To make fresh homemade pasta it only takes 2 ingredients. No fancy tools and special ingredients.
In just a few minutes you can turn eggs and flour into delicious homemade pasta you can use to make Italian favourites like Caprese pasta or delicious garlic butter shrimp pasta.
Why let the dough rest?
The resting time allows the flour to fully hydrate. Something also achieved by breaking your back kneading it. No need for that.
By letting the dough rest the flour will hydrate properly without the need to knead it.
Instructions
Place 150 grams of flour, 1 large egg(50 grams) into a bowl.
Important note
We do not add salt to the dough as salts strengthen the gluten and that would mean we will have a difficult time rolling it out later.
The salt gets added to the cooking liquid. Which in turn seasons the pasta as it cooks.
Bring together the ingredients making sure the flour has taken up the moisture.
Form a rough dough ball and wrap it up to rest and fully hydrate for an hour.
When hydrated and well-rested. Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out a bit and then cut it into two manageable pieces.
Cutting the dough into smaller pieces makes it easier to roll out.
Next, we will start rolling and stretching the dough.
This rolling and stretching action structures the dough up and gives it that lovely velvety smooth texture.
As your roll keep the dough tight with your other hand. Fold it back on itself and then press it down with your fingers as seen below.
Repeat the rolling and stretching step until the pasta is nice, thin and almost see-through.
Once your pasta is rolled out nice and thin, it's time to cut it.
At this point, you could roll it up and then cut it into tagliatelle, pappardelle, or linguini.
I prefer a more rustic uneven look and like just laying out the sheets of pasta and cutting into 1,5 cm strips.
Dust the cut pasta dough generously with flour until you are ready to cook it.
Troubleshooting
Because different flours absorb different levels of moisture, you might find the pasta dough to be a bit dry. Do not worry.
Just add a small touch of water. I have already included a touch of water for you in this recipe. So you should not have any problems.
Please take note though that pasta dough is a very solid dough and should be just hydrated and not wet. If it’s too wet the resulting pasta becomes chewy and soft.
Not what we are after.
We want a nice smooth silky pasta dough with a velvety texture.
How to cook it
Bring a pot of water to a boil and add 1,5% salt to the volume of water. This ratio is perfect for seasoning the pasta as well as the water.
Which we will need in order to make a quick and simple pasta sauce.
We will use the pasta cooking water to make a quick pan emulsion with some butter or olive oil or both.
Once the water is boiling put the pasta in. Boil on a not too vigorous boil for 2-3 minutes.
While the pasta is cooking. Set a colander over the sink in order to drain the pasta.
Keep in mind that you need to save about 200g or millilitres of the pasta cooking water.
Test your pasta for doneness. Not by throwing it to the ceiling and seeing if it sticks, but by tasting it.
Give it a bite after 1,5 minutes and decide how much longer you would want to cook it.
Not all people like al dente pasta and most of the time this level of doneness varies from person to person.
For example. I like pasta that is cooked so that it does not have a noticeable bite to eat but also not too soft so the texture is mushy. Kind of in the golden zone. Not too hard. Not too soft.
When you are happy with the doneness of your pasta, strain it and keep back the 200g cooking water. In a pan, melt some butter and olive oil. 25g each.
Next, add 100g of the cooking water and boil to emulsify. Add the pasta to the emulsion. Toss and you’re done.
You can have it as-is or add a bit of grated parmesan or shaved truffle if you feeling fancy.
If you like a chilli kick. Add some chopped chilli to the butter and olive oil at the start.
I like mine with a bit of garlic, chopped parsley, grating of Parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.
These are the simplest ways to enjoy freshly make homemade pasta, but they are the greatest.
Possible pasta shapes
Anything that does not require a pasta extruder. Below is a list of possible options.
- Farfalle
- Tagliatelle
- Pappardelle
- Tagliarini
- Lasagna sheets
- Ravioli
- Tortellini
- Linguini
- Orecchiette
Serving suggestions
My favourite pasta of all time with sweet fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and parsley.
Once you cooked your pasta try it with this creamed spinach for a super tasty vegetarian meal. Simply cooked like mentioned above with this crispy seared salmon fillet.
Use up the leftovers from this roasted leg of lamb. Mix through some freshly cooked pasta and finish with some chopped parsley.
Frequently asked questions
Once made it can be stored in the fridge uncooked for up to 24 hours. Make sure it's well floured and sealed airtight. If the dough is too wet it will stick and be unusable.
Once cooked you can chill it down by running under cold water and tossing in olive oil to prevent it from sticking. Once cool and coated in olive oil it can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days or frozen for longer storage.
Once your desired shapes are made simply hang over a wooden rod or spread on a fine well-floured wire rack to dry out at room temperature until done. You could also do this in a dehydrator. Once completely dry it can be stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place.
Fresh pasta dough can be frozen wrapped up airtight for up to 6 months without adverse effects. It can be frozen as a raw piece of pasta dough or already shaped. Once cooked it can also be frozen. Take note that shaped and rolled out pasta will be very brittle when frozen and can break easily.
Homemade Pasta
Ingredients
- 150 g (1 ⅕ cups) flour
- 1 (1 ) egg
- 15 g (1 tablespoon) water - optional in case the dough is too stiff
Instructions
- Place 150 grams of flour, 1 large egg(50 grams) into a bowl.
- Bring together the ingredients making sure the flour has taken up the moisture.
- Form a rough dough ball and wrap it up to rest and fully hydrate for an hour.
- When hydrated and well rested. Place the dough onto a slightly floured surface. Roll it out a bit and then cut it into two manageable pieces.
- Next, we will start rolling and stretching the dough.
- This rolling and stretching action structures the dough up and gives it that lovely velvety smooth texture.
- As your roll keep the dough tight with your other hand. Fold it back on itself and then press it down with your fingers as seen below.
- Repeat the rolling and stretching step until the pasta is nice, thin and almost see-through.
- Once your homemade pasta is rolled out nice and thin, it's time to cut it.
- At this point, you could roll it up and then cut it into tagliatelle, pappardelle, or linguini.
- I prefer a more rustic uneven look and like just laying out the sheets of pasta and cutting into 1,5 cm strips.
- Dust the cut pasta dough generously with flour until you are ready to cook it.
Notes
- We do not add salt to the dough as salts strengthen the gluten and that would mean we will have a difficult time rolling it out later. The salt gets added to the cooking liquid. Which in turn seasons the pasta as it cooks.
- Once rolled out, the pasta can be dried or frozen for longer storage.
- Once cooked it can be kept in the fridge sealed airtight for up to 3 days or for up to 3 months in the freezer. For best results cook and consume as soon as you make it.
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