Organic cooking class: pasta

Last weekend I joined a class at "Peaceful Gardens Organic Cooking School" located at Koonwarra in East Gippsland, Victoria. The topic of the day was pasta.

Many friends queried why I was doing a pasta class. Despite years of making Ricotta Ravioli with my dad (the traditional Maltese way), I had never made pasta with eggs or used a pasta machine.

Two girlfriends, Carolyn and Rhonda joined in, and in an intimate class of 4, Tina guided us through the intricacies of making Lasagne, ravioli (chicken filling) and fettuccini. In just over 4 hours, we all had shared many cooking tales, swapped recipes and looked forward to dining on the fruits of our labour.

A highlight of the day was the enthusiasm of Tina, our mentor in the benefits of organic produce.

I am now on the hunt for a pasta machine, and looking forward to experimenting with one of my favorite foods - pasta.

Pasta Dough recipe (courtesy: Peaceful Gardens Organic Cooking School)
500g plain flour, 2 eggs, 1 dessertspoon olive oil, water

• Place flour in a bowl and make a well
• Add eggs to centre of the well and slowly mix in the flour
• Add olive oil and a little water
• Knead these together until the dough is uniform in texture and colour.
• Wrap ball of dough in tea towel or cling wrap and let rest for 10 minutes
• Cut the dough into small portions.
• Using one portion at a time, pass the dough through the machine set to number 1. Fold in half and run again through machine.
• Repeat this process through the different thickness settings. Remember to pass the dough through each setting twice, folding the sheet in half before taking it through again.
• When the process is finished, flour your dough so as not to stick. Hang fettuccini over a broom handle to prevent it sticking together. Sheets can be laid between layers of baking paper.
• Repeat with other portions of dough.

To cook: place in boiling water for approx 6 minutes.

NB pasta can be frozen raw, defrosted and cooked as above.