Fresh Pasta

Serves 4

Fresh pasta is very different from dry pasta—and not automatically better for every dish. As a rule of thumb, dried pasta works well with heavier sauces, while fresh pasta shines with lighter ones. It’s like the wand choosing the wizard, as any Harry Potter reader will understand: the sauce chooses the pasta.

That said, with the exception of filled pasta shapes and lasagna noodles, I’m perfectly content with excellent-quality Italian dried pasta. I find it makes a real difference to use pasta made in Italy using bronze dies. I order Pasta Setaro from BuonItalia or Faella from Gustiamo.

These instructions are for making pasta with a food processor and a pasta roller attachment.

1½ cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
Pinch of salt
2 whole large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon oil

Mixing

Put the flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse briefly to combine. Add the eggs and oil through the feed tube and process until the dough begins to form a ball. If it’s too sticky, add a little flour. If it’s too dry, add a few drops of water. Stop as soon as a ball forms.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board. Dust your hands with flour and knead for about 5 minutes. Shape into a ball and flatten slightly.

Resting

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or place it in a resealable plastic bag. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes—an hour is much better. You can refrigerate it overnight; just bring it back to room temperature before rolling.

Rolling

Cut the dough into four equal pieces. Roll each piece through a pasta roller attachment (such as the KitchenAid stand mixer or a hand-cranked Marcato Atlas). Start at the widest setting and roll through once or twice. Lightly dust with flour, then continue rolling down one setting at a time until the pasta is as thin as you like.

Holding sheets

Keep the rolled sheets covered with kitchen towels as you go.

Cutting

Use the sheets right away for lasagna or to make ravioli. If cutting into strands, use your pasta attachment: fettuccine is your best option (for any recipe that calls for tagliatelle). What the machine labels “spaghetti” will actually be square-edged tonnarelli, not round like classic spaghetti.

Drying

If you’re making ravioli or lasagna, time things so you can use the sheets immediately. If making strands, you can dry them for a few hours by forming nests on a towel, draping them over a kitchen chair, or using a pasta drying rack—though none of that is strictly necessary.

Cooking

Fresh pasta cooks almost instantly, whether or not you’ve dried it—don’t take your eyes off it for a second.

Notes

I first made fresh pasta with Beverly Dana, at her house in Atlanta. I still use a Cuisinart to make the dough, only now I roll it out with the KitchenAid roller attachment rather than a manual machine like the one Beverly used. I never wash the cylinders with water—just brush them clean with a pastry brush as I turn the rollers by hand.

Michael Ruhlman has a lovely section on pasta in his book From Scratch (Abrams, 2019), which I often give as a bridal shower present. Twenty (Chronicle Books, 2010) is my go-to engagement gift.