We spent majority of the past two weeks at the cottage with my family. Given everything that's going on right now, spending time surrounded by family and away from a computer was just the reset we needed.
In true country style, we did our fair share of eating, drinking, celebrating, gardening and swimming. We ate super well, despite the stress of pandemic groceries, and the inability to just pop to the store for a missing ingredient. The pandemic has given us the time to attempt homemade pasta, and given how delicious it is, I couldn't not whip up a batch of fresh noodles for the family.
FRESH PASTA // serves 2 [every 100g of flour serves one person, so scale up accordingly]
There are a handful of methods for making fresh pasta. You can either do everything by hand, everything in a stand-mixer, or a combination. I've described both below -- depending on what tools you have access to.
Ingredients:
100g all-purpose flour
100g semolina, plus extra for dusting
2 eggs
What to do:
Prepare the dough
By hand: Stir together the flours on the counter. Create a well in the centre, crack the eggs into the well, and gently start whisking the eggs with a fork, in a circular motion, until they look creamy. Slowly incorporate the flour into the eggs. Once it's too difficult to do with the fork, start kneading the dough by hand. Knead for 10 minutes, then let the dough rest, covered, for 30 minutes.
In a stand-mixer: Stir together the flours in the bowl of a stand-mixer. Add the eggs, and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Using the dough hook, knead for 10 minutes. Let the dough rest, covered, for 30 minutes.
Cut the pasta
Split the dough into 2-3 pieces. Using a pasta machine or rolling pin, roll each piece to about 1mm thick, or until you can see your hand through the dough. Cut into strips using the pasta machine or a pizza slicer. If using a pizza slicer, fold the dough onto itself, generously dusting with semolina in between folds, then slice. Shake out the pasta and toss with a bit more semolina, before placing them in 'nests' on a baking tray. Cover under a dishtowel until ready to use.
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for 3-5 minutes, or until al dente.