The 'trick' is to cut the pasta as thin as you possibly can - I like wide pasta but in hindsight, should have still cut this a little thinner What put me off making my own pasta for years, was the fact that I thought I needed special flour to make it with. Not so. In fact, I can vouch for the fact that it even works just fine with bog standard run-of-the-mill dodgy local African flour (complete with worms, weevils and grains of rice – which is why you must sieve it first, of course !)
To be honest, I think that homemade pasta made with a pasta machine turns out better than pasta which you make by hand. It’s all in the thinness. Really. I mean, when making it by hand you have to roll it out soooooo thinly and then you have to cut it sooooo thinly and all the time you have to make sure that the thinness is even all over else the pasta will stretch and tear and … and … you get the idea.
So, if you have a pasta machine it’s best to use it as you can adjust the settings and get a really great thin pasta. If not, roll it and cut it by hand by all means (as I have done here) & if your husband mutters something under his breath along the lines of “puncture repair patches” then just smile sweetly & remind him what happened to his supper the last time he complained about your cooking (as 2 grateful dogs lie underfoot, licking their lips in anticipation !)
Homemade Pasta (recipe comes from “Marie Claire” South Africa, August ’08)
200 g cake Flour (plus extra for dusting)
pinch of Salt
2 Eggs
Sift flour & salt into a mound on a work surface. Make a well in the centre & crack in the eggs. Gradually incorporate the flour, then knead for +- 10 mins. If mixture is too soft, add some more flour. If mixture is too firm, add a little water.
Shape into a ball & leave to rest for 15 mins. Roll out very thinly on lightly floured surface. Cut* into noodles/pasta strips or use a pasta machine. Cook in salted boiling water for 2 – 3 minutes.
Serves 4
*Bear in mind when you cut your pasta strips that they will swell to almost double the size (thickness & width) once cooked. So cut them as finely as you possibly can.
To be honest, I think that homemade pasta made with a pasta machine turns out better than pasta which you make by hand. It’s all in the thinness. Really. I mean, when making it by hand you have to roll it out soooooo thinly and then you have to cut it sooooo thinly and all the time you have to make sure that the thinness is even all over else the pasta will stretch and tear and … and … you get the idea.
So, if you have a pasta machine it’s best to use it as you can adjust the settings and get a really great thin pasta. If not, roll it and cut it by hand by all means (as I have done here) & if your husband mutters something under his breath along the lines of “puncture repair patches” then just smile sweetly & remind him what happened to his supper the last time he complained about your cooking (as 2 grateful dogs lie underfoot, licking their lips in anticipation !)
Homemade Pasta (recipe comes from “Marie Claire” South Africa, August ’08)
200 g cake Flour (plus extra for dusting)
pinch of Salt
2 Eggs
Sift flour & salt into a mound on a work surface. Make a well in the centre & crack in the eggs. Gradually incorporate the flour, then knead for +- 10 mins. If mixture is too soft, add some more flour. If mixture is too firm, add a little water.
Shape into a ball & leave to rest for 15 mins. Roll out very thinly on lightly floured surface. Cut* into noodles/pasta strips or use a pasta machine. Cook in salted boiling water for 2 – 3 minutes.
Serves 4
*Bear in mind when you cut your pasta strips that they will swell to almost double the size (thickness & width) once cooked. So cut them as finely as you possibly can.
