Make Your Own Pasta Recipe!!

There is nothing more satisfying or delicious than making and eating your own Pasta. My husband is getting to be quite the expert at homemade pasta and one batch usually makes us a lasagna, ravioli and tagliatelle. So I thought it was about time I shared his recipe.

What You’ll Need

15oz Plain White or Wholemeal Flour

4 Large Eggs

1 Tsp Salt (optional)

2 Tsp Olive Oil

Step 1

Place your flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and break the eggs into it. Beat the eggs, gently working in some flour from the edges of the well. Keep mixing a little at a time until a soft dough has been formed. Add the Olive Oil to make the dough easier to work. Use your hands if this is easier.

Step 2

Sprinkle your worktop with flour and begin kneading the dough by hand. Keep going for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic feeling.

Step 3

Make the dough into 3 balls, wrap in cling film and let it rest for about 15 minutes.

Step 4

Take one of the balls and place on a floured surface. Start rolling your dough using a rolling pin. It’s a good idea to also stretch the dough with your hands. Continue to roll and stretch until it is about 1/16 of an inch thick. Once rolled you can let your dough rest again for about 15 minutes.

Options

This dough can make any kind of pasta you fancy. We particularly enjoy rolling sheets to use for lasagna. Or making a yummy filling and making ravioli. It’s also easy to score with a knife and make noodles/tagliatelle.

Cooking

As this is fresh pasta it only takes about 3 minutes to cook with boiled in water. When used in lasagna it shouldn’t need to be precooked.

I hope you give it a go and enjoy it as much as we do. I’m told it’s also a good workout for the arms 🙂

New Year, New Habits and Nigel Slater!

It’s a brand new year and this always seems like a good time to develop some new habits. So far I’m mildly addicted to watching/reading anything by the chef Nigel Slater. I watched the drama of his life ‘Toast’ at Christmastime and now I’m a big fan of his show Nigel Slater’s Simple Suppers. For more info on the show take a look at his webpage on the BBC.

 

His food always looks quite simple, but really tasty. So this week we attempted his Lazy Loaf! All the ingredients were easy to find and the instructions easy to follow, which is always a relief, especially with bread recipes.

The end result looked divine and tasted even better with soup. There was a definite moment of pride at having created something so pretty, that we felt we had to share it with you all 🙂

If you have a moment definitely take a look at the webpage and give some of his recipes a try.

The Best Mars Bar Cake Recipe!!

Sorry for the late blogging this week, I haven’t been at the peak of health, but I’m back now and bringing you a recipe!

From childhood I have been a fan of Mars Bar Cakes, everyone usually makes them slightly differently but they’re always over the top sweet and incredibly moreish. So today I’m bringing you my favourite Mars Bar Cake Recipe (My Mum’s!)

What You’ll Need

4 Mars Bars

4oz (100g) Margarine

4 oz (100g) Rice Krispies

9oz (225g) Milk Chocolate

Step 1

Melt the margarine and Mars Bars together, if you are very careful you can do this in a pan directly on the heat, otherwise put the mixture in a bowl above a pan of boiling water.

Step 2

Add the Rice Krispies and stir carefully until they are evenly coated. Put the mixture in a square tin (about 10″ square) and put in the fridge to cool for about 2 hours.

Step 3

When the cake has cooled melt the milk chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water and stir until smooth. Pour over the cake and with a flat knife or spatula spread out evenly. Put back in the fridge for about an hour.

Step 4

Remove the cake from the tin by sliding a knife around the edges, turn upside down onto a board and tap the bottom of the tin. Cut into fingers or squares and enjoy!