Recipe Thursday - Part 1 - Homemade Pasta

I do not profess to be an expert here. I never ever made homemade pasta until I married my husband who is Italian. Here is a basic pasta recipe his grandmother handed down to me:

I use a KitchenAid Mixer - the heavy duty one. Using the dough hook, I throw 4 cups of all purpose flour in the bowl. I slowly add 4 slightly beaten eggs and 1 tablespoon of virgin olive oil. I keep the mixer kneading the dough until it forms a ball, constantly scraping the sides. You need the dough slightly wet but not sticky, so you either add another egg or more flour until you get the right consistency which is smooth-textured, very firm, and a little dry. The dough should be able to stick to itself, but not to nothing else. I let it knead for a few minutes, then let it rest for 15. In the meantime I get the pasta roller out (I just got the KitchenAid attachment one for Christmas but haven't used it yet). I set up the dowel rod pasta dryer holder if making noodles and very lightly flour my granite countertop if making lasagna noodles or sheets for ravioli or if just letting the sheet dry a bit before making noodles.

Covering the rest of the dough with a wet paper towel over the bowl, I take a small piece of dough and run it through the pasta machine at a setting of 1. I do this several times, each time folding the dough into thirds, adding flour as needed. Now depending on what type of thickness you want, I dial down the pasta machine, dialing it down one at a time while running the pasta sheet through. I think my machine goes to 7 but I have never used that level. I usually only go to level 6. Lay the pasta down on the counter for 15 minutes or so before cutting it or running it through the roller for noodles. I usually start the next roll so I have several rolls on the counter. Be careful and not try to roll too large of a wad of dough as it gets way too hard to handle.

For noodles: I pick up the sheet and run it through the machine then hang the noodles on the drying rod. I let them dry thoroughly before cooking them. The width of the noodle will depend on which attachment you use (my hand crank pasta machine is from Italy and has 5 different widths I can use so I can make 1" wide noodles or angel hair. A hint if making angel hair - let it dry 15 minutes then flip the dough over and dry that side for 15 otherwise the pasta will get stuck in the machine. Make sure both sides are floured but not too dry to crack. I then hang the pasta on a drying rack like the one below:

For ravioli: I pick up the sheet and turn it over on the counter so the floured side is down and stickier side is now up. I put whatever filling I use into the dead center of each square (I mentally plot it out for a 2 inch square so I put the filling dead center of that 2 inches, then take another sheet and place it right on top of the other sheet (so the sticky sides are together). I use the ravioli hand cutter and cut between the filling, making approximately 2 inch squares. The ravioli hand cutter I use also seals the edges which is nice. I used to have to seal with my fingers then would use a pizza cutter to do the squares.

For lasagna noodles: I just use the sheets as is. I do a layer of lasagna at a time (2-3 sheets then the filling, etc).

Now my mother usually added salt to her noodles and used milk in place of the oil. I tend not to add salt only because I add salt only when I need to - and usually to the sauce.