How to Make Fresh Pasta
When I was younger my Aunt Nan and I attempted to make fresh pasta. It was fun but a total disaster! The pasta was very gummy. Well as an adult, I decided to try it on my own tonight. It turned out delish. The key is to follow the directions exactly and watch the pasta cooking very closely! You don't want to overcook the pasta. Here is the easy-to-follow recipe that I used:
To make one pound of pasta, you need:
Using a fork, gently incorporate the flour into the egg mixture a little at a time.
Once you have incorporated all of the flour together with the egg using a fork, switch to a bench knife or use your fingertips to blend the mixture together well.
After the wet and dry ingredients have been combined using the dough knife, bring the mixture together with your hands to form a ball. If the dough seems to dry, add a little more egg mixture. If the mixture is too wet and sticks to your fingers, rub your hands with flour and form the dough into a ball.
Knead the pasta dough as you would bread dough. Pushing down and away from you with the palm of your hand. Turn the dough ninety degrees, fold the dough over on itself and push down and away again. Continue this until the dough is smooth, about 7 minutes.
Using the bench knife, cut the dough into 3 equal sections. Form each section into a ball. Cover the dough balls with a towel or bowl and let rest for 15 minutes.
A pasta machine is great for rolling and cutting the dough. They are inexpensive and can be found at major kitchen stores or online. If you don't have a pasta machine, a rolling pin will work just fine.
Flatten one of the dough balls with the palm of your hand until it's about 1/2 an inch thick and no wider than the slot of the pasta machine. With the slot of the pasta machine on its widest setting (usually 1), turn the handle while feeding the dough into the slot. Gently hold the flattened dough as it comes out of the pasta machine, but don't pull on it.
After the dough has completely passed through the pasta machine, turn the slot down to the next smallest setting and pass the dough through the slot. Continue to do this, making the slot smaller by one each time. Don't try to skip a number, as this will only cause the machine to jam and you'll end up with a mess and no pasta.
As you continue rolling the pasta, your sheet of dough will get longer and longer. Try to gently hold the dough as it exits the pasta machine so it doesn't tear. This is a great time to have an assistant help you.
Continue passing the dough through the machine until it's about an 1/16th of an inch thick.
After rolling the dough out to the desired thickness, it's time to cut the dough into pasta. Most pasta machines, come with an adapter that cuts the dough. If you are working on a table, you may wish to cut your dough in half to make it easier to handle.
Feed the dough into the cutting blades. Try to have your hand under the center of the cut dough, so you can pick it all up in one bunch.
Alternatively, if you don't have a pasta machine, you can fold the rolled dough into a square. Cut the open end of the square a quarter inch at a time. Immediately, unroll the pasta and lay flat.
Immediately after cutting the dough, hang the pasta on a dowel or other object (a clothes drying rack works great). You can also lay the pasta flat on a towel, but it is more likely to stick together.
Homemade pasta cooks in less time than dry pasta. Cook fresh pasta the same way as dry, except begin testing for doneness after 2 minutes. The pasta can be used right away or will keep up to a week. Serve with your favorite sauce.
Source: http://gourmetfood.about.com/
To make one pound of pasta, you need:
- 2 cups of unbleached flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Using a fork, gently incorporate the flour into the egg mixture a little at a time.
Once you have incorporated all of the flour together with the egg using a fork, switch to a bench knife or use your fingertips to blend the mixture together well.
After the wet and dry ingredients have been combined using the dough knife, bring the mixture together with your hands to form a ball. If the dough seems to dry, add a little more egg mixture. If the mixture is too wet and sticks to your fingers, rub your hands with flour and form the dough into a ball.
Knead the pasta dough as you would bread dough. Pushing down and away from you with the palm of your hand. Turn the dough ninety degrees, fold the dough over on itself and push down and away again. Continue this until the dough is smooth, about 7 minutes.
Using the bench knife, cut the dough into 3 equal sections. Form each section into a ball. Cover the dough balls with a towel or bowl and let rest for 15 minutes.
A pasta machine is great for rolling and cutting the dough. They are inexpensive and can be found at major kitchen stores or online. If you don't have a pasta machine, a rolling pin will work just fine.
Flatten one of the dough balls with the palm of your hand until it's about 1/2 an inch thick and no wider than the slot of the pasta machine. With the slot of the pasta machine on its widest setting (usually 1), turn the handle while feeding the dough into the slot. Gently hold the flattened dough as it comes out of the pasta machine, but don't pull on it.
After the dough has completely passed through the pasta machine, turn the slot down to the next smallest setting and pass the dough through the slot. Continue to do this, making the slot smaller by one each time. Don't try to skip a number, as this will only cause the machine to jam and you'll end up with a mess and no pasta.
As you continue rolling the pasta, your sheet of dough will get longer and longer. Try to gently hold the dough as it exits the pasta machine so it doesn't tear. This is a great time to have an assistant help you.
Continue passing the dough through the machine until it's about an 1/16th of an inch thick.
After rolling the dough out to the desired thickness, it's time to cut the dough into pasta. Most pasta machines, come with an adapter that cuts the dough. If you are working on a table, you may wish to cut your dough in half to make it easier to handle.
Feed the dough into the cutting blades. Try to have your hand under the center of the cut dough, so you can pick it all up in one bunch.
Alternatively, if you don't have a pasta machine, you can fold the rolled dough into a square. Cut the open end of the square a quarter inch at a time. Immediately, unroll the pasta and lay flat.
Immediately after cutting the dough, hang the pasta on a dowel or other object (a clothes drying rack works great). You can also lay the pasta flat on a towel, but it is more likely to stick together.
Homemade pasta cooks in less time than dry pasta. Cook fresh pasta the same way as dry, except begin testing for doneness after 2 minutes. The pasta can be used right away or will keep up to a week. Serve with your favorite sauce.
Source: http://gourmetfood.about.com/
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