Pasta a Mano

An ONTALIA Inspired Method

Equipment needed:

Very little equipment is needed to make artisanal fresh pasta. I suggest starting with utensils that you already have in your kitchen. Eventually you could invest in some specialized tools. For this particular instance I strongly advise a back-to-basics approach, as this will ensure an authentic pasta making experience. (If you want machine made fresh pasta there are plenty of shops in the city that make good pasta… however keep in mind that is machine made.) There is a great satisfaction and superior taste and texture to artisanal fresh pasta.

A plastic laminate or granite counter top will do. Later on you could invest in a pastry board: the coarse wood texture gives the pasta a more porous surface for the sauce to adhere to.

You also need measuring cup, rolling pin, cutter and scraper .

Background Italian music, a glass of vino and an apron are a must!

Ingredients for Pasta Dough

Unbleached All Purpose Flour is recommended

Durum Semolina

(Experiment with Spelt and other Ontario grains)

The Pasta Ball

(makes a 500 g. dough ball, for 4 full servings when segmented to 4 slices.)

1 CUP UNBLEACHED ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR

1 CUP DURUM SEMOLINA

2 EGSS (ROOM TEMPERATURE)

1 TABLESPOON OLIVE OIL

WATER AS NEEDED

Mix the ingredients adding water as needed. Add water or sprinkle flour as needed to achieve the right consistency.

Knead dough for 6-8 minutes. (do not rush the process)

Mixers formula

•More eggs: the richer the dough. The cuisine of

northern Italy uses lots of eggs, whereas in southern

Italy few or no eggs are used.

•The more semolina used, the more elastic and strong

the dough is.

•Olive oil adds richness and suppleness.

•Salt should not be added,

The dough should feel firm and pliable, not sticky. Form the dough ball. Wrap the ball in cellophane and set it to rest in

fridge for ½ hour.

Take a break…have an espresso…dance a little tarantella with your lover…uncork that bottle of vino! Ahhh…

enjoy La Dolce Vita.

Stretching and cutting the dough

As you stretch the dough with the rolling pin make sure the surface, the pin and the pasta sheets are properly dusted with flower. Do not worry about the irregular thickness of the pasta. Actually, the tactile feel in the palate is exciting, as the thickness and texture changes from bite to bite!

As you get more confident, try to roll the pin with one hand in the center of the pin while you guide and hold the dough with the other hand. You will be amazed how pliable pasta dough is!

Pace the sheets of pasta on a flour-dusted tray for a few minutes to dry. This will make handling and cutting easier. If space is an issue, you stack the pasta sheets making sure they are well dusted with flour in between each layer, to keep them from sticking together.

…if you are in a hurry and need a lot of pasta…

When using a pasta machine, start passing the dough trough the settings (notches) of the machine, beginning with the larger setting and progressing to the desired thickness. Fold over the dough a few times in between to achieve a “lamination” which gives pasta resistance. Keep the stainless steel rolls well dusted with flour.

Pasta machines have an attachment for cutting spaghetti, taglioline and tagliatelle.

Place the cut pasta on a tray, lined with parchment or waxed paper. Again make sure the pasta is well dusted with flour. Arrange in little loose bundles which can be easily picked up by hand.

Cooking the pasta:

before placing the pasta into the salted boiling water, shake off flour.

Fresh pasta takes only a few minutes to cook; sometimes as little as it takes for the water to resume to boil (especially for mixture with no eggs).