My favorite homemade pasta recipe

I know, we have a ton of pasta recipes and pizza dough recipes. The fact is, the ingredients are similar and simple to find. However, we’ve found it’s the proportion of these ingredients that can make it easier or harder to make it turn out well. After playing around for a while, I’ve found that this recipe is pretty reliable without needing to add extra flour or extra moisture while making the pasta.

Let’s talk about flour

Going to the grocery store, there are a ton of flour options out there. When I started out, I stayed with the regular All Purpose Flour. It’s an economical option and a safe bet to work in almost all of your recipes. However, we were watching an episode of Michael Symon and he mentioned about staying away from bleached and enriched flours. Since then, we’ve tried to stay away from those flours, but we do still keep All Purpose Flour in our pantry for a backup. Four our pasta, we try to find Italian 00 flour that hasn’t been altered.

Let’s talk about equipment

Pasta should be easy to make. There are pieces of equipment that make it easier to prepare, but all you really need is the ingredients and your hands. Making the pasta in a food processor is really easy and speeds up the process, but I don’t get the same satisfaction as when I make it by hand. There is something relaxing about doing it by hand.

On the other hand, making it with the traditional method of a pile of flour on the counter and making a well in the center to start mixing the ingredients together can get really messy. To be honest, I’m only mess averse because I don’t like cleaning up after it. So, a simple solution is to use a bowl to mix the ingredients and then move to the counter when you’re ready to start kneading the dough.

Obviously, pasta can be a choose your own adventure, so proceed with whatever method makes you happy!

What do you do with the pasta once it’s made?

OK, this is one of the questions that kept me from ever making pasta in the first place. If you don’t have any tools to cut the pasta, it can be a little intimidating. You can find videos on line showing how to cut the past and the options are endless.

One simple option is to roll it as flat as you can. Then cut the pasta into thin strips with a knife and use it like fettuccine or tagliatelle. You could also make simple ravioli, and if you’re adventurous, agnolotti or tortellini.

If you want a fun pasta cutter that doesn’t cost a lot, look at the Chitarra Pasta Cutter that is a traditional tool from the Abruzzo region of Italy. It usually has a thin side and a think side. Kind of like Angel Hair pasta on one side and the other is a little larger than spaghetti and a little smaller than fettuccini.

One thing to remember is that homemade pasta cooks a lot faster than store bought dried pasta.

OK, now that that’s out of the way, let’s start making Pasta!

Recipe

[recipe title=”Simple Homemade Pasta”
servings=”8″
preptime=”1 hour”
cooktime=”5 minutes”
difficulty=”Simple”
rating=”★★★★★”
image=””
description=””]
[recipe-notes]
This probably won’t take you that long after you get the hang of it, but to start out, give yourself plenty of time. You’ll probably need around 30 minutes to prep the pasta and then another 30 minutes to let it rest
[/recipe-notes]
[recipe-ingredients]
* 2 cups of flour (00 preferred but all purpose flour will work fine)
* 3 large eggs
* 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
* 1/2 teaspoon of extra-virgin olive oil
[/recipe-ingredients]
[recipe-directions]
1. Place the flour in a large bowl and make a nest in the center of the bowl.
2. Add your eggs, olive oil, and salt to the center of the bowl.
3. Using a fork, slowly break up the eggs and mix the eggs, olive oil, and salt.
4. Slowly start mixing the flour into the egg mixture with the fork.
5. After a little while, you’ll find the fork isn’t doing much. Start using your hands and keep mixing the ingredients together until you get a ball of flour.
6. It might still feel dry, but don’t worry. Move the mixture to a clean working surface, like a countertop, and keep mixing.
7. Knead the mixture for about 10 minutes. It will start getting smooth with a consistent texture. After 10 minutes, if it’s still too dry, put a couple drops of water on the mixture and continue kneading. If it’s too sticky, you can lightly dust the mixture with flour and continue kneading. I’ve found this recipe rarely needs any additional moisture or flour.
8. Keep kneading until its nice and smooth. Then divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a small ball, wrap each ball with plastic wrap, and let them rest for 30 minutes.
9. At this point, each small ball is enough pasta for 2 adults, so if you want, you can freeze what you don’t need for later.
10. After the pasta rests for 30 minutes, you can roll it thin and prepare it however you like. If you don’t have a pasta cutter, cutting it into thin strips is a great option for beginners.

11. Now you’re ready to roll the past. See the note above if you don’t have a pasta maker or pasta roller attachment.
12. Dust 2 baking sheets with flour and set aside.
13. Flatten your first ball into an oval and run it through the pasta maker three times using the widest setting.
14. Using the dough you put through the pasta maker, place it on the counter and fold the two ends together to where the meet in the middle of the sheet of pasta. Then fold this piece in half. You should have a rectangle.
15. Put this rectangle through the pasta maker for three times on level 2, three times on level 3, and then one time each for level 4, level 5, and level 6. Note, if you want a thicker pasta, stop with level 4 or 5.
16. Place the pasta on one of your floured baking sheets. Now sprinkle the top of the pasta with flour so each side is lightly dusted with flour. This will help keep your pasta from sticking together when you cook it.
17. Repeat steps 13 through 16 for the remaining balls of pasta that you are going to cook.
18. Run the pasta sheets through the pasta cutter. Place the cut pasta onto the other floured baking sheet until you’re ready to cook.
19. Cook the pasta in a pot of salted boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes.

[/recipe-directions]
[/recipe]

I also want to add that this recipe was inspired by a post by Love and Lemons.