Fresh Pasta Dough Recipe
Makes Enough For 4 People
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups Italian 00 flour (or strong bread flour)
- 2 extra-large barnyard eggs
- 2 extra-large barnyard eggs
Directions:
- Sift the flour into a big bowl or onto a clean counter if you're feeling very confident. Scoop out the middle of the flour to make a small well- you should be able to see the bottom of the bowl.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl. Pour the eggs into the well. Now use the fingertips of one hand as a spoon to mix the yolks and whites together. Keep stirring slowly: As you stir, the flour will gradually fall into the egg until it is all mixed in.
- You can now use both hands to bring all the flour and egg together to make a ball of dough. If your finding it hard to bring the flour together, wet your hands with some water and then carry on mixing the dough.
- Once you have a big ball of dough, you're ready to start kneading. A great way to knead is to put the dough on a clean floured counter, push it down with the bottom of your hand, then fold the dough over and push down again. Keep turning the dough and pushing and stretching and you will end up with a smooth ball of dough. It will take about 10-15 minutes before the dough is smooth and elastic. If you stop too soon, the dough may tear when you roll it out.
- Give yourself and the dough a rest! Wrap the dough in a damp clean dish towel and leave it for 30 minutes to 1 hour in the kitchen.
- Now for the rolling. Cut the dough in half- it's easier to roll out 2 smaller pieces. Wrap one back up in the damp dish towel, to keep it moist. Sprinkle some flour over your rolling pin and a clean counter and start to roll one piece of dough. Keep rolling, turning the dough so that it doesn't stick to the counter- you may need to lift it up and sprinkle more flour underneath the dough as you roll. You want to roll the pasta dough until it's really thin- about as big as a letter size piece of paper and as thin as possible. If you have a pasta machine, you can use this to roll the pasta out for you.
- Use a small sharp knife to cut the fresh pasta. To make tagliatelle, which look like ribbons, cut the dough into long strips about 1/4 inch wide. It doesn't matter if they aren't perfectly straight, they will taste just as good.
- Three-quarters fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Carefully add the fresh pasta and cook for only 3-4 minutes until it's just done. The pasta should be soft, and should not taste "raw." Ask an adult to help you drain the pasta in a colander.