[Sca-cooks] handmade pasta

[Stefan li Rous]

Elizabeth gave a recipe for a pasta dish which included:
> Rishta
>    al-Baghdadi p.45/7
>
<snip>
> Boil until cooked:
> then add more water, and bring thoroughly to the boil. Now add
> spaghetti (which is made by kneading flour and water well, then
> rolling out fine and cutting into thin threads four fingers long).
> Put over the fire and cook until set to a smooth consistency. When it
> has settled over a gentle fire for an hour, remove.
<snip>
>  Knead
> thoroughly, roll out, cut into thin strips. Add to pot, simmer 1/2
> hour being careful not to let it stick to the bottom and scorch,
> serve.
I've never tried to make handmade pasta. Have others on this list? How 
big or what shape would the pasta be described in this recipe? Would 
they be bigger and more irregular than the commercial dried stuff I can 
buy in the grocery? I imagine the processed stuff is extruded, not 
rolled out. It seems like making something with that small of a 
diameter, round and consistent would be rather difficult. Making it by 
hand also sounds very long and labor intensive, so I don't know if I 
will ever try it but it would be interesting to know about.

What are the taste/texture differences between fresh and dried pasta, 
either homemade or store-bought after both have been boiled?

Seeing the "spaghetti" above I was assuming a round cross-section. But 
the recipe also says "thin strips". So am I wrong in thinking of 
spaghetti as being round? I think of narrow flat strips as being 
lingini.

Thanks,
   Stefan
(I really ought to be cutting back on carbs though, and pasta seems to 
be in opposition to this)
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
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