Making pasta at home is easy and fun, and can be a great way to teach kids basic cooking skills. You’ll need a pasta machine or rolling pin, and can mix flour, eggs, salt, and oil to make the dough. Roll out the dough and cut it into desired shapes, then dry or cook it right away.
Making pasta at home is simple and fun, and the flavor of fresh pasta accompanies many sauces. For families with children, making pasta can be a fun way to teach basic cooking skills and get kids interested in working in the kitchen. Plan to add about half an hour to your food prep time if you plan to make pasta at home.
To make pasta at home, you’ll need a vital piece of equipment: something to roll out and cut dough with. At best, you can use a rolling pin and large cutting board, but you’ll probably find it easier to use a hand-cranked pasta machine to make pasta. These pasta makers can be found at kitchen supply stores, and there are many small, affordable models that clamp to the counter for easy use. You can also find a fully automated version, which will mix and knead the dough for you, but since this is the easy part, you may want to save money by mixing the dough yourself.
To make the pasta, start by combining two cups of flour with three large eggs, one teaspoon of salt, and one tablespoon of oil. Mix the dough with a fork until it has started to combine, then work with it by hand to form a ball of dough. If the dough seems dry, add a few drops of water, but try to keep it from getting wet and sticky. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead it for about five minutes, longer if the dough is not yet smooth and elastic. Next, divide the dough into smaller balls and let them rest for 15 minutes, to relax the gluten into the flour. This is an important step when making pasta and will keep the noodles from being chewy or rubbery. Place the balls in a large bowl and cover the bowl with a damp towel so they don’t dry out.
Next, roll out the dough. Take a ball and flatten it, keeping it within the width of the pasta machine. Set the machine to its highest setting and pass the dough through. Do the same with all the other balls, then reduce the setting on the pasta machine. Keep doing this until the dough has reached the desired thickness. If you’re cutting dough in the pasta machine, use the cutting tool, which will turn the dough into long strips of pasta. Most pasta machines come with different cutting attachments so you can choose between thick or thin. You can also make pasta shapes, making bow ties or braided spaghetti, but cutting the dough so you have material to work with. Some pasta machines have a ravioli attachment if you want to try making filled pasta.
After you make the paste, you can dry it on screens or racks or use it right away. Remember that fresh pasta takes less time to cook than dried pasta, and taste the pasta periodically while it’s cooking to check the texture. Once the pasta is cooked and drained, you can toss it with a sauce or eat it plain, enjoying the rich, intense flavor. If you’d like to vary the flavor a bit when making pasta, try mixing whole wheat and regular flour, adding dry spices to the pasta dough, or cracking fresh pepper into the flour mixture.
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