Fresh Pasta

Though fresh pasta might require you to spend a little more time in your kitchen, the effort is so worth it.

It is  very satisfying to eat a plate of pasta that you've created from scratch. Yes, perhaps store bought is cheaper, and alot faster, but this really is a labor of love. The tricky part, can be the pasta machine itself, but be patient, once you get the hang of it, things will go smoothly. If you don't have a pasta machine, the dough can be rolled out, and then cut free-style, makes for less clean up too.

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil


Directions
Put the flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor.
Pulse a couple of times to combine.
Add the eggs and olive oil to the food processor and turn on, letting run for about 30 seconds until the dough comes together around the blades.
If it is dry and pebbly looking, add one tsp of water at a time and pulse.
If it is wet and sticking to the sides of the bowl, add flour a tsp at a time and pulse until the desired consistency is met.
You want the dough to be a little bit stiff, but easy to form into a smooth shape.
Knead 5-10 times on surface lightly coated with flour used in dough.
Cover with damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes.


*If you have a pasta machine, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for rolling and cutting

Cut into manageable pieces to fit into pasta machine.
Flour pieces as needed, if dough is to sticky it will not go through pasta machine smoothly.
Run 3 time through larger slot size, then once through decreasing sizes progressively until desired thickness.
Run through pasta cutter of choice then let dry, I lay noodles across a clean broom handle, that I use for this purpose only, placed in between two chairs.
Store dried pasta in sealed plastic bags or containers.
Cook as needed. Fresh pasta noodles need very little time to cook as compared to store bought pasta noodles. Fresh pasta needs only a minute or two!


*If rolling the dough by hand, use a pasta rolling pin and roll it very thin. Cut into desired  pasta shape.


xo, Diana