Pasta: it’s a true love affair of mine, especially the fusion kind. And, while I’m definitely not adverse to using store-bought, there’s something special about making your own fresh pasta from scratch. This is my go-to homemade recipe that’s always served me well, where I tend to favour a ratio of 1 egg per 100g of flour. Give it a whirl when you have some time up your sleeve and taste the difference.
WATCH THIS RECIPE
Fresh Pasta From Scratch
PREP TIME
1 hour
COOK TIME
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SERVES
Makes roughly 700g (1 lb 8 oz)
Ingredients
500g (1 lb) ‘00’ or ‘pasta’ flour
5 eggs
Steps
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Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Crack the eggs into the well. Using a fork, whisk the eggs while slowly incorporating the flour. Keep mixing until the mixture is in large clumps… at this point, your fork will become useless, so set it aside. Tip the contents of the bowl out onto a floured bench, then use your hands to knead and smoosh until it forms a dough. Keep kneading for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and plasticine-like, then shape it into a disc. If it feels too dry, add 1 teaspoon of water while kneading.
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Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, then pop it in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
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Remove the dough from the fridge and use a knife to divide it into six portions. Working with one ball of dough at a time (use the plastic wrap to cover up the remaining dough balls so they don’t dry out), pass a ball of dough through the widest setting of a pasta machine. Fold the flattened piece in half, then pass through the same setting again. Repeat this 4 times. The fancy name for this process is called ‘laminating’ the dough. Not only does it help with gluten formation, but it also makes the pasta shiny and firm when it’s cooked.
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Now pass the dough through the second setting of the machine. Click the machine back to the widest setting. Fold the pasta piece in half again and pass it through. Then increase the click to setting two again and roll the pasta through. Keep fiddling and folding until the pasta piece is almost uniformly the width of the pasta machine and in a nice rectangular shape. Now click the machine to the next setting and pass it through again. Keep passing it through, going up the settings, until you reach the second last setting (I find the final one always too thin). Lightly dust the dough with flour between each setting if necessary to stop it from sticking.
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Cut the pasta how you would like. If using the pasta cutter on your machine, allow the pasta to dry for 10-15 minutes first before you pass it through to avoid it sticking and clumping together.
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