A first at everything: homemade pasta

First word. First steps. First day of school. First time overseas. There's a start to every challenge in life and new paths bring both fear and excitement. I'm finally done with my bachelors degree and now I'm entering my first year with no predetermined path. For the past 16 years, the following year had been another 365 days of school. I usually remember my "first"s. And over the weekend, I made my first pasta.

Before this, I've never thought of trying pasta dough at home. Mainly because I have no idea how pasta is made. I had also imagined it to be one of those basic ingredients you just have to buy. A lot like rice or flour or any vegetables and raw meat. But then one book changed my perspective. I found it while browsing in Borders and its pasta recipe made me curious. Like all new recipes, I was excited to try it but nervous about the results.

At the end of the day, I found out that making pasta was less complicated than I thought. The pasta tasted softer than the packaged ones, but I thought it was not bad for a first try. It did not have the "eggy" or "floury" taste that I feared. Next time, I would probably cut it thinner and knead it a bit longer. Other than that, I had fun 'playing' with the dough and knowing that I made the entire dish :D I paired the pasta with mascarpone, smoked salmon, rocket and walnuts. I think it'd go well with a tomato base sauce too.

The book recommended the pasta to be made with OO flour instead of plain. This flour is the same kind used to make pizzas and is better because it's more fine, resulting in a softer and more malleable dough. OO flour is available in supermarkets. The ingredients for a basic pasta dough are real simple...1 egg for every 100g of flour. The recipe is for 200g, which serves 4. Variations of pasta dough include spinach, beetroot and squid ink.

Homemade Pasta (Basic Dough)

adapted from here 

Ingredients

2 large eggs
100g OO flour
a wooden work surface (preferably)

Method

1. Pour the flour on the work surface and make a well with 5cm walls.

2. Crack the two eggs inside, making sure not to spill and break the walls.

3. Using a knife, break the egg yolks and mix the eggs. After that, slowly incorporate the inner walls of the flour into the eggs until it forms a dough.
4. When the dough is almost done, use your fingers to mix the remaining flour in.

5. If it's still sticky, add a bit of flour. Stop once it's not sticky anymore.

6. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.

7. The dough is ready if you see bubbles inside when you cut it.

8. Wrap in clingwrap and leave for 20 minutes.

9. Lightly dust the work surface and roll the dough to about 1mm thick. It should be thin enough that when you put it over your hand you can see the outlines of your hand.

10. Fold the two sides until it reaches in the middle.
11. Cut vertically around your desired width.

12. The fresh pasta is done and ready to use.
13. To cook, boil pasta for a few minutes until al dente. The cooking time depends on the width but it's usually done when it floats to the surface.