Pasta Alluovo Fresh Egg Pasta Recipes

PASTA ALL'UOVO (FRESH EGG PASTA)

Steps:

• Put the flour, semolina, eggs, salt, and oil in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the dough forms a ball and is no longer sticky when touched with clean fingers. If it is, process in more flour a little at a time.
• Dust a work surface with flour. Scrape the prepared dough out onto the surface and knead for approximately 5 minutes, until the texture is smooth, silky, and elastic.
• Divide the dough into 2 balls, sprinkle with flour, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• To roll the dough: Dust a work surface with semolina. Cut one of the dough balls in half and dust the dough with semolina. With the pasta machine on the widest setting, roll the dough through the machine. Fold the dough strip in half and roll it through the machine again. Do this two or three more times, dusting the pasta with semolina if it gets sticky. Set the strip aside and repeat with the remaining dough.
• Adjust the machine to the next widest setting and roll the dough strips through the machine in the same way twice more.
• Continue rolling the dough strips through the machine, dusting with semolina but no longer folding the dough in between rolling. Make the opening smaller each time, until the pasta is rolled to the desired thickness.
• Cut the strips into tagliatelle and place on parchment paper sprinkled with semolina.

PASTA ALL'UOVO (EGG DOUGH)

Steps:

• Hand method:
• Sift the flour onto a large wooden board. Form the flour into a mound with the approximate profile of Mount Fuji. Form your hand into a loose fist, and, with the back of the fingers, gently ream out the center of the mound until you have something that resembles a low, broad volcano with a very deep crater. Italian cooks call this a fountain, fontana, for the pool of liquid in the center, but it's definitely a cone.
• Break all the eggs into the crater one by one. Pierce the yolks with a fork and begin gingerly to use the fork to incorporate them into the flour with a movement something like scrambling eggs. Incorporate the liquid from the center outward. The walls of the crater will keep the liquid from running out.
• When the liquid has absorbed enough flour that you now have a messy, wet dough surrounded by flour, knock what's left of the volcano in toward the center and begin to knead with your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour into the dough. Scrape up all the remaining flour and the dough bits and squeeze them into the dough.
• Food processor method:
• Put all the ingredients in the container of a food processor fitted with the steel blade (not pastry hooks or the like). Let rip at high speed until you see crumbs forming. Keep going until the dough forms a ball. You may become convinced that your dough will never form a single ball, only many little ones. In that case, give up because you risk overheating the dough. Pour what you have out on the wooden board; use your hands to form the pieces into a single loaf of dough.
• Kneading:
• The biggest mistake people make, says Oretta, is not using enough force. Skip the gym the day you make pasta and make kneading your workout. The women of Scandriglia, where Oretta has her country house, recommend making fettuccine as a remedy for backache in preference to those boring exercises. On the other hand, my friend Antonietta, who learned to make pasta as a child in Basilicata, tells me southern men enjoy watching the undulating hips of southern women as they knead the pasta dough. If it helps to put on some music and do the maccheroni mambo as you knead, go right ahead.
• Plant your feet firmly on the floor and the heels of your hands firmly on the dough in front of you. A dining table will usually be a more comfortable height than a kitchen counter, which may be too high. With all your strength, and leaning in with your whole body, push the dough forward hard with the heel of one hand, then with the heel of the other hand. Then fold it over and continue the movement, alternating hands-or whatever works for you. You're pushing the whole piece of dough forward, so it moves on the board.
• After each completed movement, give the dough a quarter turn and repeat. Keep this up for 30 minutes, or as long as you can stand. If you've used the food processor, 15 or 20 minutes will do. You can quit early, too, if you plan to use a rolling machine: send the dough through one extra pass for each minute of kneading saved.
• As you work, the dough may seem dry, but you don't want it to be wet and sticky. It needs just enough moisture to hold it together, not a drop more. If your dough is so dry that you are quite sure it will never hold together, you can add a teensy bit of water. (It used to be quite normal to use water to save eggs, which could be sold for cash.) Your goal is a single smooth loaf of dough that is not sticky to the touch. If the flour is either very freshly ground (hence moister) or very old (drier), you'll have to adjust by feel. When it feels just right-moist but not tacky, considerably drier than the average dog's nose-set it aside for a moment.
• You'll probably need to clean the board about halfway through the process. Use a plastic scraper or the blunt side of a large knife to scrape up any bits that have stuck to the board. (Sharp knives may damage your nice wooden board, and their edges are dulled by scraping.) Likewise wash your hands, which are doubtless also encrusted with bits of dried dough by this time.
• Resting:
• Once you have a beautifully silky loaf of dough, let it rest for 30 minutes to let the gluten develop. Wrap it in foil, or just place it on the board and invert a bowl over it until you're ready. By this time, you probably need to put your feet up too.
• When the dough and you have rested, you can proceed to the next stage. Depending on what kind of pasta you want to make, this may involve rolling and cutting to make a pasta sheet (sfoglia) or pulling pieces directly from the loaf of dough and shaping them by hand.

QUICK AND EASY FRESH EGG PASTA

Steps:

• Mix flour and salt together in a large bowl; push into a mound and make a well in the center. Place egg, water, and olive oil into the well; mix together, slowly incorporating the flour mixture until dough is combined.
• Turn out dough onto a floured work surface; knead until ball forms, 5 to 10 minutes. Divide in half; form into balls. Wrap each dough ball in plastic wrap; rest dough until malleable, about 30 minutes.
• Remove plastic wrap. Roll out dough balls; cut into desired shapes with a knife or pasta roller.

FRESH EGG PASTA

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse together flour and salt. Add eggs, yolks and oil and run the machine until the dough holds together. If dough looks dry, add another teaspoon olive oil. If dough looks wet, add a little flour until dough is tacky and elastic.
• Dump dough onto a work surface and knead briefly until very smooth. Wrap in plastic and rest at room temperature for 1 hour or in the fridge overnight. (If pressed for time, the dough can be used after a 30-minute rest; just note that it would be slightly harder to roll out.)
• Cut the dough into 4 pieces, keeping them covered with plastic wrap or a dish towel when not in use. (If you're rolling the dough out by hand, rather than using a pasta machine, cut it into 2 pieces instead.) Using a pasta roller set to the thickest (widest) setting, roll one piece of dough out into a sheet. Fold the sheet in thirds like a letter and pass it through the machine 2 more times on the same setting.
• Reduce the setting, and repeat rolling and folding the dough, passing it through the machine 2 or 3 times before going to the next setting. For pappardelle and fettuccine, stop rolling when the dough is about 1 or 2 settings wider than the thinnest one on your roller. For lasagna noodles, and for ravioli and other stuffed or filled pasta, go to the thinnest setting. (To roll dough by hand, see note below.)
• Shape the pasta. For pappardelle, cut rolled pasta into 1-inch-wide strips. For fettuccine, run the rolled sheets through the fettuccine setting on your roller. Place cut pasta on a flour-dusted sheet tray and cover with a dish towel while rolling and cutting the remaining dough. Make sure to sprinkle flour over the cut pasta before you place another layer on top. If not using immediately, cover the sheet pan with a dish towel to keep the dough supple.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil, add fresh pasta and boil for 1 to 3 minutes, depending on thickness of the pasta. Drain well.

BASIC EGG PASTA

Steps:

• Pile flour onto a work surface and make a small well in the center; place eggs, egg yolks, olive oil, and salt into the well. Gently stir the egg mixture with a fork, gradually drawing in flour until dough comes together.
• Knead dough with hands until smooth and leathery, about 10 minutes.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap; let rest until malleable, 1 to 2 hours. Remove plastic wrap.
• Cut dough into four pieces; roll out with a rolling pin. Run flattened pieces through a pasta roller to create desired noodle shape.

BASIC DOUGH FOR FRESH EGG PASTA

Steps:

• Put flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add eggs and yolks, and mix with hands or wooden spoon for a minute or so, until dough comes together. (Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.) If dough seems dry or crumbly, add 1 or 2 tablespoons cold water, but only enough to keep the dough together.
• Turn dough out onto a board and knead to form a ball. Flatten dough ball to a 1-inch-thick disk, wrap in plastic, and let rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour (several hours is fine).
• Divide dough into 4 pieces. Knead each piece until smooth. Roll with a rolling pin or pasta machine as thinly as possible (but not quite paper-thin). Cut each sheet in half, making 8 smaller sheets. Dust dough sheets lightly with semolina to keep them from sticking. Stack 2 or 3 sheets, roll loosely, then cut into 1/2-inch-wide noodles or other desired shape. Continue until all dough is used. Gently fluff noodles and spread on a semolina-dusted baking sheet. Refrigerate, uncovered, until ready to cook.