Fresh Pasta to Feed the Family

Freshly made pasta takes a little time, but rivals all store purchased dried pastas, that contain too many ingredients and preservatives to count. The texture, the taste, and the smell of handmade pasta welcomes you to a meal that deserves savoring.

I have another pasta recipe that I enjoyed using on a regular basis, but it just wasn’t the consistency I wanted, nor was it enough to feed my family. So, after a lot of tweaking and testing through Spaghetti with Bolognese, Lasagna, or Tagliatelle with herbed garlic butter sauce, much to the happiness of my family’s taste buds, I have settled on this recipe.

It helps to have a pasta machine, but you can also roll the dough out thin with a rolling pin.

Spaghetti, Fettuccine, Ravioli, Orecchiette, Linguini, Tagliatelle. The pasta possibilities are endless, and when served alongside a fresh winter salad with French bread, are much enjoyed during these cold Winter evenings.

Fresh Pasta

Ingredients:

2 cups Soft Wheat Flour
1 cup Semolina Flour
3 Medium Pasture Raised Egg Yolks
1 Whole Pasture Raised Egg
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Water

Directions:

1. On a smooth surface or cutting board, sift together both flours.
2. With your hand, make a well within the flour.
3. Add egg yolks, whole egg, olive oil, and water directly to the well.
4. Beat the liquid mixture with a fork (or your fingers), gradually bringing flour in from the sides, until the dough comes together enough to knead.
5. Knead dough for 5-8 minutes until fairly smooth.
6. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 45 minutes.
7. Remove from refrigerator and divide into four equal pieces.
8. Roll individual dough pieces through your pasta machine until desired thickness. For spaghetti, I use dial 4. For fettuccine, I use dial 5.
9. Let pasta sheets rest on floured surface for 10-15 minutes.
10. Cut pasta sheets into desired shape.
11. Bring generously salted water to a boil.
12. Add pasta to boiling water.
13. Cook 3-5 minutes, or until Al Dente.
14. Strain pasta and serve with your favorite sauce and garlic bread!

Making Fresh Pasta in a Food Processor

It is just as easy to make fresh pasta in a food processor. The dough is best made by hand, but you can also bring it together with a processor. Simply add the flour and eggs, pulse a few times. Then, with the machine running, add the olive oil at a drizzle. Next, slowly drizzle in water until the dough begins to gather and form a ball. Turn out on floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.

Drying Pasta

If you are wanting to make large quantities of pasta to have on hand, it is very simple to dry it. After rolling out dough and cutting the sheets to your desired shape. Place in a cool dry room to hang for 12-24 hours, depending on the humidity. If you made Orecchiette, Farfalle, or Cavatelli, spread pasta on baking sheet lined with a cooling rack to allow air flow between the pasta shapes. Dry for 12-24 hours, until dry all the way through. To check for dryness, simply snap one in half. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

-April

Did you enjoy this recipe? Have questions?

Simply ask in the comments below, or reach out to me on Social Media, through Facebook and Instagram.