When I tried to make pasta for the first time a couple of weeks ago I immediately ran into a small, yet quite annoying problem. Being able to roll out pastry requires a rolling pin. Sure, I was able to use a wine bottle, but it’s not exactly ideal.
So I added a rolling pin to my shopping list 🙂
Since I’m a bit of a gadget geek I was attracted to the Joseph Joseph adjustable rolling pin. I haven’t had a chance to use it yet, but I love the concept.
Instead of simply being a rolling pin this one gives you the option to adjust how thick the pasta ends up being rolled
All you have to do is switch the rings .. so you can have thick or thin dough, or maybe you can start out with thick and roll it until it’s easier to make it thinner.
The other problem I ran into with pasta was drying the damn stuff. A friend suggested I use my clothes airer, but that’s not going to work too well if I’ve got clothes on it and it’s only a “stop gap” measure
There are, however, specific racks available for drying pasta. In fact there’s quite a few different models you can choose from. I ended up going for the DB-Tech Wooden Pasta Drying Rack (available on Amazon and elsewhere). It’s not a fantastic bit of equipment but it should be able to do what I need ie. dry pasta on something that isn’t also used for airing my laundry
Unfortunately the rack doesn’t ship with the vegetables included!
I now need to research storage of fresh homemade pasta – while homemade might be better for you than stuff you buy off the shelf (at least it tastes better) you can easily end up with a rather large quantity. Ideally I’d make the right amount of pasta, but I can’t see that happening any time soon .. and besides, it’s time-consuming, so making enough for two meals at once would make sense.
