fresh pasta

for valentine’s day, chris got me this beautiful pasta maker.

oh my goodness was i excited when he gave it to me.  i have wanted a pasta maker for so long.  i originally looked at the kitchen aid attachments but they were just so gosh are expensive.  so i put the idea aside and made pasta by hand.  okay, i only did it once and it was terrible so i never did it again.  but with this amazing contraption, i am finally able to make my own pasta.  yayyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!

chris and i tried out the pasta maker for the first time a few weeks ago and made some fettuccine.  it was divine.  so different from dried pasta you buy at the store.  the texture is so light and delicate and just amazing – i don’t know how to describe it.  we served our fettuccine with a homemade roasted garlic and sausage sauce.  yum.

you know what i was most surprised by?  making fresh pasta isn’t as hard as you may think.  if you have a pasta maker it is really pretty easy.  plus it only calls for 2 ingredients!  yes only 2!  just flour and eggs.

so to make the pasta, just pour the flour on to a clean surface (i used an amazing roul’pat – similar to a silpat but made just for rolling out dough.) and form a well in the middle.  then add the eggs to the well.

then scramble the eggs with a fork.

that’s not scrambled!  this is scrambled.

now slowly start incorporating the flour into the scrambled eggs.

keep going until the flour is mixed in.

it will look like a big ol’ shaggy mess.  don’t worry – it’ll be okay.

knead the dough with your hands and magically it starts to form a cohesive ball.

keep kneading the dough until it’s a smooth ball – about 3 more minutes.  once the ball is “elastic and a little sticky” knead 3 more minutes.

then wrap the ball in plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

now it’s time to make the pasta.  just follow your pasta maker’s instructions and roll out the dough to your desired thickness.  here are some pictures of tammy and i rolling out pasta for our three cheese ravioli (recipe coming soon!)

then you can make any kind of pasta from fettuccine like this (don’t you like our makeshift pasta drying rack?  haha.  i just ordered real one and i can’t wait to use it).

or ravioli like this.

lots more pasta recipes will be coming up.  i know i will be making good use of my pasta maker.  thanks chris!!! <3

Fresh Pasta

adapted very slightly from Mario Batali

Ingredients

• 3 – 3 1/2 cups flour
• 4 extra large eggs

Directions

1. Mound the flour in the center of a large clean surface. Make a well in the middle of the flour, add the eggs.
2. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and begin to incorporate the flour starting with the inner rim of the well. As you incorporate the eggs, keep pushing the flour up to retain the well shape (do not worry if it looks messy). The dough will come together in a shaggy mass when about half of the flour is incorporated.
3. Start kneading the dough with both hands, primarily using the palms of your hands. Add more flour, in 1/4-cup increments, if the dough is too sticky. -  i didn’t need to add anymore flour.  it just depend on how humid or dry the weather is when you’re making this dough.
4. Once the dough is a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up any left over dry bits. Lightly flour the board and continue kneading for 3 more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky.
5. Continue to knead for another 3 minutes, remembering to dust your board with flour when necessary.
6. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes at room temperature.
7. Roll and form as desired.

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Posted by miki on February 23, 2013

http://heymikiheymiki.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/fresh-pasta/