A Food Coma

This weekend, I’ll be taking a pilgrimage to a little village in central Italy by the sea, where I will learn the proper way to make Italian food. There will be no mention of Emeril Lagasse, or even Giada De Laurentiis,. In fact, we probably won’t be speaking English at all.

Luckily, I already know my way around a pasta maker.

In truth, there’s nothing more empowering than creating your own pasta.

Something about the way the flour and eggs come together, the way the dough begins to form into something palpable: a solid little ball. Then comes the rolling. It always amazes me just how much pasta comes from such a small globe of dough. After you mold it, roll it out and cut into strips, a seemingly small amount of dough can feed an army.

It’s something I highly recommend learning. No more boxes of Barilla for you! You don’t even need a fancy pasta rolling machine – a trusty rolling pin will do.

Once you sit down and take a bite of your creation, I guarantee you’ll have a “I-made-my-own-pasta” glow for days.

The basic recipe for pasta:

1 1/4 cup flour, sifted.

3 eggs

Handful of fresh herbs, like parsley and oregano

Place your flour on a clean counter or in a big bowl. In another bowl, beat the eggs until smooth. Make a well in the center of the flour, pour in the eggs, then slowly mix together with your fingers. If you like, add chopped herbs and mix in.

Knead the pieces together. You must knead it quite a bit, until it is smooth and silky, to develop the gluten. Good kneading makes all the difference in the texture!

Once you’re satisfied, divide the dough into two to four smaller balls – this makes it easier to manage.  Wrap several times in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.

For the next steps, you’ll need a very large, clean workspace. Sprinkle your workspace with flour and prepare to roll!

Rolling by hand: Using the palm of your hand, flatten each ball into oval disks. With a rolling pin, work from the middle and push outward, until the dough is flat and even. Pat with flour, flip over and repeat until dough is 1/4” thick.

Rolling by machine: Start on the widest setting of your rollers. Slowly feed through a flattened disk of dough, taking heed to avoid rips. Pat the dough with flour and then repeat with a thinner setting. To get an even thickness and straight edges, fold the dough in half and then run through at a wider setting. It just takes a bit of patience. Remember to pat with flour each time to avoid sticky dough.

Once you’ve achieved a desired thickness, you need to cut and shape.

You can easily make all different kinds of pasta from here. Use your imagination and fiddle around. Filled ravioli or tortellini require a bit more effort, but offer double the reward. Linguini is made from long, thin strips of dough. Farfalle is long strips, cut into squares and pinched in the middle.

Once everything is cut and shaped, let it air dry for approximately 10 minutes to firm up. To cook, toss in salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Once the pasta starts to float, spoon it out. Don’t overcook; this is far more delicate than dried pasta. Serve immediately with your favorite sauce and enjoy!