Homemade pasta is a special thing. Not more special than Leela Storm, but making it is a feel-good, therapeutic process. Or maybe it just requires my complete attention so I can't do a damn thing else.
Either way, although it's easy to do, using quality, accurately-weighed flour along with a balance of egg yolks is critical. The dough should have just enough egg to form a soft ball. And it needs to be dry enough so it doesn't stick to rollers or itself when being rolled and cut, so err on the side of dry fo' sho'.
I prefer all yolk, or mostly yolk, doughs. The flavor is dy-no-mite.
Yep, store-bought noodles just don't compare. I still buy them, though - for quick dishes or extruded noodles, which I can't make at the moment (casarecce being my favorite!).
You'll get brownie points for making homemade noodles. Use those points wisely to send Leela sumthin nice.
Let's get started with some nice tipo 00 flour. It's a fine, Italian-milled wheat flour and much better than all purpose flour. Try them both if you've got nothing better to do... But you'll end up tossing the AP noodles.
I use 200 grams along with one full egg and three additional yolks for two servings of noodles. Sometimes you have to add another yolk or some whites if the mixture is too dry to combine.
Save the whites for a tasty omelette the next day.
Mix the eggs and flour until combined, then knead into a soft ball.
Sometimes I do this in the morning, then wrap it with plastic wrap, and leave it in the fridge until I'm ready to use it. Then I sit it on the counter for 20 minutes or so before rolling. Other times I wrap it and let it sit for ½ hour and get right to it.
I make time for Leela's head and butt rubs during this downtime.
Set the ball on some flour to keep from sticking to the counter top and cut in half twice with a bench scraper.
For each piece, roll into a cylinder shape and flatten into a rectangle. Now it'll be ready to roll.
Slow your roll. Keep it in control.
Although I'm using a Kitchen Aid roller attachment on my mixer, you can use a hand pasta roller or even a regular rolling pin. The dough doesn't care.
Pass it through the first setting 3-4 times, and then 2 times on all the rest.
I roll to a #4 setting.
The dough will never be a perfect rectangle, so just use your bench scraper to trim until it close. Save the cuts, because you'll combine them with the cuts from the other three segments for a final roll.
Don't stop now, you're on a roll!
Now for the fun part. Fold the dough in half two times. Use the bench scraper to cut it into equal pieces - about one inch wide.
Next, unfold each noodle and lightly flour to help keep them from sticking together. Put them on a rack to dry a bit and move on to the next dough segment.
It might not look like much, but this is a very solid two servings of noodles. Need to refill that cocktail, too.
I made two nests of noodles after they sat for about 45 minutes. It's something that takes practice, and I'm not good enough at it (yet) to share tips. It's like carefully tying the noodles into a loose knot. You can also just cook the noodles as-is, without making a nest.
Don't make a mess, make a nest!
After bringing a pot of water to a boil, I had at least 2 tablespoons of salt. After it dissolves, add the noodles and cook for about three minutes. The noodles should float to the top and turn with the bubbles.
Now add those bad-ass noodles to your sauce - hopefully it's homemade, too, folks!
🐶 Leela Storm's Suggested Pairings
- 🎵 Rage Against the Machine - The Ghost of Tom Joad
- 🍷 Chianti, DUH! Tesoro della Regina
🍽 Kitchen Critique
There's not much to say here except that homemade pasta can't be beat.
Don't be lazy. Take a shower and cook. It's not like we're in a pandemic or something.
✔ Takeaways
- Making your own pasta will make you feel good inside.
- Leela feels good inside when she gets lots of treatsies.
- If you don't get it right on the first couple tries, keep at it. Soon you'll be making fresh noodles with almost every pasta dish.
📖 Recipe
Homemade Pappardelle Pasta Noodles
Homemade pappardelle noodles are easy to make. Up your pasta game and enjoy with a sauce of your choice.
- Prep Time: 60
- Rest: 20
- Cook Time: 3
- Total Time: 90
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Roller
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
It doesn't get any simpler than this.
- 200 grams tipo 00 flour
- 1 egg with yolk
- 3 more yolks
- A couple tablespoons of salt for boiling the noodles.
Instructions
- Weigh out that flour. Don't trust your measuring cups because they're not accurate with flour.
- Make the obligatory well of flour on your counter top - just press a small bowl into the center of the flour.
- Add eggs into the well.
- Mix with a fork until combined, using a bench scraper to help keep things together.
- Knead the dough until if forms a smooth ball.
- Let the ball site for a minimum of 20 minutes if using right away, or put in the fridge and set it out 30 minutes before rolling.
- Use a bench scraper to slice the ball in half twice, forming four segments.
- Roll each segment into a cylinder and press out into a rectangle.
- One at a time, send the dough through a roller on the #1 setting three to four times. Send it through the settings #2, #3, #4 two times.
- Trim the dough sheet so it forms a fairly good rectangle.
- Fold the dough in half twice and cut into 1 inch divisions.
- Unfold the dough, dust with flour to keep it from sticking if needed, and lay on a rack to dry a bit.
- After all the noodles are cut, cook right away or let sit for an hour and tie into nests.
- Fresh noodles like this only need about 3 minutes to cook. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add in a couple tablespoons of salt.
- When done, toss with your favorite sauce.
Notes
Prep time will decrease quite a bit once you get the hang of things. I'm liberal on timing here to pad in case you haven't tried making noodles yet.
If the mixture is too dry, add another egg yolk or some whites and continue to mix.
If the mixture is too wet, add a small amount of flour and continue to knead.
Please, please, do not add oil to the boiling water. It will hinder the noodles ability to soak up sauce.
Keywords: pappardelle, pasta, homemade
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