Fresh Pasta Time

I promised some time ago that I would extole the virtues of making fresh pasta. So here we go.

Do you think making your own pasta is only for those fancy Food Network chefs? Do you imagine a stocky Italian grandmother covered in flour slaving for hours in a hot kitchen? Well be calm and know that making your own pasta is not only easy; it’s economical, and quite relaxing. The sense of accomplishment you will feel upon completion could never be obtained from a store bought box. While there is nothing wrong with dry commercial pasta, and is in fact a more realistic option on busy weeknights, there is nothing that compares to the sumptuous mouth feel of fresh pasta. Save it for a cold Sunday afternoon, work out your stresses from the week, and impress your friends and family with your culinary skills. You will need a pasta machine if you don’t have one unless you really want to get a workout- trust me, you don’t. They aren’t very expensive so it’s worth having one.


3 cups all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil


Start with a clean working surface like a counter top or cutting board. Put the flour on the surface and make a well in the middle of the flour. Crack the eggs directly into the center of the flour mound and add the salt and oil. Using a fork, scramble the eggs in the center without mixing in any flour yet. Once the egg mixture is combined, use the fork to start blending in the flour. Go slowly so that the flour gets added without eggs spillage. Continue until mixing with a fork is challenging and continue mixing with your hands. Once you have a good ball of dough, flour the surface you are working on and continue to knead the dough for about 3-4 minutes, adding flour to reduce stickiness. Be careful in this section not to overwork the dough or add so much flour that the dough dries out. It should not be sticky to the touch or you will have some trouble getting it through the pasta machine. At this point, cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. As excited as you are to get to the next step, the resting period is important and you can use the time to clean up from the dough making process. There, now you’ve made pasta dough.

What you do next depends on you and your pasta machine. You can make spaghetti, linguine, or ravioli, whatever you feel up to. Read the instructions that come with your machine. I suggest choosing a sauce you want, which will dictate the type of pasta you should make. If you need some suggestions for choosing sauce type, there is a great online resource at http://www.ilovepasta.org/shapes.html, but I am also a big fan of experimenting and finding what works for you.

Keep in mind that fresh pasta cooks considerably faster than dry pasta so by the time your pasta is prepared and boiled, your sauce should be ready. Most important is have fun, experiment with the process, and don't worry about making mistakes.