How To Make Fresh Pasta

Fresh pasta is a simple and rewarding process with a multitude of variations.  There's really nothing to be intimidated by and you mostly likely have the ingredients at home already! This is a very basic recipe to start off with, but soon you'll be wanting to try out semolina, 00 flour, ravioli, different colors and flavors, and all sorts of other things you can do with pasta. You don't need any special tools either (but they do make it a little more fun/easier). I hope you try it out this weekend and let me know the results!

Ingredients: makes about 2 servings

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp water

that's it!

1. Place flour into a medium sized bowl and make a well in the center. Crack the egg into the well and stir with a fork, gradually incorporating flour into the egg.

2. After combining all together, you will have a rough mass of dough.

3. Place your dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes.  If your dough is on the dry side and isn't coming together, add a little bit of water. Too sticky, add more flour. (Mine is a little dry and I added about 1 1/2 tbsp water)

4. Knead until it is smooth and uniform, about 6-8 minutes.  Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.

5. Cut your dough in half, then cover one half with your plastic wrap.

6. Using either a rolling pin or pasta maker, gradually roll out as thin as possible.  The above picture was rolled out with a rolling pin. It's possible but a little tiring. Then use either a knife or pastry wheel to cut out your desired shape.  Today we made bow ties by cutting them into squares and pinching in the center, but you can also cut them into fettucine, angel hair, ravioli, lasagna... the options are endless really.

In the image above I used a pasta maker (I use an Atlas pasta maker).  It's a lot quicker and comes out thinner. They both taste good though!

7. Bring a medium pot of water to boil and salt generously .  Because the pasta is fresh you only need to cook it for about 3-6 minutes, so make sure to keep an eye on it.

8. Drain and use however you'd like!

Next time I will show you some of my favorite quick and easy pasta recipes, including the pasta salad you see above.