Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Basic Pappardelle Pasta
You will need a pasta maker (hand-cranked or electric) for this recipe, or you can roll out the pasta with a rolling pin. If you or your children wish, you can mix the pasta dough by hand. For this recipe, your kids can crank the pasta machine and cut the noodles.
2 cups flour
3 eggs
To make pasta dough by hand, place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Crack the eggs into the well and mix quickly with a fork, then slowly incorporate the flour into the eggs with a fork or your hands until you have a shaggy dough. Knead the dough until it’s soft and pliant, about 5 to 10 minutes, adding more flour if needed.
To make pasta dough in a food processor, place the flour and eggs in the bowl of a processor. Pulse about 1 minute until the dough forms a ball. Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and knead it until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Depending on the dampness of the dough, work in a little flour until it is smooth, elastic and firm.
After dough is made by either method, wrap it tightly in plastic and allow to rest on the countertop for at least half an hour to hydrate it. If not making pasta right away, refrigerate the dough until needed, up to 1 day.
To make pasta, divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Taking 1 portion at a time, flatten the dough and roll it through the pasta machine. Allow each portion to rest on a floured surface while you roll out the others, adjusting the setting on the pasta maker so that the dough thins with each pass. You will need to make 5 to 7 passes, depending on the machine. Using a fluted pastry cutter, cut each portion into noodles about 12 inches long and 1 inch wide. The pasta can be cooked immediately or dried overnight.
Total time: 25 minutes, plus resting and drying time.
Servings: Makes about 1 pound of pasta, or 8 (2-ounce) servings.
Each serving: 141 calories; 6 grams protein; 24 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 2 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 80 milligrams cholesterol; 27 milligrams sodium.