Mass-produced boxed pasta is convenient, delicious and cheap.
Once you make your own pasta by hand, however, you’ll have a tough time going back. It’s like comparing in-season garden tomatoes with out of season greenhouse-grown tomatoes. It’s like comparing stereo with mono. It’s like comparing black-and-white TV with color.
Fresh, homemade pasta is really that good.
There are a few other benefits to making pasta from scratch, too: 1) It’s pretty easy to make – even if you don’t have a pasta machine; 2) Kids love to help; and 3) Did I mention how darn yummy it is?
While most recipes will save you money over buying the finished product, it should be noted that making homemade pasta doesn’t really save you money, nor does it cost you money. Rather, it’s an economic wash.
One other thing: before we get to the actual recipe, you might want to bookmark or print this article. Today, we’ll focus on the basic pasta dough recipe and, for the sake of ease, we’ll make spaghetti. In the next couple weeks, we’ll look at variations on the basic recipe and make other types of pasta.
The first ingredient you’ll need is flour. There’s always been some debate on the actual kind of flour to use. Some swear by semolina, others by white, and still others advocate a blend of the two. For our purposes, however, we’ll just use enriched white flour (mainly because most of us already have some).
In addition to flour, the other ingredients you’ll need are: Eggs, Olive Oil, a little water and a pinch of Salt. Really. That’s all. It’s that easy.
Place three level cups of flour in a large mixing bowl and coax it into the shape of a hill. With your index finger, hollow the top out so the flour resembles a volcano.
Now crack an egg into the hollow and collapse the top of the volcano on top of it. Then add two tablespoons of olive oil and begin mixing from the bottom to the top.
You’ll see clumps starting to form as the flour bonds with the oil and egg. Not everything will bond at this point, but it’s a start. Add very little water and continue mixing until you reach a solid, “non-gooey” stage.
It should be noted, also, that if it’s too gooey, add flour; if it’s too dry, add a touch of water.
Once you’ve reached the desired (near bread dough-like) state, sprinkle the top of it and your counter with flour. Some chefs recommend letting the homemade pasta dough rest for an hour or so (covered in plastic wrap), but I haven’t notice any benefit in doing so.
Shape the dough into a log or loaf. Using a butter knife, cut off a section about the thickness of your palm and place the remaining dough to the side.
Sprinkle some more flour on the counter and on both sides of the dough. Roll the dough out using a rolling pin. If the dough begins to stick to the roller, then sprinkle more flour on it. You’re looking to gradually roll it into a specific thickness where you can almost see light through it – about the thickness of five sheets of paper.
Now that you’ve got a large, relatively thin sheet of pasta dough, you’re almost done making your first batch of homemade spaghetti. Heck, if you have a pot of water boiling, you’ll be able to eat your first batch in about five minutes.
Gently roll the edge of the dough closest to you up and forward. You’ll wind up (ideally) with a small roll when you reach the far end.
Use a sharp knife to cut the roll into very thin strips (about the thickness of a quarter). When you’ve cut the roll completely into thin cross sections, you’ve made your first batch of homemade pasta.
Put the spaghetti in a boiling pot of water for five minutes (maximum). When your homemade pasta plumps, it’s done and ready to drain and eat.
Since you have some of your homemade pasta dough left, repeat the process until it’s all cut.
While it’s best to eat it the same day, homemade pasta also freezes very well. For best results, I’ve found laying it flat inside a plastic bag and freezing it flat.
Homemade pasta is delicious, easy and fun to make and…well, did I tell you it’s delicious?
