How to Make Fresh Pasta

This recipe is super easy – maybe because it has just 3 ingredients total, or maybe because unlike bread, you have some wiggle room when making pasta.  Once you’ve done it a few times too, you can really hone your skills and nail it.  This recipe is all about the proportion of eggs to flour – everyone’s got their own it seems, at least that’s what I found when looking through countless cookbooks for ideas on mine.

The history of pasta is a mysterious one, at least according to most sources.  Obviously aggressively Italian, I came to realize while making certain types of noodles that most cultures eat noodles of some sort.  I’d even argue that some Asian cultures are bigger noodle fanatics than the people in Italy at all.

The noodles that I like to make are egg noodles, made from 1/2 gluten rich bread flour (or Tipo 00 Italian flour if you can find it) and 1/2 good old all purpose wheat flour (unbleached).  This makes for a somewhat sticky dough that’s really nice to knead and roll and produces a easily al dente toothsome pasta that’s perfect with many kinds of sauce.

I think you’ll agree that once you’ve mastered making fresh pasta, going back to dried is tough, though dried does still have its place.  I was inspired to learn fresh pasta recipes by our recent trip to Italy and now that I have my proportion down, it’s as quick and easy thing to make after work as anything.  Here’s my secret:

Makes pasta for 2 people – 1 egg per person.  If you want to make more, just double/triple the recipe as needed

Making this pasta requires at least 1 essential piece of equipment: a pasta roller.  I’m lucky enough to have one attached to my mixer (Thanks wedding gifts) but I used to use a manual one and it worked great.  Just make sure you can clamp it down to your counter (this used to drive me nuts).  I also use a food processor to save myself a little time in mixing up the dough and bringing it together.  If you want to use the more traditional ‘eggs in the flour well’ technique, be my guest, but it’s messier and takes longer.  Start by making a mound of your flour, then make a shallow well in the middle of your mound and add the eggs.  Take a fork and mix up the eggs, slowly incorporating the flour into the middle until it comes together and you can use your hands.  Once it comes together, you can begin your kneading…

I mix my dough in the food processor.  If you want to go this route I highly recommend it – I find that it works great!  Start with the eggs this time – crack 2 in the bottom of the food pro with the metal blade attached.  Add the olive oil and then the flour to the bowl next and PULSE the blade until the dough comes together.  It may look a little bit like rough gravel or sand at first, but this is ok!  Take it out of the food processor and onto a lightly floured working suface.  Begin to knead the dough until it comes together and continue kneading for 5-10 minutes.

Place your dough in plastic wrap and into the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.  This step is essential and sill enable your dough to come together nicely.  Once done, cut into 2 parts and roll out lightly before beginning to roll in your pasta roller.

Start with the widest setting – the 1 or 0 depending on your roller.  Roll a few times on this setting, folding in half and rolling again to make sure you have the correct.  It should be roughly in the shape of an oblong oval.  Continue rolling and making the setting narrower and narrower until you’ve reached the ‘5′.  At this point I usually stop, as the pasta is probably thin enough, but feel free to go further if you want.  Once there, you’ll have a few really nice sheet of pasta.  If they’re still a little tacky, add some more flour to prevent sticking.

Cut your pasta to desired width either by using the rollers or folding it back on itself and cutting it with a knife to desired thickness.  Cook only for a few minutes – don’t overcook if you can help it!!  and serve with your choice of sauce.