You have filled the house with the wonderful aromas of garlic, tomatoes, herbs simmering away. Anticipation builds as you plan your dinner and dream about that luscious saucy, cheesy goodness and then you realize...... you have no spaghetti in the cupboard! Disaster? End of the world? Not if you know how to make fresh pasta!
A generation or two ago, every mom and grandmother made homemade noodles and pasta. How I love that dumpling-like texture of homemade pasta. Before I ever owned a pasta machine or stand mixer I learned to make pasta dough with eggs, flour and a fork on the kitchen counter- the hard way. Rolling it out with a rolling pin to the perfect thickness was quite a workout!
Besides being FRESH you are once again in charge of what's going in your food! No preservatives, no chemicals. Whatever flour you like, herbs, flavorings, all kinds of variations- it's totally customizable. So let's make The Chef's fresh pasta.
You will need:
eggs
flour
olive oil
salt
Depending on the amount of pasta you want, use one egg, one cup of flour, 1 tb olive oil and a pinch of salt for 2 servings. The Chef used 6 eggs and about 6 cups of flour. Beat the eggs, add the oil and salt, then gradually add the flour until you have a smooth, elastic dough that is not sticky.
Using additional flour, roll out to desired thickness using either a rolling pin, or a pasta machine. Cut into desired shape and length. Cook immediately, or hang to dry.
Fresh pasta cooks A LOT faster than commercially made pasta. If you cook it immediately you can expect it to be done in 3-5 minutes, maybe a minute or so longer if dried, and depending on thickness. The fun thing about using a pasta machine is the different kinds of pasta you can make with just the turn of a crank- fettuccine, spaghetti, linguine, even lasagna sheets. Homemade ravioli and tortellini are a breeze if you moisten the pasta sheet around the filling and seal it well.
Make your favorite sauce, ours was marinara sauce with mushrooms and no meat, and serve!
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