Handmade Pasta

If you've never made handmade pasta, you should! I made it tonight for supper with spaghetti sauce. It was pretty easy, but a little hard to roll out. It's difficult to get the dough really thin without a pasta maker (which I don't have) so I just rolled it with a rolling pin. It turned out quite thick since it plumps up a bit after cooking. But I will definitely be making it again.



My friend Sommer, who loves all things Italian, shared this recipe with me.

Michael Chiarello's Handmade Pasta

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
6 egg yolks
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 to 6 Tbsp. water

1. On a large work surface, heap flour into a mound; make a well in the center and sprinkle with salt. Put egg yolk and oil into well. With fingertips mix yolk mixture into flour. Sprinkle with water and mix until it forms a ball. Knead until dough feels smooth (it will look bumpy but will feel smooth), about 10 minutes. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 20 minutes.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 1/16-inch-thick circle. (If it's difficult to roll, cover and let rest 10 minutes). Dust top of pasta circle lightly with flour. Roll up pasta circle, jelly-roll style. Cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips. Unroll and separate strips. Let stand about 5 minutes to dry slightly.
3. To cook, drop pasta into a larger pot of boiling salted water. Cook until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain well. Makes 4-6 servings.