Homemade Pasta from Scratch
As you all know, I performed a cooking demo in front of other students last week for my Culinary Arts Student Union club (CASU), showing them how to make homemade pasta from scratch. But I never got to give all of you the details as to how YOU can do it too! So I decided I would take today to do exactly that.
You can make this delicious, better-than-you-would-get-at-an-italian-restaurant, pasta yourself!
It is SO simple. You really only need three ingredients for the pasta itself, and NO special machinery. Just a simple roller, and knife to cut the dough with.
Ready to get your Italian-chef on?
First step: (If not wanting to do it the true Italian way, you can simply mix all these things in a bowl for less of a mess!) Take two cups of flour and put on counter, making a volcano type shape so you have a “pit” that will hold your eggs. Crack two eggs into the “pit” of flour, add a touch of olive oil, and begin to slowly beat it all together. Incorporating the flour little by little from the sides, without breaking the barrier completely so that the liquid does not run out. As it gets thicker and more “dough-like”, you won’t have to be careful anymore, and can incorporate the rest of the flour until a ball forms.
Step 2: Knead dough by folding it over on itself, and then pressing in with the heels of your hand. Repeat until the dough is pliable and has been thoroughly kneaded.
Step 3: Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until desired pasta thickness.
Step 4: Roll the flattened dough up into a log shape. Then, cut the log width-wise into your favorite pastas length! I liked to cut mine about 1/2 inch slices.
Step 5: Unravel the cut up pieces from the “log.” Prepare boiling water on stove with a touch of salt.
Step 6: Place pieces of dough into boiling water, and cook until done!
Step 7: Prepare any toppings you would like, such as these veggies which we cut up and sauteed in a pan.
Step 8: Serve veggies over freshly cooked pasta, top with any cheese or sauce you may want. We drizzled olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and topped with veggies and shredded Parmesan cheese! Mix and allow all the flavors to combine and the cheese to slightly melt. Enjoy!
I hope you all will give this a try!
It is so much fun to do, and it’s a delicious, easy, and healthy meal!