In honor of #NationalPastaDay🍝🍝🍝 I decided to step a bit out of my comfort zone!
I’ve always wanted to try and make pasta by hand, but honestly I’ve always been too intimidated. I’ve added the kitchen aide pasta attachment piece to my cart several times and always talk my self out of it. I have a tendency to buy kitchen gadgets and use them once, maybe twice and then forget about it. And to be honest, I always thought of it as “baking”. I know it’s not but there’s flour and eggs and perfect measurements….NOT. MY. THING. I like to throw a little of this, a lot of that, and tweak as needed. So when I came across a “pasta by hand“ no machine needed recipe by chef @UrsulaFerrigno, I became inspired! This is also something I can make and teach my boys. My youngest says he wants to be a chef👨🏻🍳 when he grows up! I’m hoping to be his taste tester 😋 one day. So I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised at how easy and delicious this homemade pasta dish was! My son also had a blast making this with me. If you’re like me and love to make food from scratch, try this recipe. There was such a sense of satisfaction cooking outside of my comfort zone. Ingredients:
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1/2 C “00” flour (00 flour is the gold standard for Italian cooking, especially thin-crust pizzas and homemade pasta. It all has to do with texture. According to Serious Eats, the 00 designation is a reference to how finely the flour is milled, and this is the finest stuff you can get)
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1/2 C semolina flour, plus more for dusting
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2 eggs
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1 teaspoon of good olive oil, plus more for serving. I used Evoo
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freshly grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper for serving
Instructions:
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Mix together the flours on a flat surface and make a well in the center. Crack both eggs into the middle and add the oil.
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Using a fork, whisk together the eggs until light and fluffy. Gradually begin incorporating the flours into the center until you feel like you can bring together a nice dough.
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Using the fleshy part of your palms, begin kneading the pasta dough until the pasta dough is smooth and silky. Flatten the pasta into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
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After the dough has refrigerated, cut the dough in half and shape into a ball. Begin rolling out the dough with a long rolling pin, shaping in the sides as you roll to make a nice long oval shape. If you don’t already have a great roller, here’s one I love!
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Continue rolling the dough until the dough is thin enough for you to see the outline of your hand through it. Fold the ends of the dough into the middle, then fold the folded ends in again toward the middle again. Do that one more time.
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Trim the edges of the folded pasta, then begin cutting thin strips. Weave your knife through the folds of the pasta, shaking the knife to loosen the pasta threads. Don’t use the sharp side!
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Boil the pasta in heavily salted water for around 3-5 minutes until al-dente.
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Serve with grated Parmesan, salt, pepper and more drizzles of olive oil, or your favorite pasta sauce. This pasta can also be paired with a heartier sauce, Tomato Sauce or Ragu.Bueno Appetito!! Mangia Mangia!!
