Growing Chefs! Ontario Easy Fresh Pasta
Easy Fresh Pasta
Gather your mis en place; get together all of the equipment needed for the recipe and gather your ingredients. Make sure your work surface is clean and sanitized.
Measure the flour into a bowl. Crack the eggs into a separate bowl and be sure to take out any bits of shell.
Pour the flour directly onto the surface. Gather the flour into a mound, and then make a well in the center that is big enough to hold the eggs.
Pour the eggs into the well. Using a fork, whisk the eggs together well, and continue to whisk, bringing in small amounts of flour. The eggs will begin to pull flour from the rim of the well and mix it into itself. Try not to push too much flour in at once or the dough will become lumpy.
Once the mixture begins to thicken, begin to gradually push some of the flour into the eggs. Once the majority of the flour has been incorporated, begin to bring the dough together. It may not look like all of the flour will get mixed in, but keep working the dough and eventually it will all get picked up.
Form the dough into a ball, and begin to knead. Using the heel of your hand, push down on the ball of dough at roughly the centre and push away, then pull the stretched dough back onto itself. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat the process. Knead the dough for 10 – 15 minutes. To test the dough, press into it with your finger. If it springs back right away, it is ready.
Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour.
Once the dough has rested, remove from the refrigerator and allow it to come up to room temperature.
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Leave one piece on the work surface and wrap the other 3 to avoid them drying out.
To make the orecchiette: Roll the dough into a snake, about the width of a hotdog. Cut the dough into 2 centimetre chunks. With each piece, place the flat side of the butter knife down and then pull the knife and pasta towards you so the dough gets thin and curls around the blade. Turn the dough inside out and you have one piece of orecchiette!
To make spaghetti or linguine: Dust the work surface and rolling pin well with flour and roll the dough back and forth, rotate 90 degrees, and repeat until it is paper thin. A good way to see if it is thin enough is to blow along the work surface and the dough should flutter.
Using a knife, cut the dough into the desired shape, toss in some extra flour to prevent it from sticking, and place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to cook. Repeat the process with the other 3 pieces.
To cook, bring a pot of water to a boil and add salt. The best way to tell if it is properly seasoned is to taste it, it should be salty like seawater. Drop the pasta into the boiling water. Fresh pasta cooks FAST, so depending on the pasta shape it will be cooked in anywhere from 2 – 4 minutes.
Serve with your favourite sauce!