Bringing Back the Taste of Italy!

A couple years ago, I took off on a solo two month adventure through Europe. It was the first time I had been out of the country, other than Canada and Mexico, which technically don’t county if you live in the US. My first stop was Italy, where I spent nearly a month roaming through the wonders of the northern region.

I can remember, even to this day, how amazing that first bite of true Italian pasta was. So plump, dense and chewy. Not at all like the dried pasta we buy in the grocery store. And the taste…there is nothing lacking in the taste of fresh made Italian pasta!

I rented a little apartment from the kindest couple who lived next door. One night, after catching a cold and spending two days cooped up in bed (on vacation in a foreign country!), they knocked on my door and offered to show me how to make homemade ravioli. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity and was so appreciative. Elizabetta showed me how she rolled out the pasta in this little metal pasta roller. She then laid the sheet of pasta loosely over a metal tray with square div0ts over two rows, used her finger to dip the pasta into each divot and filled them with an aromatic tomato meat sauce. She rolled out another sheet of pasta and laid it on top of the sheet that contained the beginnings of mini raviolis and used a rolling pin to pinch the sheets together to seal each one. She then used a dough cutter to separate each ravioli from the next.

I can remember being so thankful for their generosity and the opportunity to learn. About 30 minutes after I returned to my apartment, they knocked on the door again and handed me a bowl of these amazing little raviolis in the most delicious tomato and meat sauce, sprinkled with fresh basil and parmesan cheese, accompanied with a little glass of wine. I savored that meal as if it was the last meal I would ever enjoy in this lifetime. The pasta was so tender, yet dense. It tasted as if you were biting into a piece of bread that had been flattened into a dense patty. Mixed with the tomato meat sauce, it was one of the most divine meals I had eaten to that point.

When I returned to the States, my first mission was to purchase a pasta roller and learn to make my own pasta. While Elisabetta had shown me how to make and fill the mini ravioli, her dough had already been made, rested and was ready to prepare. I thought for sure that making homemade pasta was going to be hard, but it’s actually rather easy! And once you taste the wonders of homemade pasta, you’ll never want to make store bought pasta again. Well…unless the kids are starving and the thought of making them wait for you to make pasta creates a sudden urge to pull all your hair out! LOL!! But seriously, except for a little patience, homemade pasta is amazingly easy to make!

Here’s how I make mine!

Homemade Pasta Dough

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 eggs

Measure the flour onto a flat surface and , using your fingers, make a well in the middle of the flour. Crack the eggs into the well. With a fork, begin lightly beating the eggs until they are mixed slightly mixed. Continuing with the fork, begin pulling some of the flour in with about every third movement of the fork. Once the egg and flour mixture begins to form large clumps, put the fork down and use your hands to bring the ingredients together into a dough. The dough will be sticky at first. Continue working the ingredients together, kneading the dough. The more you work the dough, the less sticky and more elastic it will get. When the dough easily forms into a ball and is no longer sticky enough to leave clumps on your fingers, wrap it in a tea towel and let it rest for 30 minutes. Tip: don’t skip this step! The resting period allows the eggs and flour to blend fully with each other and creates a highly pliable dough to work with!

When the resting period is over, unwrap the dough, which should now feel soft and smooth. Cut the dough into 6 long strips and roll each out to half the thickness you want your noodles (the noodle will thicken when you cook them). Cut into strips or sheets and lightly flour to keep them from sticking to each other. You can also use a drying rack, though I usually just put mine into a bowl with a lid to keep them from drying out.

Put 6 cups and a handful of sea salt into a pot. Yes! You really do want that much salt. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook the noodles in two batches. You can now use the noodles to make a dish of your choice!

Once your dough is made, the possibilities are endless! You can make linguini, spaghetti, mini ravioli, large ravioli, soup noodles, and so much more. I’ve even made ramen noodles with this recipe before and I have to say, it was one of the best bowls of ramen I’ve had!

This dough is so easy to work with, you don’t need a pasta roller to make noodles. I’ve used this recipe to roll out lasagna noodles with a rolling pin. The key is to let your dough rest for a minimum of 30 minutes to allow the egg and flour to fully mix and create a pliable dough!

If you use a pasta roller, make sure you start at setting 1. Run it through setting 1 twice, then roll it through settings 2-6. After you roll it through setting 1 twice, you only need to roll it through each of the remaining settings once. If you’re making noodles of a standard thickness, your dough should easily rest over your fingers after it is run through setting 6. If you want a thinner noodle, continue to roll it through setting 7 or even 8.

With just two ingredients, these are superbly easy noodles to make. And there are only two simple ingredients, these noodles are packed with flavor and an incredible texture!