Pasta takes a bit of effort but is worthwhile. The taste of homemade pasta over the store-bought dried version doesn't compare. It's satisfying watching eggs and flour turn into a glorious meal you've made from scratch.
Grab a tray of fresh free-range eggs, some Italian "00" flour (milled and finely ground
for pasta making and available from Farro Fresh), and a bit of salt. Three simple ingredients, a bit of kneading, and then the fun bit: winding it through a pasta machine. Hang it on an indoor clothes rack and then boil it. Simple.
Italian "00" flour and high-grade flour are low in protein, starch, and gluten, making them soft so are therefore best used for pasta, pizza, and cakes.
The general rule is 100g of flour to one large egg.
Ingredients
| 400 g | Flour, '00' (Main) |
| 4 large | Eggs (Main) |
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Directions
- Place flour on your bench or on a board in a pile. Make a small well in the centre and crack the eggs into it. Beat them gently with a fork then, using your fingertips, gradually work the flour into the eggs to make a soft dough.
- Once the dough has formed into a ball, continue kneading for a few minutes until it is a smooth ball. Wrap in kitchen wrap and refrigerate for about half an hour, or until you're ready to roll.
- To roll: clamp your pasta machine firmly to a solid surface (your bench, for example) and set to the widest setting. Dust some flour over the bench surface and break off a piece of dough about the size of a tennis ball. Roll it out a bit with your hands, then flatten into a piece about 1cm-thick.
- Lightly dust with a little flour and roll through the machine. Carefully catch it with your hand. Reduce the machine down a setting, then roll through again. Fold the dough in half, and roll through again.
- Continue reducing the setting on the machine and rolling the dough through. Continue dusting with flour if you need. Once you've rolled it through each setting, you should have a sheet of silky smooth pasta.
- For fettucine (pictured) roll through the machine setting which will cut it into strips. Roll them through and catch them carefully.
- To cook the pasta immediately, bring a large pot of water to boil with a teaspoon of salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes until al dente and serve immediately.
- To dry the pasta to use later, lay it in strips over a clothes rack and air until dry and brittle. Store in an airtight container for a few weeks.
