Recipes
FRESH PASTA RECIPE
It’s really not difficult to make home-made pasta, especially if you use your food processor and a manual pasta machine to crank the pasta by hand. With fresh pasta you can make your own lasagne and filled pastas such as ravioli.
INGREDIENTS
Pasta is made from just flour and eggs. Look for Italian ‘00’ flour, which is very finely ground, or strong flour if you can’t find it. Use good organic eggs. If you want to make your pasta a bit richer, add one extra egg yolk for each 100 g of flour. Pasta making is an inexact science as egg sizes and flours can vary, but you can always adjust it by adding a little more flour or a few drops of water if needed.
After it has been mixed, the dough needs to be proved, which replaces hand kneading. You can do this in the pasta machine. If you are making ravioli or other stuffed pasta, make the dough on the day you are going to serve it. Ribbon pasta, such as fettuccine or tagliatelle, can be made several hours or a day in advance: the pasta needs time to dry a little before being cooked.
As a general rule for noodles, these are the quantities you’ll need to make the dough. (For our lasagne, follow the instructions given in the individual recipes).
For 3-4
3 eggs
250 g ‘00’ or strong flour
50 g fine semolina flour
For 5-6 people:
4 eggs
325 g ‘00’ or strong flour
75 g fine semolina flour
If you want to make larger quantities, do it in two batches or the dough will not fit in the food processor. If you are making a larger amount, make the dough as below but cut it into 3 or 4 balls before proving it.
METHOD
Making the dough:
Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a ball of dough is formed. It should feel smooth to the touch, firm but with a slightly sticky texture. If the dough feels too moist, add a spoonful more flour.
Remove the dough and divide it into 2 balls. Cover them with clingfilm so they don’t dry out. The dough can be refrigerated at this point, and will keep for up to 10 days.
Proving the dough:
Set the rollers of your pasta machine at their widest setting. Pass the dough through the machine as you turn the handle. Fold the pasta in three. Give the roller setting one-quarter turn to narrow the rollers and pass the dough through the rollers again, folding in three again. Repeat at least 3 more times, narrowing the rollers each time. By now the glutens in the flour will have been kneaded and will have become elastic. Make the pasta as thin as you feel comfortable working with. The pasta sheet should be no longer than 60 cm or it will be difficult to handle and may break.
Cutting the dough:
To make noodles, pass the dough sheet through one of the cutting settings, either wide or narrow. Lift the cut pasta ribbons and form them into little loose nests by turning your wrist as you place the pasta down. Allow to dry for at least 2 hours before using.
To make pasta for lasagne:
Roll the dough to the next to last setting (not the thinnest) and cut the sheets into lengths the same size as your baking dish. Sprinkle a bit of semolina flour onto a clean surface and lay the pasta sheets onto it while you prepare to cook them. Do not allow the dough to dry out. You can always cover the pasta with a damp tea cloth if necessary. For lasagne quantities, use the specific amounts you’ll find in the recipes. Then follow the instructions on these pages.
To make ravioli:
Prepare the filling before making the dough. Roll the dough to the next to last setting (not the thinnest) in lengths of about 60 cm. Do not let the pasta dry out before filling it. Sprinkle a little semolina flour on a clean work surface or wooden board.
If your pasta machine makes strips of pasta 12-15cm wide, lay a 60-cm length of pasta down on a flat board. Drop small teaspoonfuls of filling along the pasta with 4 cms between them. Brush the area between the filling with a little water and fold the pasta sheet over onto itself, pressing gently with your fingers to seal and to avoid trapping air pockets in the ravioli. Using a fluted pastry wheel or sharp knife, cut between the filling to form the ravioli.
If your pasta strips are less wide than 12 cm, lay one strip of pasta down. Place small teaspoonfuls of filling along the pasta in rows 4 cm apart. Cover with another sheet of pasta, pressing down to avoid forming air pockets. Using a fluted pastry wheel or knife, cut between the rolls to form small squares with filling in the centre of each. If the edges do not stick well, moisten with milk or water and press together with a fork.
Allow the ravioli to dry for 30 minutes on a board sprinkled with a little semolina flour before cooking. Turn occasionally so they dry on both sides.
MORE RECIPES
Check out our other recipes below.