“Why waste your time making it?”, I could hear my mom telling me. “Why don’t you just go buy it at the store?” Strange question coming from someone like my own mother, who always made everything from scratch, even chocolate chip cookies, when all we wanted were Chips Ahoy.
I remember pondering the same question about 15 minutes into making the dough, when the mixture resembled a crumbly mess, and the clock is showing that I don’t even have enough time to shower before we leave. Let me add water, I think. I quickly regain confidence and everything just seems to work again.
So the reason I don’t buy it at the store is not because I don’t want to spend the money. Nor is it because I love having flour and sticky dough piece to clean up from all over the floor. I make it because I like the flavour and the texture. Nothing compares to the real thing. So here’s my recipe and some tips for creating a perfect fresh egg noodle.
For 4-6 people
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups flour (maybe more)
- 2 tbsp water
(Note: for the photos in this recipe, I used a package of squid ink which is equivalent to 1 teaspoon. This was bought at the seafood store and has a gelatine consistency. I had to add a bit more water to the mix.)
- Using your Kitchen Aid flat attachment, add ingredients to the bowl and mix for two minutes. Change the attachment to the dough hook and continue to knead for 10 min. If dough is too crumbly add water.
Careful not to add too much water at the beginning. Initially, the dough is crumbly until it mixes with all of the moist ingredients. The consistency should be firm but still indents to the touch. If the dough is sticky, you need to add more flour.
The dough will never be perfectly kneaded in the mixer bowl. You will always have to add a bit of elbow grease to get the dough to be uniform. The trick is to let the attachment and the powerful mixer do the work for you. Add the pasta roller attachment to the front of your mixture and turn the dial so it’s on the widest setting (usually number 1). Cut the dough into about 6 sections with a knife. Each section may not be perfectly smooth but don’t worry, once you roll it through the roller attachments a few times, the consistency will be smoother.
2. Flatten each ball and roll through the first setting. When it comes out, fold into thirds and roll through again, alternating the direction that you place it through the roller. Repeat this step about 3 or 4 times then sprinkle a light dusting of flour on the pasta sheet and set aside. Repeat the same process for the other 5 balls.
3. Once all balls have been flattened out, change the setting to the next setting which should be narrower (number 2). Pass each of the sheets through the roller only one time, without folding, and sprinkle with a light dusting of flour.
4. Change the setting to number 3 and repeat above, passing the sheets through only one time. If the sheets become too long, which they usually do at this point, cut them in half. I continue this process until I get to number 4 or 5.
5. When they are the right thickness (I use 4 for cut pastas and 5 for lasagna sheets), change the attachment to the cutters and roll the sheets one last time to make either fettuccine or spaghetti alla chitarra.
6. If you plan on using the pasta the same day, place on a large cookie sheet lined with a dry tea towel. Sprinkle with four and spread out so pasta is not overlapping. Cover with another tea towel. If you want to save it to use another day, form the pasta into nests and place on a tea towel on a sheet. Freeze for a few hours and then transfer to a zip lock bag or plastic container.
When cooking pasta, dump into a pot of boiling water with a handful of salt and a drop of olive oil in it. Cook for 3 minutes or until soft. Drain well and add to your favourite sauce. Check out my site for some of my favourite pasta sauce recipes.