fresh pasta at home from scratch
Have you ever tried to make fresh pasta at home?
Fresh pasta is one of my favourite things to make (and it’s one of Mr. Clancy’s favourite things to eat.
It’s simple and very therapeutic so if you haven’t given it a go this is your chance.
P.S. While I’ve used my Kitchenaid mixmaster with the pasta attachments you actually don’t need any fancy equipment believe it or not.
Over the years I’ve upgraded from a manual pasta machine but you can do it all with a rolling pin and a knife just like nonna.
Let me walk you through it step by step!
PASTA
- 2 cups of flour
- 3 free range eggs
- a dash of olive oil
- a pinch of salt
NOTES
-You can use a hand cranked pasta machine, mechanical pasta machine or keep it simple, use a rolling pin and a knife
METHOD
1. Measure 2 cups of flour into a bowl or onto a workable clean surface, make a well in the centre for you wet ingredients
2. Add eggs to well, along with salt and olive oil
3. Whisk wet ingredients to break the egg yolks and slowly incorporate the dry ingredients with the wet
4. Once the dough resembles a shaggy mess it’s time to start kneading the dough, now at this point you may be concerned that it’s not going to come together but trust the process and keep kneading the dough until it becomes smooth
5. It takes about ten minutes of kneading so put some music on, pour yourself a drink and enjoy the therapy that comes from doing something with your hands
6. You’ll know the dough is ready when you press your fingertip into it and it bounces back, at this point put the dough into a sealed container and leave it to rest on the kitchen bench for at least 30 mins (I’ve also left this for several hours)
7. Once your dough is rested it’s time to make whatever pasta you like, I quarter the dough (keep the pieces you’re not working on in a sealed container so they don’t dry out)
8. Proceed to roll the dough out if you’re using a machine, I pass the dough through from thickest to thinnest (folding the dough over itself the first few times on thickest setting to make it really smooth). Once you have the thickness you like you can cut into thin strands to resemble spaghetti or cut into thick stands roughly 3cm wide to make paradelle (my favourite)
9. Be sure to work with flour as you go and finish with semolina to prevent the pasta from sticking to itself
Boil till al dente and serve with you favourite pasta sauce plus lots of parmigiano reggiano!
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