Homemade Pasta

     Unless you've been living under a rock lately, you know that there is one heck of a snow storm hitting New England right now. We are all snowed in. That makes today the perfect day for crockpots, fresh baked goods, and, for us, homemade pasta. Fresh pasta is one of my all time favorite things in the whole world. We make almost all of our own pasta, from lasagna sheets, to ravioli, to spaghetti, linguine and anything else you can think of.

     I know it sounds daunting, and it can be a bit intimidating, but it's actually quite simple. The first thing I'll point out is that we have a pasta "maker", a machine that helps roll the dough very thin. This is one of those kitchen tools that is not necessary but absolutely worth it. We made pasta for years with nothing but our hands, a rolling pin (sometimes it was a wine bottle) and a knife. However, the luxury of the machine is really wonderful. The other thing I'll mention is that we specifically use pasta flour. Regular wheat or unbleached flour can be used as well, I just find that we get better results when we use the pasta flour. The price is pretty comparable to that of regular flour and it can usually be found in the very same aisle. If it's not with the baking goods check out the "ethnic aisles", you may find it there. I buy ours at Micucci's, the local downtown Italian foods market. There I can buy it in bulk and at an amazing price. They also have a fantastic selection of Italian imports and spices!

     The recipe that I will use here will feed 4-6 people. After it dries and is ready to be cooked to eat, remember that it will cook EXTREMELY fast- much faster than store bought pasta. This pasta will have maybe a 2-3 minute cook time. Be careful, it is very easy to over cook fresh pasta!

Ingredients

1 cup pasta flour

1 cup water

2 tablespoons olive oil

pinch of salt

Step 1: Make a well with your flour and salt.

Step 2: Slowly add the water and oil to the well and mix quickly with a fork. The dough will be sticky and moldable when fully mixed. This may use less or more of the water than is called for, use your judgement and go slowly.

Step 3: Form into a ball. Cover with a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes.

Step 4: Cut ball into 3 equal parts and form into 3 balls. Cover and let stand for 25 minutes.

           

Step 5: Using a pasta machine or a rolling pin, roll the balls out into 3 long, very thin sheets of pasta.With a machine this may take 3-4 passes. Use flour to keep your hands, tools and surface dry and easy to use.

Step 6: Cut the long strips into "spaghetti length" sheets and feed them through the cutting attachment on the machine. If you don't have a machine, or it doesn't have a cutting attachment, take a sharp knife and cut thin strips length wise.

               

                                           

Step 7: Hang the cut pieces to dry, either on a drying rack or over baking cooling racks. Let the pasta dry for a minimum of 1 hour prior to cooking.

     After the pasta is dried it can be stored in an air tight container and used for roughly a week. We usually only make enough for one meal at a time. The cost is almost nothing, maybe 20 cents a batch, including the oil. The only trick is planning in advance so the pasta has ample time to dry. Otherwise it couldn't be more simple.

Mangia, mangia!

Simple City Sam