Homemade Pasta Dough

I love pasta. I eat it all the time, in its various shapes and sizes. I eat it in the summer dressed with light olive oil, fresh sun gold tomatoes and basil. I eat it in the winter with thick, rich sauces. I’ve always loved the idea of making the pasta fresh, but never had the tools or the know-how… until now. The KitchenAid pasta attachments I received for christmas make me squeal with delight, even still today when I pull them out of the pantry.

Fresh pasta creates an entirely different dish than store-bought dried pasta. The light and airy texture is on a different level, to the extreme that when I tasted my first homemade ravioli I couldn’t believe what I had been missing.

I learned a great recipe that can be used for everything from fettuccine to ravioli. It is simple, and so good you’ll be going back to it time and time again.

Serves 5-6

ingredients:

• 1 lb Durum Flour (DO NOT substitute regular flour)
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 4 eggs
• salt & pepper

Combine all the ingredients together and knead. When it comes time to roll out the dough I flour the surface with regular flour. If you’re making any type of ravioli or mezzaluna, you’ll need an addition egg white to use as a binding agent when securing the dough into little pockets of tasty goodness!

Making pasta from scratch is so easy and yet so fulfilling. I’m looking forward to creating new shapes and eventually drying a some of the noodles instead of having store-bought on hand. I encourage you to try making this dough and see how easy homemade pasta can be.

If you don’t have access to the KitchenAid attachments for rolling and cutting the dough, don’t worry! Ravioli is still really simple and easy to make, just use a rolling pin to make the dough about a 1/4 inch. then cut into diamonds, fill with delicious ricotta cheese filling and secure the edges with egg whites and a fork.

Oh! And there is one last thing that always makes pasta making a little more fun. A glass of delicious red wine! So get your ingredients together and start creating. Whether its for a Sunday Dinner or a special occasion, you’ll be glad you made the extra effort.

Mangiamo!