Fresh Pasta
I can’t lie to my loyal readers, making fresh pasta has a learning curve. The first 2 times you make it, you won’t enjoy the process. It will probably take you a long time too, and you will make a mess, but you WILL enjoy the results. The next few times, you will start to like it more and become more efficient. By the 5th time you make fresh pasta, you will have it down. At this point it becomes easy and totally worth making when the recipe needs it. So if you have never made fresh pasta before, get in there and start practicing!
Start with a heaping 3 cups of flour on the workspace. Make a well in the middle, kinda like when you’re a kid and you make a well in your mashed potatoes to pour the gravy in.
Now break 4 eggs in here. This will be a true test of your well integrity! Add a pinch of salt and a splash of olive oil.
With a fork, start breaking up and beating the eggs in the center. Slowly add more flour bit by bit as a batter begins to form.
Once it becomes too thick to use a fork on, grab it up with your hands and start kneading it. Let the dough decide how much flour it wants to take on. You do want it to be on the dry side or it will stick to the pasta roller, but not too dry. See what I meant about learning curve? Anyway, knead it for just a few minutes, and then put it into plastic wrap to rest for a half hour.
When you start rolling out your pasta, you need to continue the kneading process. What this means, is begin rolling at the widest setting, then fold it over and roll it at the same setting again. After 4 or so runs at this setting, you can begin to tighten the setting. We usually only go one notch at a time.
If you really want to get into pasta making, but this seems like too much effort, it isn’t a bad thing to start out using the food processor. Just put your ingredients in, give it a couple zips…
and Presto!
Fresh Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 Cups Flour
- 4 Large Eggs
- Splash Olive Oil
- Pinch Salt
Instructions
- Put the flour onto your work surface and make a well in the center. Add your eggs, oil, and salt. Stir the eggs with a fork, slowly incorporating more and more of the flour into it. Finally start kneading the dough. Once the dough comes together and feels smooth, wrap it and let it rest in the fridge for at least a half hour.
- Add everything to the food processor and crank it until it comes together. Cover and let sit at least a half hour.
- Run the pasta through your pasta machine at the thickest setting. It will look lumpy and weird. Fold it in half and repeat. Do this about 6 times until the pasta comes out nice and smooth. Finally, move the pasta roller to the next thinner setting and run it through again. Repeat moving only one or two notches at a time until you reach your desired thinness.