Questions Doubts and Requests => Questions? Technical Issues? The Survival Guide => Topic started by: Beth on January 07, 2010, 04:31:55 am
Title: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Beth on January 07, 2010, 04:31:55 am
Okay, we have a new thermomix and still working out how to use it. One of the issues we are coming across is that every time we make one of the pasta dishes and follow the recipe we end up with the bottom half of the thermomix with puree (well squished) pasta. This puree also seems to stick to the bottom of the thermomix and is super hard to clean. This has happen twice now both times with penne first we thought maybe we forgot to press the backwards button so the second time we made sure that it was on reverse and it still happen!
Any Ideas?
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Thermomixer on January 07, 2010, 05:22:39 am
Just wonder what speed you are using and was the water nice and hot when the pasta went in?
I haven't had problems with various types of pasta.
Let us know speeds, times etc that have caused problems
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: judydawn on January 07, 2010, 07:44:42 am
Beth, I always boil the kettle and start with boiling water before adding the pasta and have never had this problem. 1200g boiling water and up to 500g pasta (it amazes me that it will cook a whole packet of spaghetti). You save heaps of time by using boiling water. Are you cooking the pasta for 8-10 minutes at 100o C on reverse and soft speed as per the EDC.
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: cathy79 on January 07, 2010, 08:10:51 am
Beth, which recipe are you trying? Are you just cooking pasta by itself, or one of the pasta meals from the EDC cookbook which includes the other ingredients.
I've cooked a few of the pasta meals from EDC with no problems so I'd be interested to know which one?
I haven't tried penne, but have used spaghetti and curly pasta (name escapes me) without any problem. There is usually a very small layer of mushy pasta, but it's nothing significant, and comes off quite easily.
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Babymaker on January 07, 2010, 09:54:02 am
Hm I cooked rigatoni pasta last night, used boiling water and boosted it at 100c for 3min to ensure it was boiling boiling (this is my usual method when making pasta) but the rigatoni broke up into flat pieces and the water was VERY starchy, we had to rinse it to make it edible and it was fine although not tubular any more. I did cook 500g and the recipe called for only 325g so maybe that was it? Maybe the rigatoni is too big for the TMX? Ideas?
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: isi on January 07, 2010, 10:40:57 am
I usually cook all kinds of Pasta in my Thermomix! :) Less RIGATONI :D :D since it is a mass that needs more space to keep their shape (not break) Moreover it is really strange what happens to Beth - can it be the cooking time ??? We know that the Pasta today cook faster and faster ...
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Gralke on January 07, 2010, 11:38:50 am
I have had pasta disaster but not related to the thermomix - I love making homemade fresh pasta for lasagna and I use freerange eggs and all and get flour everywhere and my kitchen becomes a chaos and then either I overcook the pasta, or put too little salt in the dough and it taste of nothing, or that or another - anyway I wonder if its worth having spent €50 euros on the Marcatto pasta roller when I can buy fresh pasta for 0,90 in "Pingo Doce" (local supermarket). And then I stand in front of the pasta in "Pingo Doce" and think, proudly, nooooo, will make my own with my fresh free range eggs, etc and then I look at the chaos 2 hours later and the question repeats - is it worth insisting on making everything from scratch???? I have to add that I always cook from scratch, here in Portugal only recently many convenience foods where introduced and I always found the taste lacking and overpriced so I never went down that road. But, I don't want to be "OTT" - in German we would say be more "Päpstlicher als der Papst" - would mean having an exaggerated Pope attitude than the Pope himself would have.
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: faffa_70 on January 07, 2010, 01:08:02 pm
I have only every had one pasta disaster and that was because I picked up a packet of 6 minute pasta by mistake :o :o :o Reading your post Beth I wonder if this is what you have??
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Tebasile on January 07, 2010, 03:16:11 pm
I think the pasta for the TMX should be eggfree.
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Gralke on January 07, 2010, 07:17:02 pm
But I thought that eggfree pasta makes a real hard dough and dificult to roll
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Thermomixer on January 08, 2010, 12:16:06 am
I spent 3 hours making pastas at a restaurant recently - 3 different types including one with beetroot in the mix and another with nettles. Unfortunately they still use hand roller rather than mechanised. It takes a lot of work - but you feel good (in your heart)
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: judydawn on January 08, 2010, 12:37:42 am
Sounds like a good work-out Thermomixer.
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: achookwoman on January 08, 2010, 06:15:23 am
I'm wondering if it might be the brand of pasta. Our consultant insisted on imported Italian pasta .
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: cookie1 on January 08, 2010, 06:48:18 am
I always use Barilla pasta and have never had any problems.
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Chelsea (Thermie Groupie) on January 08, 2010, 10:59:00 am
I wonder if its worth having spent €50 euros on the Marcatto pasta roller when I can buy fresh pasta for 0,90 in "Pingo Doce" (local supermarket
[/quote]
Where we live the only fresh pasta that we can buy is from the supermarket and it is loaded with nasty preservatives (fresh pasta can be terrible for preservatives). I make homemade pasta when I can and it tastes so much better than what I can buy - in Portugal it may be different. I also find it a good way to use up eggs - our chooks are wonderful layers! I have a Marcatto pasta roller that I bought second-hand and I really love it. I don't have any of the special attachments, but am happy making fettuccine and lasagna sheets etc.
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Gralke on January 08, 2010, 01:44:55 pm
Chelsea - that is the one I have - I just do the lasagna but since I posted this I read somewhere that freshly made pasta benefits from drying a little (maybe 30 minutes) before boiling - I will try this next time. Roll out all the pasta, cut into lasagna sheets, let dry a little and only then boil in salty water for 3 minutes
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Thermomixer on January 09, 2010, 03:25:46 am
Yes, it does benefit from a bit of drying, and if you want to keep the sheets separate after making them, then fine semolina is good - it helps keep the sheets from sticking and comes off easily when you boil it and the water doesn't go so gluggy/gooey/messy from the free /loose flour mixing with the boiling water,
Do you also use the lasagne sheets to make canneloni by rolling filling in them?
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: quirkycooking on January 09, 2010, 05:18:52 am
I always lay mine out on tea towels to dry out a bit before cooking, or before freezing in plastic bags. (This is buckwheat fettucine.)
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Gralke on January 09, 2010, 09:45:13 am
Looks beautiful! So you freeze it uncooked - just a little dried? Is this dough with or without egg?
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: quirkycooking on January 09, 2010, 12:47:39 pm
This is just ground buckwheat and egg pasta - that's all that's in it. (100g buckwheat to each egg) I freeze it uncooked, and toss it in the boiling water straight from the freezer.
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Thermomixer on January 10, 2010, 01:03:15 am
Yes Gralke - where I help out, they freeze little 80g bundles dusted in semolina to prevent it sticking. Then let it thaw a little for service and throw in boiling water. One bundle for entree serve and 2 for mains.
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: achookwoman on January 10, 2010, 04:07:35 am
I've made a fair bit of past, although not lately. When i made lasagne I dried the sheets a little and then used them uncooked. Some i dried and froze.
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: brazen20au on January 10, 2010, 08:05:46 am
oh fabulous jo, i've ben wondering where to find a decent GF recipe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now if only i had a decent machine :(
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: cookie1 on January 10, 2010, 12:17:05 pm
Karen you are obviously still having trouble with your TMX. Has it been back West? It's still under warranty isn't it?
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: brazen20au on January 10, 2010, 10:37:41 pm
oh i meant a decent pasta machine ;) i'm still umming and ahhing about whether my thermomix is working properly or not - it seems to be making sorbet & crushing ice ok, but it does make some noises i just don't like
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: judydawn on January 11, 2010, 12:05:44 am
Mine is also a little noisy these days, especially on 4 or 5. With the amount of use it has had, guess that is not surprising. Still have 10 months under warranty for mine so will have to consider whether to do something about it or just put up with the noise. Anyone else noticed the same thing with theirs?
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: quirkycooking on January 11, 2010, 12:09:38 am
Karen, if you don't have a pasta machine, just roll the dough really thin, dust well with buckwheat flour, roll up into a long roll, then slice thin strips off the end with a knife to make fettucine. That's what I used to do before I had a pasta machine. They're a bit thicker this way, but still delicious! (But you can get them pretty cheap - I've seen them for $30 - not sure about quality though!)
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Chelsea (Thermie Groupie) on January 12, 2010, 03:31:38 am
You can pick up pasta rollers really cheaply now. The cogs tend to burn out quickly in the cheaper models though. Ebay often have good quality second hand ones. I think pasta rollers are something that people often buy and don't then use (unlike TMX's).
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Beth on January 13, 2010, 05:51:04 am
Sorry I have taken so long to get back to everyone on here. Thank you very much for all your answers
Here are the answers to some of your questions.
The two recipes we have tried which this has happen ar the following
- Butterfly Pasta with Salmon Sauce pg 61 from A Seafood Bounty - Tomato Pasta with Vegetables and Feta pg 72 from A Taste of Vegetarian
Both of these we believe we followed the recipes as it is stated in the books. The pasta we used was just store brought one, nothing specially expect for the shape.
From what i have read here i believe it could bethe water not being hot enough when the pasta is first put in as i always have just used tap water or maybe overcooking the pasta?
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: quirkycooking on January 13, 2010, 06:22:31 am
I use gf pasta (bought) mostly, and cook it for 8 minutes in the sauce, and never have any problems with it mushing, unless I leave it sitting in the jug, as it just keeps cooking. Make sure you just cook it 'al dente', then tip it into the Thermoserver or serving dish STRAIGHT AWAY, so it doesn't keep cooking. If you're cooking it plain, in water, you could rinse with cool water as soon as it's done (in a colander) so it doesn't keep cooking. (As long as you have a hot sauce to put over it, it shouldn't matter if the pasta is lukewarm.)
Title: Re: Pasta Disaster
Post by: Thermomixer on January 13, 2010, 07:04:25 am
Thanks Beth - will check the recipes and see what might happen