Anyone who knows me knows my KitchenAid mixer is my first child. It was a gift from my family for my 24th birthday and I absolutely adore it. We’ve spent many long nights together discovering new concoctions and whipping up old favorites. Aaaaaaanywho, yesterday my latest attachment arrived earlier than expected, to my overwhelming excitement! (Kitchen things make me happier than you’d think was reasonable, let alone possible. Thank God for an abundance of gift cards and registry completion discounts! If only these could buy a bigger kitchen…)
After immediately opening my pasta roller attachment, I resisted the temptation to use it for a good two hours before I could take no more of the dramatic suspense of wondering how my first batch of fresh pasta would turn out.
I decided on whole wheat pasta (hubby’s favorite). I jokingly (kind of… not really) told him I was going to learn how to make pasta so we could stop buying it (he may or may not eat an entire box by himself…). Not sure I’ll be making this an everyday deal as it is somewhat involved, but I do enjoy it. It definitely captures the essence of “culinary therapy.”
The cool part is, you really don’t need very many ingredients. Just flour and eggs. Olive oil and herbs are totally optional (but irresistible in my kitchen). Guess it makes up for the cost of the pasta roller attachment (again, thank GOD for gift cards!). Once I really get the hang of it, I’m excited to try other infusions like spinach (did I mention Hulks loooooove spinach?) or other things… Oh the possibilities!
I think the hardest part of this entire process was getting the hang of the roller. You have to make sure you press the dough out so that it’s thin enough to smoothly pass through the roller. But that’s it! Your mixer does all the work for you, you just have to catch it (literally)! The dough is really forgiving, so that’s encouraging, too.
The fun part is cutting the noodles into the various shapes you want. I decided to forgo the “deluxe” pasta attachment package that also included the cutters (figured I’d save that $130 for cast iron pots) and I opted for the $8 pastry cutter from the craft store instead (also purchased with a gift card. Success!). Honestly, that’s all you really need. It takes less than 30 seconds to cut your own noodles and you can choose the size you want with each cut. No, they’re not perfect, but “rustic” is in, right?
The REAL fun part was using the fluted wheel to cut the little rectangles for my farfalle, my favorite pasta shape!
Ultimately, this was a very fun way to spend a quiet evening at home, and enjoying the final product was even better! Should you feel so inclined to snag the next pasta roller you see on sale (or feel compelled to spend a gift card on), definitely do it! Fresh pasta is so much more delectable than dried- it’s tender, cookes in like 90 seconds and really absorbs the flavor of anything you cook it with. Delicioso!
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Pinch of salt
- Pile flour on a clean surface and with a fork, create a well in the center. Crack eggs into the center of the well and add olive oil. Take your fork and start beating the eggs until the yolks are broken. Then, start slowly whisking in the flour from the sides of the well. Get as far as you can with the fork and then dig in!
- Bring the dough together with your hands, kneading as you go. If it's a little on the dry side, you can add a touch of water to help. If its super dry and not coming together at all, skip the water and add another egg. Again, this dough is super forgiving. Knead until the dough comes together into a smooth ball and springs back when poked, about 6-10 minutes. Once complete, wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Once the dough has chilled, it's time to get rollin'! cut the dough in half and, with the heel of your hand (or with a rolling pin), press the dough out into a rectangle, about ⅛-1/4" thick. With either a roller attachment secured to your stand mixer or a hand-crank roller mounted to your counter, set the roller to setting #2 (and if using a stand mixer, turn it on "stir"). Feed your dough through the roller once. Don't pull, or it will tear! When it comes through, fold it in half and feed it through again. Repeat this a about 4-6 times.
- Once you're done on setting #2, jump up 2 settings at a time until you get to your desired thickness (I stopped at 6). The pasta will stretch as it rolls out thinner and thinner (the higher you put your settings). It's an amazing thing to watch, but you have to be ready to guide it as it comes through the roller! You don't want it to pile up on the counter, or it will stick to itself.
- Lightly dust your counter and pasta sheets with flour (semolina is traditional and recommended, but whatever flour you used to make the noodles works just fine). Using a pizza roller or pastry cutter, cut your freshly rolled pasta sheets into smaller, 10" sheets. Dust each with a little more flour and stack them on top of each other.
- Then, fold your stack of pasta sheets into thirds, like you would fold a letter (I'm sorry... dated reference? Just fold the right side to the center and the left side over the right edge... Sheesh!). Take your pizza/pastry cutter and cut across the short side of your folded sheets according to your desired width. Gently separate the noodles and toss with a little more flour. Let them dry on a baking sheet for a few minutes (3-5) before cooking or storing.
- For farfalle, take a single, flat pasta sheet (not folded, possibly stacked if you want to do a lot at once) and use the fluted wheel on your pastry cutter to cut 2x1" rectangles. Take each rectangle and just pinch in the center (of the long ends). That's it!
- If you don't plan on eating all this pasta right away, wrap them into small nests (just spiral them together kind of like you would spaghetti on your fork) and cover with plastic wrap. The pasta will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for longer.
- As I'm sure you can imagine, fresh pasta cooks exponentially faster than dried pasta. Like 1-2 minutes, tops. Take your usual pot of boiling water and add salt and olive oil (this keeps the noodles from sticking together). Drop your noodles in and give them a stir to ensure they separate. Keep a close eye on them and pull one out to taste after about a minute. Once al dente, remove them from the heat and strain immediately. If you're not putting them into a pot of your favorite sauce right away, rinse your noodles with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Who are we kidding? The best part is EATING your pasta and enjoying the fruits of your labor. I tossed mine with some shrimp scampi and spinach and devoured it immediately! Still have some extra pasta in the freezer, but once that's gone I will definitely be back to experimenting!
- Happy pasta-ing!