Fresh Pasta Recipe – Easy Italian Pasta Dough Recipe

We all associate pasta with its “homeland” Italy, but was Italy the original founder of pasta? It’s known that the many various varieties of pasta were developed inItaly, but was the idea of pasta, fresh or dried, or even boiling dough unique toItaly?

Evidence suggests that pasta may originate in ancient China, as noodles made from millet, which is similar to wheat, existed in China from at least 2000 BC.

In the 5^th century, there existed a cookbook that describes a dish called lagana. The funny thing about this dish is that it was composed of layers of dough and meat stuffing. This sounds very similar to our modern day lasagne, not just the name, but the ingredients and preparation.

During the 3^rd to 5^th centuries in Israel, it was commonplace to eat a type of boiled dough called itrium. Boiled dough sounds like pasta to me.

Then in the 9^th century, dried sting – like shapes made with semolina, were cooked in water. The name of this food was itriyya, which sounds very similar to the itrium or Israel.

Overall, it does sounds like pasta may have not originated in Italy and the first evidence of pasta products in Italy only date back from the 13th or 14th century. Regardless, Italy, the country of delicious food and culinary versatility, developed many varieties of pasta, such as the modern day Tagliatelle, Ravioli, Spaghetti, Linguine, Tortellini, Fettuccine, Penne and many more.

Below is a simple fresh pasta recipe that will literally take a few minutes to prepare and another few minutes to cook. You can eat it plain with some vegetables or with any sauce of your choice, whether it be tomato, cream, cheese or mushroom sauce.

• 2 Large Eggs (Free Range, Organic or Regular)
• 200g Plain Flour
• Pinch of Salt (optional)
• 2 teaspoons of Olive Oil (optional)

Serves 2

(Always remember, 1 Egg per 100grams of Flour)

Making the Pasta Dough

1. Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and add a pinch of salt (optional).
2. Create a hollow in the centre of the flour, crack in 2 eggs and add in the olive oil (optional).
3. Fold in the flour using a wooden spoon or fork to create what looks like large sticky breadcrumbs. Feel the dough with your fingers and if it feels too dry then add a couple teaspoons of olive oil.
4. With your fingers, mix the dough into one dough ball and knead the pasta dough on a floured surface.
5. It is essential to knead the dough for a few minutes to create a good amount of gluten in dough so your pasta will have good elasticity. Let the pasta dough rest for a few minutes.

Rolling the Dough and Shaping the Pasta

1. You can either use a pasta machine to make your pasta or do it authentically with a rolling pin and knife/pizzacutter, just like an Italian grandmother.
2. Using the pasta machine feed the dough in the top of the machine while turning the leaver. When the strips of pasta (tagliatelle) come out of the machine, make sure to lightly dust the strips with some flour and let rest for 10 minutes.
3. If you do not have a pasta machine, dust the counted with some flour and roll out the pasta dough until very fine. It will be quite hard to roll the dough as it is very elastic and tends to retract, so a lots of elbow grease is essential. Roll the pasta dough until it is so thin that it is almost translucent.
4. It is now time to cut the pasta into tagliatelle or whatever shapes you like. The dough can be used to make even ravioli or tortellini.
5. For tagliatelli, run a sharp knife or pizza cutter up the thinly rolled pasta to create strips, about 1cm in diameter. The strips can be as long as you like.
6. When you have cut the pasta, rest the strips on your arm and dust with a generous amount of flour to ensure the pieces won’t stick together.
7. Lay the tagliatelli on a floured surface and leave for 10 minutes to dry slightly.
8. The pasta can then be cooked straight away or stored in a refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.

Cooking the Fresh Pasta

1. Bring water to the boil in a medium sized saucepan, along with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt.
2. Add in the fresh pasta and simply cook for up to 5 minutes, or until al dente.
3. When your pasta is cooked, drain from the water straight away so it doesn’t get too soggy. You can now add the pasta to your favourite sauce or eat as you would usually.