How to make fresh pasta

Making Fresh Pasta

Recipe by Alex Palermo

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1 pound four

3 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks

pinch of salt

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Making the dough:

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Sift the flour into a bowl and then pour it out into a mound onto a large work surface.  Make a well in the middle, sprinkle the salt into the well and then crack in the eggs.

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With your hands or a fork, break up the egg yolk and then start gradually incorporating the flour until you have worked in enough to form a ball.  Start to knead and work the ball of dough by pushing it with the heel of your hand, folding the dough back on itself (like a book), and then pushing it back in on itself.  You want a dough that is springy but still feels firm and difficult to work.

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Cut the dough into 4 balls with your bench scraper or a floured knife.  Wrap each ball in a damp tea towel and allow to rest.

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Rolling the pasta with a machine:

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Start by rolling out the first ball with a rolling pin until it is about 1/4″ thick.  If it is too thick, the machine will struggle and extra moisture will be forced out.

Set the machine to the thickest setting, then feed the flattened ball of pasta through the machine.  Fold this in half and run through the machine again.  Repeat this process 2-3 times.

Fold the pasta strip back on itself, like a book, put the machine back on the first setting and run the pasta through again.  Repeat 3-4 more times, just as in step 2.  The pasta will begin to take on a sheen.  As it begins to get longer, pull it very gently, so that it doesn’t begin to crimp.

Almost done! Now, fold the pasta back on itself one last time, put the machine back on the first setting and take the pasta back through the machine reducing the settings until the pasta is see through, meaning, if you lay the pasta over a newspaper, you should be able to read it.

The pasta should be shiny and pretty, no lines should be visible.  It is now ready to cut into strips!  You can do this by hand, or with a cutting attachment on your machine.  It is best to use each sheet (whether for filled pasta or cut noodles) as soon as it is ready, before beginning to roll out the rest of your dough.

Cuts:

Recipe by Alex Palermo

Photos by Amy Sheridan

.

1 pound four

3 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks

pinch of salt

.

Making the dough:

.

Sift the flour into a bowl and then pour it out into a mound onto a large work surface.  Make a well in the middle, sprinkle the salt into the well and then crack in the eggs.

With your hands or a fork, break up the egg yolk and then start gradually incorporating the flour until you have worked in enough to form a ball.  Start to knead and work the ball of dough by pushing it with the heel of your hand, folding the dough back on itself (like a book), and then pushing it back in on itself.  You want a dough that is springy but still feels firm and difficult to work.

Cut the dough into 4 balls with your bench scraper or a floured knife.  Wrap each ball in a damp tea towel and allow to rest.

.

Start by rolling out the first ball with a rolling pin until it is about 1/4″ thick.  If it is too thick, the machine will struggle and extra moisture will be forced out.

Set the machine to the thickest setting, then feed the flattened ball of pasta through the machine.  Fold this in half and run through the machine again.  Repeat this process 2-3 times.

Fold the pasta strip back on itself, like a book, put the machine back on the first setting and run the pasta through again.  Repeat 3-4 more times.  The pasta will begin to take on a sheen.  As it begins to get longer, pull it very gently, so that it doesn’t begin to crimp.

Almost done! Now, fold the pasta back on itself one last time, put the machine back on the first setting and take the pasta back through the machine reducing the settings until the pasta is see through, meaning, if you lay the pasta over a newspaper, you should be able to read it.

The pasta should be shiny and pretty, no lines should be visible.  It is now ready to cut into strips!  You can do this by hand, or with a cutting attachment on your machine.  It is best to use each sheet (whether for filled pasta or cut noodles) as soon as it is ready, before beginning to roll out the rest of your dough.

On a lightly floured surface, cut your rolled out pasta strip into three equal pieces.  Roll each pice up like a cigar and, with a sharp knife, cut into noodles.

For pappardelle, cut the pasta into 1 inch pieces.

For linguine, cut the pasta into 1 centimeter pieces.

For fettuccine, cut the pasta into 1/2 into pieces.

Lucky for you Maltagliati is a by product of pasta making, it is the scraps and pieces left over from pasta and ravioli making!