Sometimes I'm skeptical when it comes to certain ingredients. Like store-bought pesto against homemade pesto or vanilla beans and vanilla extract. Is one really better than the other? I have the same argument with pasta and I'm sure some people would scream that fresh is way better than dried, but personally I think it has more to do with the process of making your own pasta or pesto.
Just before Christmas my wife attended a friend's pasta party and everyone made pasta with a chef. She swore it tasted way better than regular dried pasta and we had to buy a pasta machine. I, on the other hand, had visions of it never being used and gathering dust in a cupboard beside the left-handed pizza cutter.
I eat my words...
Actually, fresh pasta does taste fantastic. But I'm not going to knock dried pasta. There's just not enough time to mix up a fresh batch every time. It's not just the flavor of the fresh pasta, but the fact that it's something made by you! A bit like making bread, you start from scratch and mix, knead, roll and mold until you eventually get to enjoy it on your fork. It's a labor of love, but that's how cooking is sometimes. From a gumbo to a coq au vin and even the Thanksgiving turkey, we take the extra time cook like this because this kind of flavor can't be repeated from a box.
Did you know King Arthur Flour doesn't just make regular old flour? They have a huge range of products from gluten free flour to pumpernickel. They also have an organic flour line - check them out here. King Arthur sent me a sample of their perfect pasta flour - yup they even have a pasta flour. It was easy to use and with only three ingredients to mix together - flour, eggs and water - it's almost foolproof. I kept it simple by adding some fresh mozzarella balls, olives, cherry tomatoes, basil and pecorino romano.
You can try making your own pasta since King Arthur Flour have offered to send some to one special person. Along with a cool dough whisk and a bench scraper. I added a jar of Dave's Gourmet Pasta Sauce so you have no excuses but to make the perfect meal!
