How to Make Homemade Pasta From Scratch
Recipe and Tips for Making Italian Egg Noodles By Hand
Pasta-making is more about technique than fancy ingredients. This recipe feeds two for a main course, or four for a side dish.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups plain flour
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- a pinch of salt
Method for Making the Pasta Dough:
- Sift the flour onto a clean work surface, forming a mound. Make a hollow in the centre.
- Break the eggs into the hollow, then add the olive oil and salt.
- With a fork, break up the eggs and start gradually whisking, incorporating the flour from the edges a little at a time. Try not to let the egg spill over the sides. Keep whisking and then mixing by hand until all the flour is incorporated.
- Knead the dough lightly for 6-8 minutes until glossy. The dough should not be sticky; add more flour if necessary. Aim for a shiny, pliable dough that is pleasant to work with.
- Cover the dough lightly and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
Shaping the Pasta:
- Divide the rested dough into thirds for easier handling. Leave the other sections covered while you work.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle, fold in half, and repeat six or seven times.
- Roll the dough out into a rectangle again. Make it as thin as possible without tearing—Italian pasta makers are said to be able to read the newspaper through the dough! Aim for an even rectangle with straight sides.
- Leave the dough on a teatowel to dry while you roll the other two sections. Leave all the dough for 30 minutes to surface dry.
Cutting and Drying the Pasta:
For lasagna, leave the sheets to dry as is, or cut them into usefully-sized rectangles. For other kinds of pasta such as fettucine or tagliatelle, roll the sheets up loosely into a Swiss roll, dusting with flour if necessary to prevent sticking, and use a sharp knife to slice noodles to the desired width. Hang these to dry over the back of a chair, or suspend a clean broom handle between two chair and use it to hang the pasta. Leave to dry slowly in a warm place, or cook immediately.
For filled pasta such as ravioli, do not let the dough surface dry. Fill and cut immediately.
Cooking the Pasta:
Always use a large pot and plenty of water to cook pasta. Add a generous teaspoon of salt – the pasta will absorb only as much as required. Add the pasta when water is vigorously boiling, and cook until al dente (firm to the bite). Only the tiniest core of uncooked pasta should be seen when a strand is bitten. Fresh, undried pasta cooks very quickly—two to three minutes—while dried pasta may take eight to ten minutes.
Easy Pasta Meal Ideas
- To showcase your homemade pasta, serve simply with a few tablespoons of pesto, a splash of olive oil and a sprinkling of freshly-ground salt and pepper. Add a few cubes of feta or cream cheese for luxury.
- For pasta carbonara, return the cooked pasta to the pot and toss with a mixture of 1/3 cup cream, 1 egg and ½ cup cheddar cheese over very low heat, until the sauce coats the pasta. Do not overcook or the egg will scramble! Add cooked, chopped bacon or chicken, season well and top with parsley.
Fettucine
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