I bought the pasta attachment that I’d wanted forever from Target the other day. It, miraculously enough, was on sale the day after my birthday, and with free shipping (oh, yeah, AAA discounts, if you don’t know, you’d better find out…) so it showed up about a week or so after that.
My kitchenaid mixer has been making some strange noises lately. Not all that strange, I suppose. Grinding noises. I wondered if perhaps my dough was too sticky, or what. I made it straight from the booklet that comes with the pasta extruder attachment. I have been powering through making the things that I’ve been wanting to make, then forgetting about the noise that it makes when I put things away. I finally had time to take a peek at it today, and it seems like the locking part is somehow attached to the screw under the hinged part? I tightened it and it now stays locked and doesn’t make the angry noise as much.
I have decided that I need to add some beans into the meals that we eat. They have been on sale almost every time I go into any grocery store, and this was taken as a sign that we should eat more if them. Really, who couldn’t do with a bit more fiber in their diet… Maybe it would even help balance out the freakishly large amount of empty carbs to end up on our table…? Who knows. It’s a step, in some direction.
Artichoke & White Bean Fusilli
adapted from real simple
feeds 4-6
1 batch of fusilli made with kitchenaid pasta extruder recipe (see notes below)
sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium/small cloves garlic, minced
1 15.5 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 artichoke hearts, steamed, snacked on as an appetizer and when you get to the hearts – chopped up into bitesized pieces
kosher salt and black pepper
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
scant 1/2 teaspoon oregano (dried)
Reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water, and drain pasta and return it to it’s pot. In a large skillet heat the oil, adding garlic and stirring for about 1-2 minutes on a medium-low heat. Add beans, artichokes, salt and pepper. Cook until beans and artichokes are cooked through – tops 5 minutes!
Toss pasta and artichoke mix with reserved pasta water until combined. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs (and some freshly grated parmesan cheese?) on top and serve, warm.
*extruder recipe – I’m a rebel without a cause. I made it with half semolina/half all purpose flour. Bold move, rookie. This makes the pasta too hard, and makes the angry noise come back to life on the mixer. Maybe just a touch of semolina would do the trick, otherwise the pasta might be too soft, I think… I’ll have to change it up next time and see what happens.
inasmallkitchen 
apuginthekitchen
October 16, 2012
I envy your pasta attachment for the KA, I have had one on my wish list for a while now, I am still using my old hand crank pasta machine that is not doing too well. I like to add semolina to my pasta dough for a toothsome quality, the ratio I use is 3-1 3 parts flour to 1 part semolina otherwise it’s not soft enough for my taste. Your pasta dish sounds great, I love cannellini beans they are delicious. I need to start using more beans in my meals also.
Julia Fairchild
October 16, 2012
I agree. Some semolina is a good thing. 1/2 & 1/2 is too tough for this attachment. I sometimes wish that I had our family’s old hand roller to use but then I remember that I’m too impatient for that… Haha. I’m still figuring out this extruder attachment, but when I’ve got it down a bit more I wanna try spinach pasta, which I’ve never made.