homemade pasta
If you've never made your own pasta, you should try doing it sometime. I guarantee, that once you
get the knack of it, fresh homemade pasta is better than any you can buy. Like everything you do
yourself it's a bit more time consuming but it's worth the effort. One thing you should have is a pasta
machine. You can roll it out by hand but that's taking the do-it-yourself purist thing too far.
There are manual machines and electrical ones. What you buy will probably depend on your personal
preferences and the amount of money you are willing to spend. If you've got a good kitchen machine
there's probably an attachment for pasta making. The Kenwood people aren't going to be happy about
this but I can't recommend their pasta attachment simply because for my own personal taste, the
noodles are too thick—the Kenwood is great at everything else.
All you need for making your own are eggs, salt and flour. The basic rule is 100 g (a bit less than ½
cup) per serving and one egg per 100 g. Most pasta machines have their own recommendations and
recipes and you should follow these closely at first. Once you get it down there are many variations
you can try: coloring with spinach or tomatoes, combining with different flours such as buckwheat,
etc.
Tagliatelle serves 4
This is for a manual pasta machine or rolling out by hand.
400 g flour
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
or
300g Mehl
1 egg
9 egg yolks
1 tbl olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.
Sift the flour into a mound on a working surface. Make a hole in the middle and drop in the
eggs, add salt and olive oil. Using two knives cut the egg into the flour and then knead into a
firm, pliable ball. You may have to add a bit more flour or water (only a few drops at time).
2.
Cover the ball with a damp towel and let stand for about 30 minutes.—If you are using a pasta
machine follow their instructions—otherwise divide the dough into 4 equal balls, roll up your
sleeves and get the rolling pin—you should have a pasta rolling pin. They are longer and tapered
at the ends.
3.
Taking one portion at a time roll out the dough on a slightly floured surface to a very thin sheet.
Now you can either cut the stripes with a knife (and a ruler) or sprinkle flour on the sheets, roll
them up and then cut. You can cook the pasta immediately or hang up to dry for later use.
back
homemade pasta
If you've never made your own pasta, you should try doing it sometime. I guarantee, that once you
get the knack of it, fresh homemade pasta is better than any you can buy. Like everything you do
yourself it's a bit more time consuming but it's worth the effort. One thing you should have is a pasta
machine. You can roll it out by hand but that's taking the do-it-yourself purist thing too far.
There are manual machines and electrical ones. What you buy will probably depend on your personal
preferences and the amount of money you are willing to spend. If you've got a good kitchen machine
there's probably an attachment for pasta making. The Kenwood people aren't going to be happy about
this but I can't recommend their pasta attachment simply because for my own personal taste, the
noodles are too thick—the Kenwood is great at everything else.
All you need for making your own are eggs, salt and flour. The basic rule is 100 g (a bit less than ½
cup) per serving and one egg per 100 g. Most pasta machines have their own recommendations and
recipes and you should follow these closely at first. Once you get it down there are many variations
you can try: coloring with spinach or tomatoes, combining with different flours such as buckwheat,
etc.
Tagliatelle serves 4
This is for a manual pasta machine or rolling out by hand.
400 g flour
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
or
300g Mehl
1 egg
9 egg yolks
1 tbl olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.
Sift the flour into a mound on a working surface. Make a hole in the middle and drop in the
eggs, add salt and olive oil. Using two knives cut the egg into the flour and then knead into a
firm, pliable ball. You may have to add a bit more flour or water (only a few drops at time).
2.
Cover the ball with a damp towel and let stand for about 30 minutes.—If you are using a pasta
machine follow their instructions—otherwise divide the dough into 4 equal balls, roll up your
sleeves and get the rolling pin—you should have a pasta rolling pin. They are longer and tapered
at the ends.
3.
Taking one portion at a time roll out the dough on a slightly floured surface to a very thin sheet.
Now you can either cut the stripes with a knife (and a ruler) or sprinkle flour on the sheets, roll
them up and then cut. You can cook the pasta immediately or hang up to dry for later use.
back
