Of course, after the success of the last batch, pasta had to be made again. I’m sure if it wasn’t so time consuming I’d be making it weekly! I had been intending to branch out into filled pastas at some point, and then Michael went and spoilt me with some ravioli presses for my Birthday. So ravioli had to be made! He’s sure I’m the only wife who can be given kitchen tools as a present and be excited about it!

I decided to experiment with the recipe for the pasta and see how half “00″ and half semolina worked.. This is mostly down to cost more than anything, semolina being considerably cheaper. It yielded a comparable product. Obviously it looked yellower, but taste and texture seemed about the same.

This was my first time using the moulds.. There was a learning curve, especially since the instructions were in Italian, and well, I don’t speak it.. at least not for anything beyond ordering ice cream and hot chocolates!

First up, I learnt not to roll the pasta to quite as thin, stop one setting before the end. It needs to stretch into the mould and if it’s paper thin it tears. Also, don’t forget to dust your moulds with flour or semolina before putting the pasta down… trying to take them out when you haven’t is…. interesting!

Add your filling and press down. Try not to get any of the filling where you want the pasta to seal. I brushed it with a little egg wash to seal, I believe water works just fine too. Lay your top sheet over and press down to try and remove as many air bubbles as possible.

Our filling was minced pork with some mushrooms, onion, garlic and herbs sautéed down and mixed with rice. Yes, that’s rice and pasta together, but the filling was… well, it was leftovers from doing stuffed mushrooms a couple nights previously. *grins*

The set comes with a little wooden rolling pin.. It mostly works, but I got a heavier roller out. Roll over the top pressing the pasta down to seal it, and past the ridges so they cut the pasta.

Encouraged by Michael, I experimented with all three moulds for one meal.. All I can say is the triangles need more practice!

For the sauce I made something similar to, but not quite, an alfredo. Creamy and rich, onions and garlic were sautéed and then the pan deglazed with white wine. Cream was added and then lots and lots of cheese. Peas were added near the end for colour and for a semblance of something healthy hidden within the dish!

Even stuffed the pasta doesn’t take more than a few minutes to cook. Drain and coat with the sauce, you don’t need a lot of it!