Homemade Pasta

Hi everyone -
As promised I will be more diligent in my postings going forward so here is my next one.

I love pasta - (yeah for those of you that know me maybe a little to much)  and while the standard dried pasta is very good and so many options available to us why would anyone go to the trouble of making their own.  Good question, right?  Well really the answer is it isn't that "hard" to do, and really not that messy either (that is a relative term :) ). 
First of all the basic ingredients:
Flour, Salt, Egg, Olive Oil and Water - That's it.  Now you can add semolina flour, whole wheat flour, spinach, basil or any other herb to flavor and color the pasta but those 5 ingredients are the basics. 
To make 1 pound of fresh pasta here are the proportions of the above ingredients:
Flour    9 oz (I have a scale and always go by weight not volume)
Salt      1/2 teaspoon
Large Egg (1)
Olive Oil  1 oz
Water       2 oz

I use plain old AP (all purpose) flour but have in the past used the "00" fine flour as it makes a smoother pasta but it works fine for me.  Now my hint to reduce the mess.. Instead of mixing this on the counter or table find a BIG Tupperware bowl - you know the kind the one you put the Halloween candy in or Popcorn for the "Godfather" trilogy showing on your TV.  Make a mound of flour in the bowl and make a little well in it.  Mix together the salt eggs and oil and water and then pour them into the well you made in the mound of flour.  Using a fork slowly stir the flour incorporating it into the liquid.  After most of the flour is incorporated bring the dough together into a ball.  Knead it together (adding flour or a few drops of water depending on it's consistency) until it becomes smooth and elastic but no longer wet.  Now cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes. 

Use this time to prep your noodle making.  If you have a pasta machine the hard work will be lifting that darn mixer out of the cupboard, but if not you will need to flour an area get your rolling pin out and roll prepare to roll out your pasta sheets.  This is the way my mom and grandma used to make their egg noodles.  Now that was a little more work than what I am going to describe  (I have a Kitchen Aid pasta kit)

After your pasta has rested, take the ball and split it into 4 pieces.  Take one piece and set the other 3 back in your bowl and cover again with the plastic - you don't want them drying out.

Rune the pasta through the roller tool starting at the widest setting and folding the pasta back on itself and rotating the sheet 90* each time you do that.  To explain after you roll your pasta it will look like a long sheet. Lay the sheet so the length is perpendicular to you.  Fold each end (about 1/3 of the length) back on itself and press it down.  Then back your pasta roller off one number and drop it through again with the folded ends on each side.  That way you are stretching the gluten all directions and makes for a smoother and more supple piece of pasta.

Repeat until you get to the preferred thickness.  That depends on your use.  Lasagna noodles thicker - Angel Hair thinner -  Linguine somewhere in between - hey remember it's your pasta make it as think as you like....
After you get all your sheets completed change to your cutter and run them through the cutter  or if you want really wide noodles, Flout the sheets Roll them up and cut by hand with a sharp knife.  (That is the way Grandma used to do it - I swear she used a freakin' sword it was so big -or at least it did to me when I was 6-7 years old).  Lay out the noodles to dry or if you have one use a drying rack. 
When cooking don't over cook - it doesn't take NEARLY as much time to cook fresh past as dried so  when it floats up it usually is done (4-5 minutes). 

Anyway these are the basics - experiment on your own but don't be afraid to make your own pasta..

Maybe I'll make some pheasant ravioli next.... "Oh Ikey, Hunting season is getting close...  Hey Ike, Wake up...... let's go find that bird"