Description
This Perfect Homemade Pasta recipe guides you through making fresh, tender pasta from scratch using simple ingredients like flour, eggs, olive oil, and salt. The dough is kneaded until smooth, rested, rolled, and cut to your desired shape before being boiled to a perfect al dente texture. Ideal for serving with your favorite sauce, this pasta is fresh, flavorful, and a rewarding cooking project.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Wet Ingredients
- 3 large Eggs
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1-2 tablespoons Water (as needed to adjust dough consistency)
Instructions
- Prepare the Flour: Measure 2 cups of all-purpose flour and place it on a clean surface or in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center to hold the wet ingredients.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Crack 3 large eggs into the flour well, then add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil to enrich the dough.
- Mix the Dough: Using a fork, gently whisk the eggs while gradually drawing in flour from the edges, mixing until the dough becomes too thick for the fork.
- Knead the Dough: Using your hands, bring the dough together into a ball and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Adjust consistency by adding flour if sticky or drops of water if dry.
- Rest the Dough: Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to relax the gluten for easier rolling.
- Divide the Dough: After resting, divide the dough into four equal portions. Keep unused pieces covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying.
- Roll Out the Dough: Lightly flour your work surface, flatten one piece lightly, then roll it out thinly with a rolling pin or pasta machine to your desired thickness.
- Cut the Pasta: Slice the rolled dough into your preferred pasta shapes such as fettuccine, tagliatelle, or pappardelle.
- Dry the Pasta: Lay the cut pasta on a floured surface or a clean kitchen towel, and let it dry slightly while you prepare the remaining dough.
- Cook the Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fresh pasta and cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until it floats to the surface indicating doneness.
- Drain and Serve: Drain the pasta thoroughly and toss with your favorite sauce. Serve immediately for best texture and flavor.
Notes
- Resting the dough is essential to develop gluten and make rolling easier.
- You can substitute all-purpose flour with 00 flour for a silkier texture if available.
- Adjust kitchen water sparingly to avoid overly sticky dough.
- Fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried pasta; watch carefully to avoid overcooking.
- Use a pasta drying rack if you plan to store pasta for later use.
