Where does food come from? This is an honest question. To many people in our society, the answer to this question is a complete mystery. Just go to the grocery and pick up your dinner, already made, or the ingredients that have already been prepared. No sign of dirt, livestock, or anything else remains on the pristine food you pick up at the local chain.
Until Saturday, I thought pasta rained from the sky, or grew from Pasta trees in Italy. When I picture Rome, I envision beautiful avenues lined with large trees, draped with pasta waving in the wind. What a wonderful, beautiful scene... ok fine I didn't really think that (although how awesome would that be?!), but how often do you think about actually MAKING pasta?! Clearly, some of you beautiful, food loving readers have made your own pasta, but for me this is a novel concept.
When I was home last, my mother offered me the gift of her 30 year old pasta machine. Still in it's original packaging, complete with instructions in Italian (only), this shiny little monster was set to blow my mind. Apparently, when she and my father were first married, they bought this very same pasta machine, cranking out fancy pasta in the middle of '80s era Nashville, TN. Naturally, they hung it on the shower curtain rod to dry. I don't judge.
So as soon as I got my hot little hands on this machine, the game was on. I went through my cookbooks, hunting the perfect recipe. New Basics offered a decently easy recipe. Cafe at Chez Panisse offered a hilariously complicated version. Finally, I googled it and came up with a Mario Batali recipe that included 3 ingredients: the magical number. Below you will find a recipe for greatness and surely a recipe for success, no matter your pasta making skill level.
Enjoy this picture of my tiny kitchen:
Basic Pasta Dough
Recipe by Mario Batali
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
4 extra-large eggs
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Mound 3 1/2 cups of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting
board. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and
olive oil. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and oil and begin to
incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well. As you
expand the well, keep pushing the flour up from the base of the mound
to retain the well shape. Do not let the egg mixture breach the well walls...at one point I was holding it together with one hand and beating the eggs with the other.
The dough will come together when
half of the flour is incorporated. At this point, start kneading the
dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands.
Once
there is a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up
and discard any leftover bits. Lightly reflour the board and continue
kneading for 6 more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little
sticky. If the dough seems dry, or is not holding together well, add water by the tablespoon until the desired consistency is reached. I definitely had to add 3 tbsp or so (I wasn't measuring, sorry).
Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.This allows the gluten to relax (which I think is a bit lazy, but no big deal).
Now cut the dough into about six pieces. Roll through your pasta machine at the widest setting, doubling the pressed dough back on itself and re-rolling. Do this 3-4 times. If dough is sticking, lightly flour it. Adjust to a narrower setting, then roll through the pasta cutting attachment, if you have one. If not, lay pasta sheet flat and slice into thin strips. Noodles!!!
Cook fresh pasta in boiling, salted water for 3-5 minutes.
I enjoyed this fresh pasta with garlic, olive oil, fresh basil, artichoke hearts, zucchini and lots of pecorino romano. Mmm mm good!
Photo credits from this post go to Sean Wallace
