I decided to make fresh pasta and this time I tried some time saving. Instead of using a fork and mixing manually I used the dough hook in the mixer. I put 2/3 cup flour and one large egg in the stand mixer. By varying the speed I was able to get the dough to pick up all the flour. It was just a little sticky so I only had to add a little flour and work it in by hand quickly. Worked like a charm. I roll the dough out to number 6 of 9 thickness, then cut into lengths. I feed the lengths into the cutter so I can flour the pasta as it comes out. I think it took me about 20 minutes to make the pasta, but it could easily have been longer. It can take an hour the first time.
I stupidly forgot to pick up a can of Mezzetta Napa Valley Tomato Basil Sauce so I had to make some. A can of organic tomatoes as the base, salt and black pepper, I put it on the stove and let it cook for a bit. Tomato sauce takes about 3 hours to make properly and I didn't have that long so I just did the best I could in the time I had. 20 minutes before serving I start sweating a chopped shallot, 3 cloves of garlic and a julienne sweet pepper. That was added to the pot and more oil and butter added to the pan. In went the raw prawns with a little salt. I didn't cook them quite through because they will finish in the sauce. In the pot they went with some fresh basil chopped up. The pasta was boiling away.
As soon as the pasta was ready I strained it, plated with sauce and topped with parmesan cheese. Pretty good but I think from now on I'll buy the more expensive black tiger prawns, for the extra flavour they are worth the price. I have found lately that my dish looks great but the prawns lack flavour even though they are seasoned correctly. I've been using white and fresh water prawns and I'm not impressed with the result. When I expect a burst of delicious prawn flavour and all I get is an anaemic barely shrimp taste, it's disappointing.
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