Make Your Own Fresh Pasta!
Fresh pasta makes a simple meal sublime. With flour, eggs, and a little of water, you can create a foundation for a memorable meal perfect for any day of the week.

There are several variations of fresh pasta, although I prefer to stick with the basics that offer a rich-tasting result, to go perfectly with any sauce. I use a high quality all-purpose, unbleached flour and eggs from our hens. If it’s particularly dry (since humidity does have a factor in the recipe), you can add a little water to pull the dough together. Other than salt for the boiling water, that’s all you need. While you can certainly hand-roll and cut your own pasta noodles, a manual pasta machine makes this meal easier to prepare.

Ingredients:
Serving 2
4 cups of unbleached flour
6 eggs
Water (room temperature)

To the flour, you can add any culinary dry herb you desire; 1 tablespoon, finely crushed, into mixture.

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You can also substitute strained vegetable juices, to replace the water.

The traditional method is to create a mound of flour with a well in the middle, on a clean work surface. Crack the eggs into the center and begin mixing with a fork until you form a smooth ball. You’ll want to drizzle a little water, as you go, if it’s not forming properly.
Continue to add water and knead, until it reaches the right consistency, but it usually doesn’t take more than ¾ teaspoon to create a dough that holds together.

Once it feels right, knead the loose pasta dough on a lightly floured surface. Kneading takes some time and hand strength, but it is a key step to a delicious and light pasta noodle. Knead for 5-7 minutes, although try not to incorporate too much flour to the dough. The dough is ready when it’s smooth and bounces back if you poke it. Wrap it in plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes to rest, or up to a couple of hours, if you’re not able to make it right away.

The finished dough.

When you are ready to make the pasta, cut or tear off a small handful, a little bigger than a golf ball and roll out, as one would to make a pie crust.

Pasta should roll out in thickness to 1/8 of an inch, or until you reach your desired thickness.

Once you have the proper thickness of the dough, place the pasta on a tray with a clean towel or parchment paper or drying rack, to keep it from clumping together.

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The Perfect Fresh Pasta

Bring to a boil a large pan of water and add a generous teaspoon of sea salt to the water, before gently adding in the pasta. Boil for 3-4 minutes, depending on the type of pasta you’re cooking.

Once it’s finished, drain it in a colander, but don’t run it under cold water; You want it hot and ready to soak up that good sauce.

Fresh, homemade pasta can’t be matched by anything you find in the grocery store. It’s light, full of flavor and is the ideal way to make a simple meal extra special.

Try it, topped with our fresh tomato sauce.