Rose's October Shop Watch - Marcato Atlas 150 Pasta Machine
Marcato Atlas 150 pasta machine
Amazon, Borough Kitchen
What?
Marcato Atlas 150 pasta machine
Why?
Silky smooth pasta
Just in the nick of time. Here we are in October and I am racing to fulfil my New Year’s resolution, which I have been making now for the last five years. And that is to make fresh pasta more often, or indeed to make it at all. Not a great resolution as resolutions go, you might say. I am not saving the planet or being more kind hearted or even recycling more. But for me fresh silky pasta made at home is something I’ve always wanted to be good at, ever since I lived in Italy. I always regret not learning from my donna di servizio when I was there. Hence the resolution. But the 00 flour has remained on the shelf of my pantry so far.
So, what has finally egged me on? The Marcato Atlas 150 pasta machine. This is the Rolls Royce of pasta machines and an icon of classic design. Not only does it make the best pasta but the tipping point was that it comes in seven colours: black, green, copper, blue, red, chrome steel and even pink. I was tempted to go for the pink or red but eventually chose the black machine to match my black and white kitchen. And it is so beautiful I am tempted to leave it out permanently.
Apart from the colourways what sets it apart from other pasta machines? Marcato was the first to make pasta machines back in 1930 when Otello Marcato made the first rolling machine in a workshop behind his house and initially sold them to neighbours. He then opened a factory in Campodarsego, Padua, eight years later and where Marcato still produce all of their products to this day, remaining always at the forefront of design and technology.
The Atlas 150 machine itself has unique features, and every detail is designed to enhance its elegance and quality. It has anodised rollers which helps to stop the pasta sticking. They create a slightly porous dough so the pasta will bind to sauces more easily. It has a smooth turning action which you can see on their website video. The thickness selector has ten different settings and is designed to pull out and twist so you can change the pasta thickness easily. It has a clamp to attach to your worktop or table. And finally, it comes with built-in attachments to make lasagne, wide fettuccini and thin tagliolini and you can make 12 other pasta shapes thanks to the wide range of accessories. And talking of accessories you can even buy a motor attachment (although I can’t see why you would need one), a spaghetti tree to hang your pasta on to dry, a flour dispenser in the same colour as your machine and any number of pasta stamps and wheels.
And for the dough itself? The basic recipe for the pasta that Marcato gives is the magic formula of 100g of 00 flour to 1 egg, although they also advise that for a tastier pasta to use a mix of 00 flour and durum wheat flour (semolina). They instruct you to make the dough by hand in a bowl (although I prefer to make it on the work surface with a well of flour) gradually incorporating the eggs into the flour before kneading. However, I have also experimented using a recipe that Simon Hopkinson suggested of 125g 00flour, 1 egg and 1 egg yolk which gives a nice yellower colour, especially if you use Burford Brown eggs. And I have made the dough very successfully in the food processor before kneading by hand. Whichever method you use, the important thing is to follow all the steps of feeding the pasta through every thickness of the machine until you have the desired thickness for the shape you are making. This is the way to achieve the silkiness of the very best fresh home-made pasta.
So, my resolution finally kept, there will be no stopping me now. I just wonder what resolution to make next year?
Conclusion:
Endless pasta-bilities
Product Details:
Marcato Atlas 150 pasta machine
Amazon
£61.99 - £89.99 (depending on colour)
amazon.co.uk
Borough Kitchen
£63 - £89 (depending on colour)
boroughkitchen.com
Price and availability as at 30th September 2022