Pasta, Pasta, Pasta
Okay friends, I am going to make this as simple as I can.
Ingredients
Flour
Eggs
Pot of boiling well-salted water
Here are the measurements:
1 cup flour to 2 eggs, and each egg is going to represent a person.
Sooo… you decide how much flour and how many eggs you need.
On a clean surface (I use this really great marble stone bowl) add your flour and create a well in the center. In a bowl crack your eggs and mix. Add the eggs to the center of your well and start to combine with a fork or a bench scraper.
Once the eggs and flour are well combined, create a ball and knead until the dough becomes elastic to touch. I like to use the palm of my hand to push the dough away and then I bring it back with my fingers. Repeat, repeat, repeat. The test to know if your dough is ready is by pinching it—that’s right, give it a little pinch—it should spring back. When it does that you know you’re good.
Cover the dough and let rest for 30 minutes.
Next, while working the dough, bring a large well-salted pot of water to a boil.
Uncover and cut your dough into three parts. Set two aside and work with the first part. At this point, it really depends on what tools you have at home.
Do you have a rolling pin? If so, you are going to roll it out until it becomes translucent and then cut it into your preferred shapes.
Do you have a pasta machine that you crank by hand? Roll your dough through the machine starting at the 0 setting and working your way up to the highest.
Or you have what I’m using, an authentic chitarra pasta maker? If so, you will roll out your dough until it is about translucent and then place it on the chitarra. Using a small rolling pin you will roll it out. It’s so beautiful to make pasta this way; I highly recommended getting one.
Whichever method you use, as you are rolling out your dough use semolina flour to keep it from sticking.
Drop your pasta into the water and it will be done in seconds, depending on how thin you got it. Your pasta will drop to the bottom of the pot and then will slowly rise to the top. When the pasta has risen (it’s ALIVE) pull it out and serve.
When we make pasta in our house we do it on the weekend. The kids help and it will be messy, but that’s okay. The point for me when making pasta from scratch is to bring the family into the kitchen, give everyone a fun experience. Don’t worry about the mess… you can clean it up later, so enjoy the process. There is nothing more satisfying than making homemade pasta with people you love.