Homemade Pasta, Easier Than You Think!

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Homemade pasta has been my nemesis for a long time.  I’ve made it before, but I was never confident that it would turn out.  Sometimes it was just fine and other times it was pretty bad.  Well, then Chef Manny came to my house for my Mother-in-law’s birthday party  and changed everything.

Homemade pasta was on the menu that day and I jumped at the chance to make the dough under his direction.  Since we were making a double batch, Kelly made the second batch, so she got a lesson as well.  Chef Manny’s method was so easy that both Kelly and I turned out perfect dough.  I think what makes this method so easy is that first of all you warm the eggs slightly to loosen them up and then you knead the dough in smaller pieces, so they’re easier to handle.

When it was time to roll out the dough that day, it came out beautifully and it cooked up into perfectly tender pasta!  I have now made this recipe twice and it’s been perfect both times.

So don’t fear making homemade pasta!  Give it a try yourself and see how easy it really is.  After you’ve made it your can top it with my Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce or your favorite sauce.

Homemade Pasta

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup semolina flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Ignore the pepper in the photo, I don’t know why I put it there(?)

Start out by putting your eggs in a bowl with warm water and let them sit for a few minutes.  This will temper the eggs and loosen them up, which will help the dough come together easier.

While the eggs are warming up, combine the flours and the salt in a large bowl.  Make a well in the middle of the bowl.

Break the eggs into the center of the well and add the olive oil.

With a fork, break up the yolks and start whisking slowly, incorporating a little bit of the flour mixture in at a time.

Keep mixing with the fork until the dough is stiff.  It will be crumbly at the point.

Now you want to get in with your hands and continue mixing until it forms a ball.  If it seems really dry, you can sprinkle a little water into the bowl, but do it sparingly.

The dough in the above picture was a little dry, so I added water a little at a time and kept mixing until it looked like the dough in the picture below.

At this point, cut the dough into four equal pieces.

Here’s where you really get to use your muscle.  You’re going to knead each piece of dough for about 4 to 6 minutes until it forms a soft ball, similar to the texture of Play-Doh.  If it seems too dry while your kneading, you can dip you fingertips into water, but do so sparingly.

Wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 15 minutes.

Now it’s time to roll the pasta.  Take one piece of the dough and cut it in half.  Then flatten it out enough so that it will pass through the pasta maker.

Start with the pasta maker set at the highest number.  Roll the dough through, folding over and rolling again if necessary.  As it starts to form a rectangle, keep running it through at a lower number each time until you have a long thin piece of dough.

The dough above still had another pass or two before it was thin enough.  Just take the pasta maker down to the number one setting and the pasta will be perfect.

To make it easier to handle as you cut it into the noodles, cut the sheet of dough in half crosswise.

Now it’s time to cut the pasta.  Put the cutting attachment on your pasta maker and run the pasta through that.

Then either hang pasta on a drying rack or put it on a sheet pan in a single layer and sprinkle it lightly with flour.  Allow to dry for at least 30 minutes.

To cook, add it to boiling, salted water and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until tender.  Serve with your favorite sauce.

ENJOY!

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