After writing yesterday's post featuring ragu, I strode directly to my kitchen to cook it. Then it occurred to me that if one takes the time to make such an excellent sauce, only the freshest pasta will do. Decent fresh pasta can be found in the market; there are also quite good artisan and/or imported choices for purchase. However, I think pairing the homemade ragu with a pasta made on your kitchen counter is a marriage made in heaven. (You see, cooking has a lot to do with love!)
I recommend using a food processor and a hand-crank pasta roller to make the job easy. I haven't made all the fanciful tubular shapes, such as rigatoni, fusilli and penne, which require special machinery, but I think this year I will experiment with the many ways to manipulate the dough at home by hand. I'll definitely let you know how it goes!
1 cup unbleached flour
Salt
1 egg
Water, if necessary
Put the flour, a little salt and the egg in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse the ingredients together until it starts to hold together. It will not be one big mas of dough but rather resemble tiny pellets. With your fingers, press a small portion together to see if it holds together. If not, gradually add droplets of water and process again until it does. Remove the dough from the processor bowl and put it on a lightly floured board. Knead for about 10 minutes. Then, cover in plastic wrap and let rest for 45 minutes.
After the dough has rested, it is ready to be rolled and formed into the shape you want. It is best when cooked immediately, but you can let it dry to cook later. Note: fresh pasta requires gentle simmering and doesn't take nearly as long as the dried varieties.
You have no idea how fun it was to crank the pasta roller when I was a kid... I held so much power!
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