KA--Pasta Extruder

I don't normally do things by the book. Sometimes that works, and other times it bites me. My first experiment with making pasta using the extruder on the Kitchen Aid was to use my spinach pasta recipe. Disaster. Just so much green glue, really. That was before I decided to start this blog, so you were saved from having to witness it.

Still, one trial doesn't mean the whole system is faulty. Chastened, we made pasta this week using the basic recipe that came with the machine. So here it is getting mixed. I definitely made sure the dough was much stiffer, all the flour it could hold!



These are the extruder options. From the top, clockwise: fettucine, macaroni, spaghettini, spaghetti, and lasagna extruders.



Here's how it (sort of) works. We chose fettucine, and you can see we're already in trouble!



While the dough had been resting, I made the sauce: a basic cheesy (using the lemon cheese) white sauce with hot Italian sausages in it.



I cooked the noodles while Jim continued extruding. This is the result:



So, were we happy with the process and the end result? Not really. The taste of the noodles was fine. Good, really. But getting there was a royal pain. As you can see from the photo of the extrusion, the noodles badly wanted to glom together. It was difficult to separate them to cook, and I tossed a few back at Jim to re-extrude because I couldn't get them apart. Such a light touch was needed--any pressure and they stuck firmer. I also threw out a few globs that cooked together and wouldn't separate. Also, I must say cleaning the KA after the whole thing is also a pain, though it was easier this time than with the spinach glue. I did toss all the parts in soapy water in the sink until after we'd eaten, but the hard-to-get-to spots were still--hard to get to.

Being gluttons for punishment, no doubt we'll try the macaroni and lasagna extruders yet some time. Generally speaking, though, I don't see this being the way we will normally get pasta for dinner. It took two people a solid half hour of labor to make enough pasta for four servings, not including clean-up. However, if we ever decide on a pasta night and find the cupboard is bare, we do have a possible solution.

I'm sad. I wanted to like it.