I'll be honest: I never liked pasta. Coming from a family where everybody loves pasta, that's just blasphemy—I never heard the end of it. I swear I've seen my dad eat two full pounds of pasta in one sitting while I was munching on my meatballs and refusing to have any. This recipe for homemade pasta changed my opinion of this staple of Italian cuisine. On top of that, its a relatively simple recipe. Unlike many pasta recipes that I've seen, this one uses extra egg yolks and semolina, giving it an extra smooth texture and rich flavor.
I found this recipe (originally posted in Food & Wine) after visiting Marc Vetri's flagship restaurant Vetri. I've made a few changes to the specifics of a few of the steps after making the recipe several times and finding that it was slightly off. This pasta dough is great anywhere that pasta is needed—I've used it for recipes from fettuccine to ravioli, and it has never disappointed. This recipe makes about 1 lb of pasta, so it should be enough for a family of 4-6 (unless you're my family, then it may not even serve 1).
Homemade Pasta
Makes: 6 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
⅔ cup (80 grams) semolina flour
1 ½ cup (180 grams) all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1. Mix the dough:
If you are using a food processor
▸ Put semolina and white flour in food processor and pulse until well-mixed.
▸ Put the olive oil, eggs, and egg yolks into the same bowl.
▸ With the food processor turned on, add the contents of the bowl slowly (over a period of about 10-15 seconds).
▸ Turn off the food processor once a dough has formed. This should only take a few seconds after the ingredients have been added.
If you are mixing the dough by hand
▸ Whisk together the semolina and white flour in a large mixing bowl.
▸ Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
▸ Whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour into the well.
▸ Using a spoon, slowly mix the flour mixture into the beaten egg mixture until all of the flour is combined to form a dough.
TIP: Coat your hands in flour before moving onto step 2. It'll keep the dough from getting stuck to your hands too much.
2. Once combined, remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a floured surface until smooth. The dough will almost certainly be sticky, so you should add more flour while kneading. The dough should have a smooth consistency when ready. You'll know you've added enough flour when it no longer sticks to your hands every time you touch it.
3. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes and up to a day. Letting the dough rest makes it easier to roll out later. It also has the added perk of giving you time to prep ingredients for other parts of your recipe. If you're going to let it rest for more than 30 minutes, you should definitely put it in the fridge.
Take the dough out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you're ready to roll it out. That will make it easier to work with. The cook time will depend on how thick and what shape you make your pasta into, but will usually be close to 5 minutes.