EPISODE 10

Everyone knows that homemade pasta is better than store-bought pasta. Now you can make your own at home and impress your friends and family. This recipe come courtesy of Thomas Keller, a world-renowned chef. The only change I made to this recipe is to use soy milk, but feel free to ignore this suggestion. This is much easier to make with a pasta machine, but, if you only have a rolling pin and wine bottle, you will do just as well. Making pasta yourself can be a hassle, but it’s definitely worth the time. It also pairs great with my classic Italian tomato sauce.

Ingredients

• 1¾ (8 oz) 00 flour or all-purpose flour
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 large egg
• 1½ tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp milk

Instructions

Place flour on a large flat work surface and form into a circle. Create a well in the center by using a few fingers to gently push the flour to the sides in a circular motion. Make sure that the well is wide enough to hold all the eggs without spilling (5 inch diameter).

Pour the egg, egg yolks, oil, and milk into the well. Use your fingers or a fork to break the eggs up and stir the ingredients in a circular motion. Gently take flour from the inside of the wells’ walls. Using your hands, slowly decrease the size of the well by pushing the flour towards the egg mixture. The mixture will thicken and eventually get too thick to keep turning with your fingers. Begin kneading with your hands.

After 15 minutes of kneading, form the dough into a ball and cover with cling film (or a plastic bag). Let rest on the counter for 30 minutes or in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. Bring it to room temperature before you roll it out.

To roll the dough out, coat your work surface with semolina. If you don’t have semolina, flour will do.

If you’re using a pasta machine, roll a small piece through the thickest setting 4-5 times. Fold the pasta and then pass it through again. Go down one setting and reroll the pasta dough 2-3 times. Keep decreasing the setting (and therefore the space between the rollers) until your pasta is the thickness you desire. I like mine to get to the 2nd thinnest setting.

If rolling pasta by hand, get your patience ready and gather your rolling implement of choice (rolling pin or wine bottle). Divide the dough into 3 pieces and start rolling. The dough is thin enough when you can see your hand through the dough. This will take a while but is totally worth it. To prevent the dough from sticking to the counter, sprinkle flour over the work surface. When the pasta is the right thickness, dust it with flour and fold it over itself a few times.

Cut the pasta into strands and toss them in semolina to prevent them from sticking to each other. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Cook the pasta for 2-4 minutes, until it floats to the surface, which depends on the thickness of your pasta.