Fresh Tagliatelle Pasta
Ingredients:
4 large eggs, room temp.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup durum semolina flour
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/8 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. water (or more if needed)
Directions:
In a small bowl, mix the two flours and the salt. Set aside. Using the paddle (then a kneading hook) on a stand mixer beat the eggs lightly. Add the olive oil and beat again. Add the flour mixture, and beat until things just start coming together. Change to a kneading hook and add water, and knead the dough. Use extra water if need be to let the dough come together. Scrape the sides as you go. Once it is mostly together, even if there is a little flour at the bottom, it’s time to turn it all onto a floured work surface, such as a wooden butcher block or a floured Silpat, and work everything in by hand.
Start kneading to dough with your hands until smooth with a slightly moist stickiness. Use extra flour if the dough is too moist and sticky. The dough needs to feel kind of silky to the touch. This takes about 5-10 minutes. See video below if you have never kneaded before, and are hyperventilating at the idea of making pasta. I take you through it step by step. It’s easy peasy.
Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes at room temperature to relax the gluten. Meanwhile set up your pasta machine, securing it tightly to your table or work area. Flour the sh#! out of your whole work area, and set out lint-free towels somewhere to place your finished tagliatelle to rest so you can keep working.
Cut the dough into quarters. Working one piece at a time and wrapping the rest with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out, roll the dough through your pasta machine, dusting with flour as necessary.
Start on the largest setting meaning start at the notch one and crank the dough through. Then each time reduce the roller opening and roll the dough until the desired thickness is obtained. I like to usually go to five for ravioli and flat kinds of pasta. Sprinkle a wooden board or counter with flour, place the rolled sheets of dough on the flour-dusted surface and let rest for 10 minutes. Dust the tops of the dough sheets with flour and gently roll each sheet. With a sharp knife, slice each sheet in 1/2″ inch slices, moving along horizontally down the roll. Unroll the strips, toss with flour and wrap them in “nests”. Let sit on a lint-free towel to set.
AT this point you have options:
EAT IT!
Cook fresh pasta in boiling salted water for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. Drain, toss in sauce.
STORE IT!
If drying the nests, place on a baking cooling rack so air can circulate under and over the nests to dry completely. If keeping nests on the towels, you will need to be diligent in turning them over so they dry on both sides and don’t mold. After they have dried for 24 hours, store in airtight plastic bags.
You can also, after sitting on the towels for an hour or two, store in labeled plastic freezer bags, weigh, label and freeze. Just add a few more minutes to the cooking time.
Don’t be intimidated! Making pasta is EASY!
I show you how to do it in one my Fridays with Flora installment right here!
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