Quick and Simple Homemade Pasta

I always love the taste of homemade pasta, but have always been slightly intimidated by the process of making pasta.  Well, it is a lot easierr then I had originally thought and slightly relaxing to make it (if that's even possible).  This recipe is super simple with just two basic ingredients.  When you are comfortable with making your own pasta you can venture out into experimenting with adding different ingredients to give your pasta a special flair.  I hope you get a chance to try this recipe and make some homemade pasta for your family and friends.

Ingredients

- 1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour (you could all use 7/8 cup of coarse semolina and 7/8 cup of all-purpose flour, instead of just flour)

- 4 large eggs, at room temperature

1) Add your flour to the bowl of a stand mixer and then add the eggs.  Using a paddle or dough hook mix your ingredients together.  It may take some time for the ingredients to work themselves together; you can use a spatula to help draw the ingredients together.  After about 3 minutes of mixing I rolled my dough out onto a floured board, kneading it together a little more.  Do this until the dough is smooth and not sticky (when you pull your hand away it should be clean of dough).

2) After kneading your ingredients together wrap your dough and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

3) After the hour is up start a pot of water on the stove (so that it is up to a boil by the time you are done rolling and cutting your dough, if you plan to cook it right away.  Also I added a touch of salt to my water). Then cut your dough ball into six pieces.  Work one piece at a time, (I don't have a pasta machine so I did it by hand).  On a floured surface roll one piece of your dough out, until it is your desired thickness.  Then cut into strips, once again your desired thickness (I used a pizza cutter to cut my strips).  Set your cut strips aside in single layers on a floured baking sheet or draped over the top of a clean stand mixer.

4)  Add your cut dough to your boiling water several strands at a time.  Boil for 1-3 minutes depending on how well done you prefer your pasta.  I noticed that once the pasta floated to the top it was a perfect al dente.

5) Add to your desired sauce, (I used tomato sauce this time, alfredo is also always a great choice).

6) Stir and serve with garlic bread and some freshly grated cheese.

There you have it, simple homemade pasta that it delicious and filling.  My 11 month old could not get enough of it at dinner tonight.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.  Also, send me a comment with the different ways you tweaked the recipe or sauces you used.

Enjoy!!