Congrats on the new gadget! I've barely gotten into a handcranked machine, having made pasta mostly by hand (not counting that I'm perfectly willing to buy good quality pasta...). The amount of joy that comes through your post is infectious. What a day brightener!

Do you free cut your ravioli? Use a wand or mold? Use a pasta wheel?

I've wanted one, knowing that I'd make a lot more homemade pasta if I had one. I'm clumsy with my hand crank machine, always wishing I had a third hand. Of course the KA would be the third hand.

Pasta isn't in my diet these days so I won't be going to the store anytime soon, but if I found one at a garage sale or if someone gave me one I'd be thrilled. Enjoy it and post some meals!

Congrats on the new attachment. I bought one earlier this year I think it was and I really like mine. I have not made ravioli but make the fettuccine size noodles. I have hens and have my own eggs so I hope to get busy making more soon. It has just been a terribly busy year for us. Nothing like fresh noodles. I usually use mine for chicken and noodles, they are not cooked in water but broth.

Sue

Lars, have fun with your new kitchen tool!

I also have one, but haven't quite gotten the hang of it, the dough always seems too sticky and just sticks together when it comes through the rollers. I also am not coordinated enough to feed the dough and simultaneously catch it as it goes through the roller and turn the machine on and off, I need more practice.

I have a hand cranked machine I use in the rare instance when I make pasta, but I keep telling myself I should use the KA instead and I'd probably get better at it.

I have a "form" to make ravioli, I've never used that either.

Annie

I've had a Atlas Marcato crank machine for many years and do love it. About 10 yrs ago Christy got me the electric motor for it. Zooommm. I like my ravioli big too and with all the edges. I mean, it's pasta. Fresh pasta, what's to trim?

Annie I always use the machine to knead the right amount of flour into the dough so it's not sticky. Just leave it on the thickest setting and run it through. If sticky, pat with a bit of flour, fold up and run through several times. Do that until it's smooth and not sticky.

Glad you're having so much fun Lars. Just love fresh pasta. Ya done good Kevin!

No electric machine but I also love ravioli. I like to use biscuit cutters to make shapes - heart shapes for valentines for example.

The ravioli discussion reminds me of Chase's version made with wonton wrappers. Haven't had them in forever. Found this post on Carol's (dishesdone) old blog. Trip down memory lane with mention of san, Mique, and Sharon.

Wonton Ravioli

Annie, here is the recipe I use for pasta dough in the FP:

1-1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
3 eggs
1/4 tsp salt

I put all ingredients into the FP and let it run until a ball forms. Usually there is a tiny bit of flour in the bottom, and so I knead that into the dough by hand and then wrap the dough with plastic wrap in a disc shape and allow it to sit on the counter for 30 minutes, or for one hour in the fridge. For me, this makes a perfect dough that does not need additional flour or water to adjust it, and I did not have to flour the dough or the rollers before running it through. I divided the dough into eight balls before putting it through the pasta machine, and it did not stick. I used to put a bit of olive oil in my pasta dough, but I found that it made the dough too stretchy, and so I do not do that any more. I think the semolina flour helps absorb moisture and prevent the dough from being sticky, but I add it because I like the texture I get from it.

I agree that fresh pasta does not need to be trimmed off of the ravioli, as I like the pasta!

I would suggest do not make too long of pieces of dough as you roll it through. Then you can manage it better. I have a couple of the hand crank ones but with age, my shoulders will not tolerate a lot of that kind of work so the KA is great for me. My Mother used to make all of her noodles by hand and make great amounts of them and give to the family for Christmas. Her noodles were never long. She cut them about the width of a lasagna noodle, stacked them up, as many as she could cut through, then slice them down rather narrow and have nice sized ones for Chicken and Noodles. They would dry on her tables on waxed paper. The next day they were bagged and given away or frozen.

Sue

I bought a Spätzle contrapti a few weeks ago that I have not yet used. I bought it after watching this video:

I still plan to use it, but I think I prefer Italian pasta to German.

Thanks for the recipe, Lars. I will have to get some semolina flour, I don't have any of that and it will probably require a trip to Grand Rapids. Elery has a follow up with his doc in about a week and a half, so we'll go then, maybe. Elery had hip replacement surgery on Tuesday, and his doc is in Grand Rapids.

I also have to experiment with gluten free pasta doughs, as Amanda is celiac and LOVES pasta.

Truthfully, I can take it or leave it, I'm not crazy about it, but my family is crazy for pasta.

Annie

Lars, it's not so different. I use the same recipe, for the späztle, I just add a little milk, water of beer to get the right consistency. but it's so good too!

Lucky you. I also have an Atlas pasta machine. I hope I still have it. I think its in a top cabinet. lol . I don't use it very often. Enjoy your new toy.

My DIL uses her KA pasta roller for thinning out fondant for decorating the wedding cakes she makes and sells. It works wonderfully well. She does not want to use it for anything else, obviously, so I bought her another one and now she is having fun using the pasta roller for the real purpose. She's now discovering the fun of making pasta and adding spinach and beets and such as experiments in her new found love of homemade pasta. BTW, I use my Atlas hand crank to make pie decorations - little pieces of pie dough go in and thin out evenly for cutting with cookie cutter shapes in perfectly even thickness - love it.

Could you use the KA attachment for pirogi dough? I have the attachment--have never used it, but plan to this winter. Rolling pirogi dough is a pain and very time consuming. Having said that, it is also delicious!!

Gloria

You can certainly use the KA attachment for making pirogi dough. I've never made it, but I assume pirogi are similar to ravioli. I've only made piroshki (the Russian version), but they are made with a yeast bread dough and probably would not work in a pasta machine. Piroshki are more like calzone (or panzerotti if it is fried). I've made calzone and panzerotti many times as well.

I'll have to try the machine for decorative pie dough as well!

I have the attachment, but I rarely use it. I really should use it more often, but I forget about it until it's too late to make pasta from scratch. Actually, I guess it doesn't take that long to make it, but timing it to rest is what makes me think it takes long.

Sally

Sally, you can let the dough rest as little as 30 minutes at room temperature, and when I do that, it only takes me about an hour to have cooked fresh pasta. If I am making it into ravioli or lasagna, however, it does take a lot longer.

I have found a sort of short cut - at least for when I want to make only two servings. For this, I use 3 Tbsp semolina flour with enough white flour to make 2/3 cup and then use only one egg and 1/8 tsp salt. This mixes together very quickly in a small bowl, but I did add a small bit of white flour to this recipe, as it was a bit sticky, for some reason. This way I did not have to get the food processor dirty, and it made just enough for two generous servings of fettuccine.

You're right, Lars. Since it takes such a short time to cook, I could have it ready quickly enough. I would have to make more than 2 servings, though, as there are 5 living here. Even though some of them don't eat anything that has veggies in it, pasta is one thing everyone here goes for.

Sally