There’s nothing better than fresh pasta. In the winter, all I want for dinner is a big serving of carbs and pasta is my number one choice. So, we decided to make this pursuit our main event today by making pasta from scratch.
Fun fact: pasta tastes even better when you make it yourself. If you’ve never done it, we highly suggest it. It takes a lot of love (and kneading) to make a successful pasta dough, so enjoying the fruits of your labour is total bliss. Once you go through the process of making pasta dough you’ll totally get why Italian women have crazy strong arms. You can officially skip arm day at the gym.
But don’t let the manual labour discourage you. While it’s a time consuming process, it’s not hard. I have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer with a pasta-making attachment, which made the process surprisingly easy for us. If you don’t have one, don’t fret, there’s options.
What’s also great about making pasta is that it’s a fun group activity that’s also inexpensive. The ingredients aren’t expensive and you don’t need to make a really fancy recipe to enjoy your fresh pasta – in fact the simpler the better, the pasta itself should be the star of the dish (don’t worry, we’ve got a recipe for you, we would never leave you hanging).
The below recipe makes enough pasta for three people (accounting for the fact that you’ll surely drop some strands on the floor). Double or triple the recipe if needed based on your group size:
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
- Plastic wrap
- KitchenAid Stand Mixer with a pasta attachment, or pasta roller. If you don’t have either, here’s a great tutorial for going machine-less.
- Pasta drying rack (here’s a fancy one) or you can use a clothing hanger like we did (if you’re opting for spaghetti)
- Strong arms
1. Mix the flour and pepper, and form it into a tight pile on a flat work surface.
2. Make a well right in the centre and crack four eggs into it, lightly whisking them together with a fork.
3. Add the olive oil to the eggs.
3. Use your hands to stir the flour into the egg. When the dough becomes workable, this is when it’s time to get kneading. You’ll need to do so until it’s elastic. This could take 15 minutes – which is when you’ll get those strong arms.
5. Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour or two. You can use this break to hit the grocery store and grab some items for your pasta dinner – we’ve got a great recipe down below. Or, have a cocktail – more on that below too.
6. Set up and use a pasta roller or KitchenAid Stand Mixer to create your fresh pasta.
7. Hang spaghetti noodles on the drying rack or clothing hanger throughout the process. If you’re opting for a shorter noodle like rigatoni, macaroni, penne, etc. you can lay them out on a cutting board or cooking pan.
8. Make a delicious pasta recipe. We created an awesome pasta dish with our fresh spaghetti – it’s a Canadian twist on carbonara with smoked trout and tarragon pesto. The trout has the some smokiness as bacon, but it much lighter. This dish is equal parts impressive looking and delicious. You can grab the recipe here.
Now about that cocktail. Pasta is best served with wine, but you’ll also want a delicious bevy during the pasta-making process, and for that we suggest an Amaretto Sour. It’s a classic Italian cocktail with almond flavour liqueur that will knock your socks off. Grab our recipe here.
Get your kneading on with these upbeat tunes. Click Here to Start Listening!