No dish is more quintessentially Italian than homemade pasta. It can be long, short, filled or cut small to use in soup. There are also pastas that use a variety of whole grain flours, water instead of eggs, or hot water and butter instead of eggs. Despite innumerable variations, this classic homemade pasta recipe is perfect as the basis for almost any pasta dish.
You may want to also take a look at this detailed description, with lots of step-by-step pictures, of what pasta dough looks like as you're making it.
Homemade Pasta Recipe
Serves 4-6
This homemade pasta recipe is perfect for as many people as you wish. Remember to use 100 grams (3 ½ ounces) of flour and 1 large egg per person. You will also need extra flour to keep your work surface, rolling pin and hands floured. Note that fresh, homemade pasta is wonderful cooked immediately, dried or frozen.
Ingredients
All purpose or 00 flour, 230 grams (8 ounces)
Semolina flour, 170 grams (6 ounces)
If you're unable to locate semolina flour then use only all purpose or 00 flour.
4 eggs
Special equipment and ingredients
Pasta machine
Pasta rolling pin
Semolina pasta flour
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Instructions
Place the flour on your work surface.
Next make a large well in the flour and put your eggs in the well.
Whisk the eggs with a fork and then gradually incorporate the flour into the eggs.
When the dough is too stiff to work comfortably with a fork, work in the rest of the flour with your hands.
Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.
Form the dough into a ball, cover and allow to rest, for about a half hour.
Divide the dough into four pieces.
Work with one piece at a time and keep the other pieces covered.
Use your hands to roll each piece to about 10 centimeters by 25 centimeters (4 by 10 inches).
Pass the dough through the homemade pasta machine at the widest setting.
Fold the dough over and pass through the widest setting again, repeatedly, until it's smooth and silky, with smooth edges.
Reduce the width setting and pass the dough through the pasta machine again.
Continue to reduce the width setting until the pasta sheet has reached the desired thickness.
You can now use the pasta sheet to make lasagna, filled pasta or cut the sheets into any shape you'd like.
Fettuccine
Garganelli
Ravioli
Once you have cut the pasta into its desired shape put it on a lightly floured dishtowel to rest until you are ready to cook it.
You can also roll out the homemade pasta by hand using a rolling pin instead of a pasta machine.
Roll out the dough, and rotate it constantly: turn 90 degrees and then flip it it over.
Make sure your work surface, hands, and rolling pin are always lightly floured.
Continue this process until you have a pasta sheet of the desired thickness, about 1 millimeter or less.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces All purpose or 00 flour 230 grams
- 6 ounces Semolina flour (If you're unable to locate semolina flour then use all purpose or 00 flour) 170 grams
- 4 large eggs
Instructions
- Place the flour on your work surface.
- Make a large well in the flour and put your eggs in the well.
- Whisk the eggs with a fork and then gradually incorporate the flour into the eggs.
- When the dough is too stiff to work comfortably with a fork, work in the rest of the flour with your hands.
- Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.
- Form the dough into a ball, cover and allow to rest, for bout a half hour.
- Divide the dough into four pieces.
- Work with one piece at a time and keep the other pieces covered.
- Use your hands to roll each piece to about 10 centimeters by 25 centimeters (4 by 10 inches).
- Pass the dough through the homemade pasta machine at the widest setting.
- Fold the dough over and pass through the widest setting again, repeatedly, until it's smooth and silky, with smooth edges.
- Reduce the width setting and pass the dough through the pasta machine again.
- Continue to reduce the width setting until the pasta sheet has reached the desired thickness.
- You can now use the pasta sheet to make lasagna, filled pasta or cut the sheets into spaghetti or fettuccine.
- Once you have cut the pasta into its desired shape put it on a lightly floured dishtowel to rest until you are ready to cook it.
- You can also roll out the homemade pasta by hand using a rolling pin instead of a pasta machine.
- Roll out the dough, and rotate it constantly: turn 90 degrees and then flip it it over.
- Make sure your work surface, hands, and rolling pin are always lightly floured.
- Continue this process until you have a pasta sheet of the desired thickness, about 1 millimeter or less.
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