Ooh boy, do I have a fun toy to share with you today. It’s something I did not know that I needed. It is so cool. Â Have you ever made pasta from scratch? Â It is a major pain. MAJOR. The dough is stiff and difficult to knead, and then rolling and using a hand-cranked pasta roller (or even a stand mixer attachment) requires a lot of space, mess, and manual labour.
Enter the Philips Pasta Maker. You put the flour in the container, shut the lid and press start. Then you whisk an egg with some water and pour it through the spout. In 3 minutes, I kid you not, pasta (of almost any shape you like) is cascading steadily out the front. (Within 15 minutes, every last bit is extruded – it’s about 80% done in 6 minutes, but it slows down as it pushes out the last bits of dough). I’m giving one away on Facebook – get in there.
You may have seen this magic happening in real time on my Instagram story recently. Â I had the video posted for all of 30 seconds when questions started pouring in. It doesn’t seem possible. But it is.
I went on a bender last week and made pasta from scratch four nights in a row. It is like play-doh for grown-ups (and unlike with play-doh, you won’t regret eating it). All I could think is that somewhere, someone’s Italian grandmother is rolling over in her grave.
Every time I touched the machine, I made a double batch. So now my freezer is stocked (fresh pasta can be dried or frozen!).
The Philips Pasta Maker does all the mixing, kneading, extruding and shaping. (I kinda want to ask it if it can babysit, too. Maybe walk the dog.)
It comes with shaping discs for making fettuccine, spaghetti, penne and lasagna (and you can buy extra attachments for other pasta shapes, as well as cookie shapers). An LED display tells you the progress. Special cups are included that tell you exactly how much flour and liquid to add. Everything from start to finish is a no-brainer.
It’s such a great kitchen toy. I am gonna tackle ramen next. And then I’m going to use the lasagna disc to make wide sheets that can be cut to make ravioli wrappers. Wanna come over for dinner? Â There’s a 98.9% chance it will be pasta related.
The recipe I’m sharing is for a summery fettuccine with pesto made with Swiss chard and almonds. Feel free to swap the greens or nut for any other of your choosing. I filled it up with market vegetables and rounded it out with chicken thighs.
Note, if you don’t have a mini blender or food processor, and all you’ve got is a full-sized version, your best bet is to double the pesto recipe and have leftovers to work with for the week (or, again, freeze!). The small quantity means that in a standard appliance the blades won’t reach the ingredients to blend them up, and they will just get flung to the sides.
This post is sponsored by Philips, but rest assured that I only agree to review posts for products I really love (because I love you most!). They generously agreed to give a machine in a giveaway to you, too, so don’t forget to go win it! xo
Chicken Fettuccine with Chard-Almond Pesto
Ingredients
For pesto
- â…“ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp water
- ½ cup toasted sliced almonds
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup packed chard greens and stems (or other greens - I included the greens from my cauliflower)
For pasta
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut in bite-sized pieces
- salt and pepper
- 4 cups vegetables chopped in roughly-equal, bite-sized pieces (I used cauliflower, asparagus and baby radishes)
- 1 lb fresh pasta I made mine in the Philips Pasta Maker!
Instructions
- To make pesto, place ingredients in a mini blender or food processor in the order listed and process until almost smooth.
- Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When shimmering hot, add chicken pieces and season well with salt and pepper. Cook undisturbed until browned on the bottom and easily released from pan. Flip and continue cooking until no longer pink inside. Transfer cooked chicken to a plate.
- Add vegetables to the same skillet (starting with the ones that require longer cooking time - like cauliflower - giving them a couple of minutes before adding any quicker ones like asparagus). When vegetables start to brown in spots, add a splash of water and stir to deglaze the pan and steam them a bit. Â Cook until crisp-tender and then remove from heat.
- Cook pasta in a pot of well-salted water for about 6 minutes (or according to manufacturer's directions). Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water before draining. Return drained pasta to the cooking pot along with reserved chicken, vegetables and pesto.
