Fresh Pasta Dough Food Processor Recipes

HOMEMADE PASTA IN A FOOD PROCESSOR

Steps:

• Place flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse to combine.
• With the machine running, add eggs one at a time and blend after each addition. Add olive oil and process until dough looks like a coarse meal that comes together when pressed into a ball, about 10 seconds. Do not over-process. If the dough seems excessively sticky, add a little more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, processing just until incorporated.
• Lightly dust work surface and hands with flour. Turn dough out of food processor and knead until elastic and smooth, and no longer sticky, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Shape dough into a disk and cover with plastic wrap or an overturned bowl. Let rest for at least 1 hour at room temperature (or up to 1 day in refrigerator) before rolling. If the dough has been refrigerated, let stand at room temperature for about an hour before rolling and shaping.
• Cut the dough into 6 to 8 pieces. Flatten it into small rectangles to fit through a pasta machine.
• Keeping the dough lightly floured, roll the pieces through a pasta machine set at its widest opening. Keep rolling pasta through machine as progressively narrower settings, forming strips.
• Lay pasta strips on a lightly floured surface and keep covered with towels. One at a time, fold strips into a flat roll and slice crosswise into ribbons. Unfurl ribbons and transfer to a floured baking sheet. Slice lengthwise into long ribbons, about 1 1/2 inches wide, using a sharp knife or pizza cutter.
• Cook pasta in boiling salted water for 2 to 4 minutes, until al dente. Drain and serve immediately.

FRESH PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Mound the flour on a clean work surface. Hollow out the center making a well in the middle of the flour with steep sides.
• Break the eggs into the well. Add the salt, and olive oil to the hollow center and gently mix together with a fork. Gradually start incorporating the flour by pulling in the flour from the sides of the well. As you incorporate more of the flour, the dough will start to take shape.
• With your hands or a bench scraper continue working the dough until it comes together. If the dough is too dry, add a little water; if too wet or sticky, add a little flour.
• Begin kneading the dough and keep kneading until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. At this point, set the dough aside, cover it with plastic, and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. You can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, but allow it to return to room temperature before rolling it out.
• Divide the pasta dough into 4 even sections. Keep each section covered with plastic wrap or a clean towel while you work with each one. Flour the dough, the rollers of a pasta roller (or your rolling pin), your hands, and the work surface.
• If using a pasta machine: Flatten 1 of the of the dough pieces between your hands or with a floured rolling pin until it forms a thick oval disk. Dust the disk, the roller, and your hands with additional flour. Flour a baking sheet to hold the rolled out finished pasta.
• With the roller on the widest setting, pass the pasta through the machine's rollers a few times until it is smooth. Fold the dough over into 1/3, and continue to pass through a few more times until the pasta is smooth again. Begin adjusting the pasta machine settings to become thinner, passing the dough through a few times at each setting.
• If rolling the pasta by hand: Flatten a dough piece into a thick oval disk with your hands. Flour a baking sheet for the rolled out finished pasta. Place the oval dough disk on a floured work surface, and sprinkle with additional flour. Begin rolling out the dough with a floured rolling pin working from the center of the dough outwards, constantly moving the dough and lifting it to make sure it's not sticking.
• Flavor and color variations:
• Cook's Note: All color additions should be added to eggs before incorporating into the flour. Keep in mind that you will need to add a little bit of flour to your basic pasta recipe to compensate for the additional liquid added
• Spinach Pasta Dough (green hue): Blanch 8 ounces (about 3 cups) spinach leaves. Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Press the spinach puree through a small strainer or chinois, removing the liquid before mixing with the eggs. Add 3 tablespoons spinach puree to the eggs before mixing. If the dough feels too sticky, add additional flour until a soft, silky dough is achieved.
• Tomato Pasta Dough (orange hue): Add 2 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste to the eggs before incorporating into the flour.
• Beet Pasta Dough (pinkish-red hue): Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roast 1 large beet in aluminum foil, about 45 minutes, or until tender. Peel the beet and puree in a food processor. Add the beet puree (about 4 tablespoons) to eggs before incorporating into the flour.
• Herb Pasta Dough (speckled): Mince 1/2 cup fresh herbs and add to eggs before incorporating into the flour.
• Squid Ink Pasta Dough (black hue): Add 1 tablespoon squid ink to the eggs before incorporating into the flour.

FRESH PASTA DOUGH (FOOD PROCESSOR)

Steps:

• Combine flour, eggs, olive oil, salt and pepper in the b owl of a food processor. Whirl in short bursts until dough comes together, about 15 seconds.
• If dough appears too dry, add a few drops cold water. If too wet, add flour.
• Turn out onto a wooden board and gently knead together until smooth and elastic. Rub with oil and wrap in plastic. Set aside on counter surface to rest for at least 30 minutes. Dough can be chilled overnight and rolled out just before you wish to cook and serve.
• To roll out, follow manufacturer's directions from pasta machine.
• To cook, toss pasta into 4 quarts of boiling salted water. Stir once or twice and boil uncovered until al dente. Cooking times will vary depending on the size of the pasta but will require less time than dried pasta. Drain and return to pan. Immediately serve or toss with sauce.

FRESH PASTA

Steps:

• Beat together the eggs, yolk and olive oil with a fork in a large spouted measuring cup.
• Combine the flour and a large pinch of kosher salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly to combine. With the food processor motor running, gradually pour the egg mixture through the feed tube and let it run until the dough forms a ball around the blade. (If the dough is too sticky to form a ball, add a tablespoon or so of flour and process again. If it is too crumbly to form a ball, add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and process again.) Once the dough forms a ball, process until smooth and springy, 20 to 30 seconds.
• Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead several times, until the dough comes together in a smooth ball.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. (The dough can be made 1 day ahead, wrapped and refrigerated. Let it come to room temperature before rolling.)
• Anchor a pasta machine to your countertop or secure the pasta attachment to a stand mixer. Set the machine to the widest setting. Unwrap the dough and cut it into 4 equal pieces. Wrap 3 of the pieces while you work with the fourth.
• Flatten the dough into a rectangle and lightly dust with flour. Roll it through the pasta machine at the widest setting. Fold the dough in thirds like a letter and feed it through the pasta machine. Repeat the folding and feeding of the dough through the machine 2 more times. (Rolling and folding in this manner will help strengthen and smooth the dough.)
• Set the pasta machine to the next setting (one setting thinner than the widest). Flour the dough as necessary and feed it through the machine. Repeat, feeding it through one more time.
• Adjust the machine to the next thinnest setting and feed the dough through 2 times as above. Continue changing the setting and feeding the dough through 2 times for each setting until you have fed the dough through the second-to-last setting. The dough should be thin enough so that you can see your hand through it.
• If you are cutting your pasta into noodles: Stop rolling the dough through after you have gone through the second-to-last setting.
• If you are making filled pasta, like ravioli: Change the machine to the final setting and feed the dough through.
• Cut the dough in half crosswise and cover it with plastic wrap. Repeat the folding, rolling and cutting process with the 3 remaining pieces of dough. Cover each piece of dough as you finish. You should have 8 pieces of dough total.
• If you are cutting your pasta into noodles: Affix the cutting attachment to the pasta machine. Choose the desired setting and feed the dough through. Lightly toss the noodles with a little flour on a baking sheet to prevent sticking and cover with a dry kitchen towel while you process the rest of the dough. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, 3 to 4 minutes.
• If you are making filled pasta: Proceed according to your recipe's instructions.

FOOD-PROCESSOR PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a food processor blend all ingredients except for additional flour until mixture just begins to form a ball. On a lightly floured surface knead dough, incorporating additional flour as necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Dough is best used immediately but may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, wrapped in plastic wrap.
• To roll pasta dough:
• Set smooth rollers of pasta machine on widest setting. Cut dough into 4 pieces and wrap 3 of them separately in plastic wrap. Flatten unwrapped piece of dough into rectangle and feed through rollers. Fold rectangle in half and feed through rollers 8 or 9 more times, folding in half each time and dusting in half as necessary to prevent sticking.
• Turn dial down to next (narrower) setting and feed dough through rollers without folding. Continue to feed dough through, without folding, making space between rollers narrower each time, until narrowest setting is reached. Halve sheet crosswise and arrange on a dry kitchen towel, letting pasta hang over edge of work surface. Roll out remaining dough in same manner. Cut dough while pasta is still soft.

SEMOLINA PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• place first 5 ingredients in the bowl of a food processor using the metal blade.
• pulse food processor until dough takes on a corn-meal type texture.
• SLOWLY drizzle water while processor is running until dough forms a ball (sometimes we don't even need any water, so watch your dough closely).
• Remove dough to a lightly floured surface.
• From here we use our pasta machine to form our noodles. We use the widest setting for 6 cycles, lightly flowering the surfaces of the pasta if they become sticky. We then do only 1 cycle per setting until dough is to desired thickness.
• Let sheets sit for 15 minutes prior to using your preferred cutting technique.
• We spin the noodles into loose nests and dry on a cookie sheet for about 30 minute prior to cooking.
• These will cook very quickly, even the wider noodles in under 5 minute
• I have found a good tip for knowing when they are done is when they start to float!