Make Your Own Pasta

Wouldn't it be great to be able to make your very own pastas without having to purchase store brands of noodles in the boxes? Well, you can achieve this and it is easier than most think it is. All you need is to do it a few times and you become hooked on making your own pasta noodles each week!

Ingredients:

2 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup of water

1 tablespoon of oil (vegetable or olive)

4 quarts of water

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Begin by mixing the flour and salt. Form a well or opening in this and then place the eggs in it. Next, toss in that 1/4 cup of water and the oil. If you do happen to notice that your mixture is drying, just add a few drops of water to it. In the event it becomes sticky, then add just a dash of flour to it. Get your dough mixture into a round ball shape, then begin to knead it. You will a counter top that has been covered in flour beforehand to do this properly. Do this for around five minutes or so or until the mixture is smooth. Next, you will need to make your dough into four separate pieces. Make each of these sections into a rectangle. Ensure that the rectangles are very thin, and always place your other dough sections in a container or cover them with something to avoid them becoming too dry. Start folding the dough into third sections, or you can always use a pasta forming machine if you own one. Use the four quarts of water and get them to a boiling point. Toss in 1/4 teaspoon of salt into the water and the pasta you have created. Cook those for about five minutes and drain accordingly.

From there you can cut them if you like, one quarter inch thick strips are a popular choice. At that point you should dry the pasta by laying it flat on a towel until it is completely dry. Then you may store it for when you wish to use it, or simply heat it and use it then with your favorite sauces! You can also flavor your pasta that you are making from scratch, this is done very easily. All you need is to grab which type of seasoning you want to use. For example, you can use curry, lemon, or poppy seeds. Be creative, many enjoy the poppy seed version for making linguine salads or to use with a fresh salad of leafy greens. The possibilities are endless, decide which types of pastas you will be using the most during the week. You can then create enough of a batch to use for the whole week!