Homemade Pasta

Pasta is the quintessential Italian dish. There are so many varieties of pasta, and there are few dinners that are easier than opening a box of pasta and throwing on some sauce. But, if you want to take a simple Italian dinner to the next level, homemade pasta will knock it out of the park

The ingredients for pasta are simple—flour, eggs, salt, and water.

You start by combining together the flour and the salt. You can do this in a bowl, or straight on the countertop. Then, make a well in the center of the flour. Whisk your eggs together, then pour them into the well you made.

Using a fork, start grabbing a little flour at a time and incorporate it into the egg until it’s all combined. Your dough will likely be pretty dry and crumbly.

Start kneading the water to the dough, about a tablespoon at a time. Keep adding the water until the dough comes together to form a non-sticky, soft dough. If the dough becomes sticky, no worries. Just incorporate a small amount of flour until it comes together.

After the dough is kneaded and mixed, form the dough into a disk and wrap it in seran wrap. It needs to rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes. It can rest up to 24 hrs.

The next step is to roll it out. Taking a golf ball size piece of dough, dredge it in flour, and roll it unto a rough rectanglular shape. Now it’s ready for a pasta maker. Put the rollers on and put it on the widest setting. Run the dough through the roller. You may have to do it twice on the widest setting, depending on how thin you rolled the dough to begin with. If the dough starts to get sticky, dredge it in flour as needed. Now start stepping the roller to thinner and thinner settings, passing the dough through the roller each time, until the dough gets to your desired thickness. I usually step mine from a 1 down to a 4.

When you are finished with that piece, coat both sides of the dough in flour to keep it from sticking to itself and set it aside while you roll out the remaining pieces of dough.

Now that your pasta is rolled, it’s time to cut. You can do this by hand, making rustic noodles, or you can use a pasta cutting attachment on your pasta machine. Today, I’m using the spaghetti attachment. Run the dough through the cutter and then set aside while cutting the other pieces. If the pasta is not well coated in flour before you cut, it will stick together.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water and add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain the pasta and add your favorite sauce.

Homemade Pasta

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

Serves: 4-6

Prep Time: 1 hour + 20 minutes resting

Cook Time: 2-3 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ¼ cup water
• Salt
• Extra virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine the salt and the flour in a bowl.  Make a well in the center of the flour.  Whisk the eggs to combine and then pour the eggs into the well.  Using a fork, pick up a little flour at a time while combining the eggs and the flour together.  Turn the mixture onto the countertop.  Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and knead it into the dough.  When the dough all comes together without being sticky, the dough is ready.  You may not need all the water.  If the dough gets sticky, you can knead a little flour at a time into the dough until it is no longer sticky.  Form it into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and rest it in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes up to overnight.  Remove from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap.  Pull off a golf ball sized piece of dough and roll it into a rectangular shape.  Dredge the dough in flour.  Run the dough through the pasta machine roller, stepping it down from the thickest setting until you reach the desired thickness.  Coat the dough with flour again to prevent the dough from sticking to itself. Cut the pasta.  This can be done by hand into rustic noodles, or with the pasta maker into the desired type of pasta.  Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Generously salt the water and add a few tablespoons of olive oil.  Add the pasta to the boiling water.  Boil for 2-3 minutes.  The pasta should rise to the top when finished cooking.  Drain the pasta and serve with your favorite sauce.