Making you own pasta at home

We were asked by the Italian Magazine to share our secrets (or at least a few of them!) in making fresh pasta and so Ernesto our chef decided to spill the beans.
Download the article Making pasta at home (PDF 356KB) published by the Italian Magazine - April 08, or read through step by step and give it a try.

Steps

1. Ingredients

2. Kneading instructions

3. Rolling the pasta

4. Cutting the pasta for plain pasta

5. Folding Tortelloni for filled pasta

Remember to write back to tell us how did it go.

Ingredients (all at room temperature)

500g "00" flour
3 large eggs
2 egg yolks
Pinch of salt

Kneading instructions

Mound the flour on a wooden board or similar surface and then create a well in the centre. Make sure that the well is wide enough to hold the eggs without spilling, sprinkle the salt into the well, and then crack in the eggs.
Break the egg yolks with the fingertips of one hand, and then begging to move your fingers in a circular motion, gradually incorporating the flour, until you have worked it enough to start bringing it together into a ball.

Knead the dough by pressing it, bit by bit, in a forward motion with the heels of your hands, then folding it back to itself, turning it from time to time, and repeating this again and again for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Note: if using a food processor, just put the flour into the bowl, add the salt, then start the machine in a low speed and add the egg yolks, follow by the whole eggs. Keep the motor turning slowly until the dough has come together. Work the pasta all the time in a slow speed to avoid overheating the pasta.

Cover the pasta ball with two layers of cling film to void drying (a damp cloth can be used instead) and allow resting for at least one hour. The dough can be made a day ahead, wrapped and refrigerated, and brought to room temperature before proceeding.

Rolling the Pasta

Roll the dough with a rolling pin until it is thin enough to go through the thickest setting of your pasta machine. Not every machine has the same settings, but the next steps can be used as a guide until you get the feel for it.

Set the rollers of the pasta machine at the widest setting, run the dough through the machine. Fold the dough in half, end to end, turn it a quarter turn, and run it through the same setting again. Repeat this procedure 3 more times, but the last time, fold the pasta sheet lengthwise in half to give you a narrower piece of pasta and run it through the machine 3 more times taking the setting down one each time.

Next fold the pasta strip back on it self and set the rollers of the machine back to the widest setting, run the pasta through. Repeat 3-4 times taking the setting down one each time again. Continue the process going down one notch at the time until is quiet thin, about 1.5 mm (your machine handbook might recommend a setting for it, if not the next-to-the-thinnest is usually the best). By now, the pasta should be nice and shiny, with no lines in it ready to be used to be cut by knife or cutter from your machine, or to be used for filled pasta.
Use each sheet of pasta as soon as it is ready, cover while not using with a dump cloth.

Cutting the Pasta

Papardelle are about 2 cm to 2.5 cm wide, normally served with a rich ragu of game or porcini. Tagliatelle are about 8 mm wide, normally served with meat/game ragu, creamy sauces or porcini.
To cut the pasta by hand dust with flour your pasta sheet, then roll each end of the pasta to the centre. Using your rolling pin as a ruler cut the pasta with a sharp knife. Dust a tray with flour and lay the pasta ribbons on the tray. Dust again with flour, cover with a cloth while you prepare your sauce.

Folding Tortelloni

When you have your pasta strips already done, about 0.5 mm thick, you are ready to start making the tortelli.
Lay the pasta strip on a flour-dusted working surface. From each strip cut about 10 squares, 8 x 8 cm. Fill the centre of a set of squares with some of the butternut squash filling (about 1 full teaspoon), brush the edges of each square with the beaten egg and fold over two of the edges to make a triangle, enclosing the filling. Take each triangle, one point facing upwards, fold that point over the filling with out pressing then bring the two opposite points straight down and underneath, finally press the pasta together to seal.

Back to top