Pasta Dough
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Pasta Dough
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There are a million ways to make homemade pasta. On the show, we first used wonton wrappers from the supermarket to create tortelloni stuffed with goat cheese and chopped fresh sage. The sauce for the tortelloni was simply chopped fresh sage sauteed in butter and grated parmiggiano reggiano cheese. My favorite combo. Especially when the pasta itself is so flavorful. Of course, you can use your favorite sauce but keep in mind, the goat cheese inside the pasta will explode in your mouth and overpower most sauces. My opinion is, just let the pasta shine! After all, you worked hard to make it so good! There are also a million different formulas for creating pasta dough from scratch. After filming show #3 today, I tried a few different recipes and decided that this was my favorite. Notice that I am using only all purpose flour - no semolina. The dough is much easier to work with. 2 cups all purpose flour 2 - 3 large eggs 1 - 2 tsp water, olive oil or some mix of the two 1 tsp. salt Place flour in food processor. Mix eggs and water together and pour into food processor while it is on through the feed tube on top. Pulse until a ball begins to form. Remove dough from processor and knead on floured board (add flour if it is a bit sticky, water if it is too hard). You want a smooth and elastic ball of dough. When it is nice and smooth, make 4 balls of dough and wrap in plastic wrap. Allow to rest on counter for about 15 - 20 minutes. Then proceed to roll dough through the pasta crank machine starting with widest opening (usually #1) and gradually turning dial down to # 5 or 6 which is near the narrowest opening. The dough should be long and thin by now. Thread through desired shape cutter and hang to dry (over the back of a chair is fine). Cook in boiling salted water for only 2 -3 minutes for al dente. A simple sauce is all that is needed for this very special pasta. |
