
Pasta
( SERVES 4 )

Photo by Michael Craig
Pasta takes a bit of effort but is worthwhile. The taste of homemade pasta over the store-bought dried version doesn't compare. It's satisfying watching eggs and flour turn into a glorious meal you've made from scratch.
Grab a tray of fresh free-range eggs, some Italian "00" flour (milled and finely ground
for pasta making and available from Farro Fresh), and a bit of salt. Three simple ingredients, a bit of kneading, and then the fun bit: winding it through a pasta machine. Hang it on an indoor clothes rack and then boil it. Simple.
Italian "00" flour and high-grade flour are low in protein, starch, and gluten, making them soft so are therefore best used for pasta, pizza, and cakes.
Ingredients
400 g | Flour, '00' |
4 large | Eggs |
Directions
- Place flour on your bench or on a board in a pile. Make a small well in the centre and crack the eggs into it. Beat them gently with a fork then, using your fingertips, gradually work the flour into the eggs to make a soft dough.
- Once the dough has formed into a ball, continue kneading for a few minutes until it is a smooth ball. Wrap in kitchen wrap and refrigerate for about half an hour, or until you're ready to roll.
- To roll: clamp your pasta machine firmly to a solid surface (your bench, for example) and set to the widest setting. Dust some flour over the bench surface and break off a piece of dough about the size of a tennis ball. Roll it out a bit with your hands, then flatten into a piece about 1cm-thick.
- Lightly dust with a little flour and roll through the machine. Carefully catch it with your hand. Reduce the machine down a setting, then roll through again. Fold the dough in half, and roll through again.
- Continue reducing the setting on the machine and rolling the dough through. Continue dusting with flour if you need. Once you've rolled it through each setting, you should have a sheet of silky smooth pasta.
- For fettucine (pictured) roll through the machine setting which will cut it into strips. Roll them through and catch them carefully.
- To cook the pasta immediately, bring a large pot of water to boil with a teaspoon of salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes until al dente and serve immediately.
- To dry the pasta to use later, lay it in strips over a clothes rack and air until dry and brittle. Store in an airtight container for a few weeks.
See more of Delaney's basic kitchen recipes
http://www.bite.co.nz/recipe/12495/Pasta/
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