How to Make Perfect Homemade Pasta

I’ve been going through one hell of a pasta phase recently.  I’m putting it down to my wife’s pregnancy; she doesn’t always fancy a full meal, and if I’m eating alone I just can’t be bothered cooking anything big, time consuming or expensive.  My pasta addiction has now led to the stage where I’m making my own home-made pasta from scratch, which luckily turns out to be one of the easiest yet most rewarding things to do.

What I present to you here is the time honoured method of making pasta; one egg for every 100 grams of flour.  It is important to choose a “00″ type flour and to use organic eggs (these give the pasta a delightful yellow tinge).  Other than that, it’s just about the kneading.  You don’t even need a pasta machine, although I do find the repetitive rolling of the machine method strangely satisfying.

Perfect Homemade Pasta Recipe - Ingredients

200g “00″ type flour
2 Large organic eggs
Salt

Perfect Homemade Pasta Recipe - Method

Make a heap out of your flour on a chopping board with a hollow well in the middle.
Crack your eggs into the hollow and begin to mix around by hand.  Warning; at first it will form crumbs and  wont look like it will ever come together.  Keep working and it will.
Now time to knead; I find the easiest way is to squash it with both hands and then stretch the dough away from me with one of them while holding it with the other, pushing with the base of my hand near my wrist.  I then simply fold it back on itself, give it a little twist and repeat.  Keep doing this until the dough feels smooth.
Wrap your ball of pasta dough in cling film and leave somewhere cool (the fridge is fine) for 1 hour.
Remove your pasta from the fridge and flour a rolling pin and chopping board.  Now either a) roll out to the required thickness and cut into strips with a knife (as illustrated)or b) (if you’re using a machine) roll out with a to about 1/2 a cm thick.
If you’re using a machine you can now pass it through on the widest setting; do this a couple of times, before reducing the width by one setting and passing through.  Repeat the passing / reducing width process until the desired thickness of pasta is reached.  Once done cut your pasta with a knife or cutting device on your machine into the desired shapes.
Your pasta is ready.  You can now either hang it to dry or cook it right away in salted boiling water - it’ll only take a couple of minutes, unlike dried pasta, so keep an eye on it.
Enjoy!




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