've always wanted to try my hand at making my own fresh pasta, but I never succeeded (or rather the so-called product was so rubbery and gross I had to throw it away). After the last pasta-making experiment I told myself it wasn't worth the trouble (and the mess!) and that I'd just stick to buying pasta out of a packet.

Tonight (it's actually almost 2 in the morning so that would more accurately make it last night) I was feeling really hungry and in need of a good munch, but there was nothing edible lying around. So I decided to do the next best thing and attempt another pasta experiment. I wasn't sure if I could use just normal old flour (most pasta are made from semolina), so I checked some recipe books and confirmed that yes, it was possible to make pasta from 'normal' flour. So I cracked an egg, added a pinch of salt, and mixed in flour until I had the required consistency (don't ask me the exact amount of flour I used, I didn't measure!). I kneaded the dough, rolled it out as thin as it would go with a rolling pin, and used a knife to slice it up into thin ribbons (also not measured, so I had uncooked pasta dough of irregular widths). Proceeded to pop them ribbons into boiled water (liberally salted) for approximately a minute. Sieved them out, popped them into some room temperature water, then started on my sauce. This is where I ran into some complications. I originally was hoping to make a creamy mushroom sauce but there were no mushrooms lying around (or growing under the stools) so had to forget my yummy mushroom gravy. Thought about a carbonara sauce but didn't have enough eggs. Didn't even have butter to make a decent sauce. So I thought, oh well, let's just make do with what we have. So I made a roux from margarine and flour and some water. Then I spotted the garlic. The lightbulb in my little brain went off. I grabbed one measly garlic clove and grated that into the mixture bubbling away in the pot. Threw in some salt and MSG, and a very generous amount of pepper. Then tossed in all the pasta I'd made and added in the last slice of cheese left in the fridge. Gave everything a vigorous stir and poured it into my trusty bowl. Mind you, I thought it'd all end up a disaster of a dish right from the very start of this experiment, so imagine my surprise when I had my first mouthful of tasty, creamy pasta! I was so chuffed!

So now I've got another recipe to add to my culinary repertoire, albeit from the simplest and most basic of ingredients. Bear in mind though, this one takes a long time to prepare. I must have spent an hour or so in the kitchen, but it was all worth it. And now, at least for a while, I've satisfied my craving for pasta... Cheers!