Fresh pasta feels like a special-occasion project, but the dough is just flour and eggs, and the technique is mostly patience. Once you have rolled out your own and tasted how tender it is compared to dried, it is hard to go back, at least for a lazy weekend.
Flour and eggs, nothing else
The classic dough is simply flour and eggs worked into a smooth, firm ball. A rough guideline is one egg per portion with enough flour to bring it together. You knead it until it is smooth and elastic, which takes a good ten minutes by hand and builds the gluten that gives the pasta its bite.
Rest before you roll
- Wrap the kneaded dough and let it rest at least thirty minutes.
- Resting relaxes the gluten so the dough rolls out without fighting back.
- Skip this and the dough springs back and tears as you try to thin it.
Roll thin and cook fast
Roll the dough out as thin as you can, with a machine or a rolling pin and some patience, then cut it into the shape you want. Dust it with flour so it does not stick. Fresh pasta cooks in just a minute or two in well-salted boiling water, far faster than dried, so have your sauce ready first. It is done almost the moment it floats. Toss it straight into the sauce and serve.