Monday, March 31, 2008

Chef Jeff's Fresh Pasta


Ingredients
3 cups all purpose flour
1.5 teaspoons salt
4 eggs (jumbo eggs work best)
1 tablespoon olive oil

In a small bowl, beat the eggs, salt, and olive oil.

Combine ingredients in a food processor. Pulse on dough setting until mostly combined into a ball. Remove dough from food processor and place on a large surface.

Start kneading the dough with both hands, primarily using the palms of your hands. Add more flour, in 1/4 cup increments, if the dough is too sticky. Knead for about 7 minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Divide the dough in thirds, roll into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes at room temperature. Roll and form as desired.

Flour a surface. Roll each dough ball to 1/2 inch thickness. Using a pasta machine, wide cutters, carefully work one piece of the pasta dough through the pasta machine. Reduce pasta machine cutter setting by 1, roll pasta dough through pasta machine again. Repeat process until pasta dough is desired thickness (i usually stop at setting 5 ... setting 6 is too thin). Repeat process with other dough balls.

Cut pasta sheets to desired shape. Hang on drying rack for 3-4 hours. Then cook pasta 1-2 minutes in boiling water and toss with your favorite sauce.

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