Fresh Pasta Easy Recipe with @baldchefnick
The simplest things are the most beautiful and pasta is and should always be a simple, beautiful thing. If you get your quantities right and follow a few easy steps, you will be in pasta heaven and always make your own in the future. This is the easiest fresh pasta recipe ever.
Ok so yes, you can make pasta with a rolling pin but that can take years of practice to achieve what you get from a pasta machine straight away. Buy one it’s an investment for the whole family and your friends not just you!
You should be able to pick up a descent quality machine such as the Imperia Pasta Machine J408 for just under £50 but shop around.
Serves 4
Prep Time 30 min plus 30 mins in fridge
Cooking time 3 minutes for tagliatelle
You will need:
Pasta Machine
Kitchen Knife
Heavy Based Saucepan
Rolling Pin
Ingredients for the pasta dough:
2 x XL Eggs or Duck Eggs
150g 00 Flour
50g Durham Semolina
For the Pasta Cooking:
A large heavy base saucepan 2/3 full boiling water
Olive Oil 1tbs
Sea Salt 1tsp
Honestly, I get excited at the thought of doing this! You can make it in a bowl, straight on your work surface – or if you have a need to then a food processor will work too.
I make mine either on a cold stone work surface or in a large bowl. This method is in a bowl but is the same for the work surface.
Method:
1. Mix the dry ingredients together and add the two extra large eggs. Dive in with your hands to mix the egg with the flour and semolina or use a plastic bread scraper if you don’t like getting down and sticky.
2. You will soon have a beautiful ball of pasta dough, a little sticky maybe but place it onto the worksurface or board if not already there with some scattered 00 flour and start to knead. Two minutes, five or twenty minutes the knead is yours and you choose.
3. Then roll it into a ball, cover with cling film and place in fridge for 30 mins. It can stay in the fridge for up to 3 days but the idea here is to make it fresh the same day if possible.
4. Work surface or table, mount your pasta machine so as to give you a good 3ft plus from the side that dispenses the thinning dough and scatter semolina all over your surface.
5. Remove dough from fridge and take off cling film, cut in half then roll into two balls. Flatten your balls(!) and roll out with your rolling pin so it can easily go through your pasta machine.
6. Widest setting on your machine and roll it through. Crank it like a bad boy, steadily hold the dough and supporting it as it goes through. Check out my you tube video showing this.
7. Every time you roll your pasta through your pasta machine, reduce your setting by one notch until you reach your desired pasta thickness. I take mine down as thin as possible for tagliatelle.
8. It is quite possible to have a long stretched out pasta sheet of over 6ft, don’t panic you can cut it to a manageable length or just have fun with it!
9. Sprinkle your semolina all over the work surface and pasta sheet as it is being flattened to stop it sticking together and for ease when passing thru the pasta machine.
10. Fold and roll it into short fat pasta sausages but be light, be gentle and yup sprinkle your semolina on all of it! Again, see my video as above.
11. Once you have your pasta in lightly rolled sausage shapes take a kitchen knife and roll cut your tagliatelle. Don’t worry about even cuts, but between 1 and 3ml is good. If it gets too wide it’s pappardelle and tastes just as great.
12. This is my favourite bit when all the pasta is cut and knife out of reach, lightly run your fingers through the pasta, lifting and separating it. If you used enough semolina (and see tip below ‘rolling your knife cuts’), then It should not stick together.
13. Set up your ¾ full pan with boiling water and put the olive oil and salt in it.
14. Shake off excess semolina and place pasta into the pan of boiling water, olive oil and salt.
15. If it’s thin as suggested then two/three mins max should cook it easily but taste it and when its firm but edible and delicious, its ready.
16. Put in a colander and run hot water through it, shake off water and then serve with your desired sauce or accompaniment. Tomato, butter and herb, ragu, whatever takes your fancy. Never buy shop bought pasta again!
Enjoy!
@baldchefnicks tips ‘n’ tricks
Don’t worry about using loads of semolina it can be used again so brush it back into your bag or container.
If you use eggs that are too small then add a little water because your pasta will be too stiff to easily knead and that’s not fun! Use XL eggs or duck eggs.
Rolling your knife. Imagine your knife blade is rolling up a pasta hill and slowly cutting down through it. This is done to avoid sealing the loose rolled leaves of pasta together by cutting straight down.
You can freeze the pasta but then it’s not fresh, is it? But that’s your choice and an option.
Always buy the best you can afford whether it a pasta machine or your ingredients, it’s worth it.
Don’t tug your pasta as you roll it, it will find its own pace as it comes out of the machine and you simply guide it and support it.
Most importantly relax and just enjoy doing this fabulous cooking experience because you will make the best fresh pasta you have ever tasted.
