Homemade fresh pasta
- Preparation 25 min
- Cooking 2 to 3 min
- Servings 3
- Freezing Absolutely
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🍝 Nothing beats homemade fresh pasta
The taste and texture are nothing like dried pasta. Nobody taught me how to make fresh pasta: videos, and hundreds of tries before I landed on my recipe.
💧 The dough that falls apart
My first times, I didn’t let the dough rest, and it kept falling apart when I rolled it. It wasn’t wet enough. You need the right moisture, then plenty of flour so the dough stays workable.
It takes a bit of practice.
⚙️ With or without a machine
The first time someone gave me a pasta machine, I was younger, and it didn’t work. We ended up with dried pasta, and we were right to. Today, a stand mixer with the pasta attachment really helps, but it isn’t required: I started with a rolling pin and a knife to cut my fettuccine.
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🥚 Nothing should be cold
If your eggs come straight from the fridge, soak them in warm water for 10 minutes. They’ll then be at the ideal temperature. Very important: nothing should be cold.
💧 The right moisture, then plenty of flour
If the dough tears or sticks to the machine, it’s almost always moisture. It needs enough, then you flour it well so it’s workable. And while you roll one piece, keep the rest of the dough wrapped so it doesn’t dry out.
⚙️ The machine, the settings and the cuts
For fettuccine, I go down to setting 5. Setting 6 gives much thinner pasta. Sometimes I like it a bit thicker, so I stop before.
My favorite cuts: the wide ones, pappardelle or tagliatelle. Otherwise, linguine and fettuccine. The semolina adds texture, just like in store-bought pasta.
🍲 Cooking: short, and very salty
2 to 3 minutes at most, in very salted water. Always keep some cooking water to bind the sauce.
My trick: freeze cooking water in an ice cube tray. When a sauce is too thick, add one or two cubes.
🌬️ To dry, or not
For truly al dente pasta, you have to let it dry completely, 2 to 3 hours. I rarely do it: it’s less al dente, but just as good.
I shape it into nests with a little flour so it doesn’t stick, or lay it over a clothes-drying rack.
And to freeze it: in nests on a baking sheet, then in a freezer bag. I cook it straight from the freezer.
✅ What to serve with my homemade fresh pasta
Just about anything: a tomato sauce, a cream sauce, plain butter, crushed cooked tomatoes. Try my best homemade meat spaghetti sauce, my roasted red pepper rosé sauce, or my tagliatelle with lemon and forest mushrooms. Want to stuff it? My three cheese ravioli are waiting.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup (250 ml) medium wheat semolina
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus a little for dusting
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) good-quality olive oil
- About 1 tablespoon (15 ml) lukewarm water
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Preparation
- On a large work surface, mix the flour, semolina and salt. Form a big well in the middle (about 20 cm in diameter) then break the eggs into it. Add the olive oil and whisk with a fork, mixing only the eggs and oil.
- A small amount at a time, add flour to the center, scraping the sides of the well, and keep whisking with the fork. The mixture will slowly thicken until it is too thick for the fork. Keep mixing gently with your hands and form a ball.
- Add the lukewarm water and work it in. There must be enough water for the dough to squish slightly between your fingers because of the liquid. If it is still too dry, add a bit more water (the size of the eggs will vary the moisture). Sprinkle the ball and the work surface with flour and start kneading. Add a little flour if the dough sticks too much.
- Knead for 5 minutes. The dough will become smooth and no longer sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 15 minutes on the counter.
- You’re now ready to roll the dough! Cut the ball in 4 then flatten with a rolling pin or the pasta machine. Once the pasta is cut, lightly flour it so it doesn’t stick and let it dry for about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Cook in boiling, very salted water for 2 to 3 minutes, no more. Keep a little cooking water before draining, to bind the sauce.
2 to 3 minutes at most, in boiling, very salted water. Keep a little cooking water to bind your sauce.
Almost always a moisture problem. The dough must be wet enough, then well floured so it stays workable. Also keep the rest of the dough wrapped while you roll out one piece.
Yes, absolutely. Lay it in nests on a baking sheet, then put it in a freezer bag. Cook it straight from the freezer.
15 minutes on the counter, wrapped in plastic, after 5 minutes of kneading.
For truly al dente pasta, yes, completely, 2 to 3 hours. Otherwise it’s a little less al dente, but just as good. Shape it into nests with a little flour, or lay it over a clothes-drying rack.
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