Making Fresh Pasta...


Ok this might sound like a lot of effort but its a great way to spend time in kitchen, you have complete control on the quality of ingredients and most people will be more than impressed when they see you doing it.




First step is the dough. You need to find and buy type 00 flour and fine semolina. I buy a few kilos at a time so I don't have to go looking in shops. Its not in every supermarket but they can be bought in specialist food shops and deli's. They only other ingredients are eggs I use free range organic ones from my mother in laws hens (thanks Molly!!!) because they are far better than any supermarket ones but any eggs are fine.

To make the dough I try to keep it simple so for every 2 people 150 grams of type 00 flour and 50 grams of fine semolina then bind with 2 eggs... that's all ... no salt nothing. This gives 2 very large portions

you need to bind these together with your hands until all the flour in absorbed then knead for 5-10 minutes the. It will eventually become a ball of smooth dough so don't worry when its lumpy and dry at start it will all be fine after a lot of kneading. Wrap it in fridge in cling film and leave it for at least half an hour but if you can an hour.

I use this time to get a bit of fresh tomato together sauce in a pan than have a coffee.

The next step is to roll out the pasta either with  rolling pin or a pasta machine. I use a machine but don't let that be an excuse just roll it as thin as you can then slice it about quarter of an inch thick to make Tagliatelle. If you have a pasta machine just follow the instructions they cost less than €30 so not that big an investment.

Finally the golden rule for cooking pasta is about a litre of water per every 100 grams of pasta so for 2 people a large pot with 2 and a half litres of water it it on a very high boil. Add a large teaspoon of salt but don't add oil. A lot of recipes dictate adding oil to the water to stop it sticking together but this just makes pasta oily when cooked. The best way to stop pasta clumping is to just stir regularly for first minute of cooking

Boil your pasta for 2 to 5 minutes until its cooked to your liking then strain into the sauce (I always put a few teaspoons of pasta water into the sauce also). Toss it altogether then serve with a generous grating of parmesan.

A fresh made dough will keep for a week so make the dough ahead of time if you wish so that way you can have a restaurant quality pasta dish in minutes when you come in from work...