What’s better than some good old pasta? Good old homemade pasta, of course! Homemade pasta is loved for its tender, silky texture, rich flavour and soft yellow hue. Hugo Chetcuti’s team of chefs explain how pasta that’s Italian through and through is made from scratch and delicious enough to keep you quiet until the plate has been wiped clean. So if you’re ready to give your forearms a total workout and walk around dusted with flour, read on!
1. It all starts with the dough
Egg pasta is super simple when it comes to the ingredients: 2 cups of flour, a pinch of salt, 3 large eggs and 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Whisk the flour and salt in a large bowl. Then, make a well in the centre of the flour and add the eggs and olive oil.
2. Whisk & Knead
Whisk the eggs and oil with a fork while slowly incorporating some of the flour as you go. Once the dough becomes too thick to whisk, turn the dough and place it onto a clean surface along with any leftover flour from the bowl. Knead away until you’ve got a smooth, stiff ball of dough. The more you work the dough, the more elasticity it will develop.
3. Let sleeping dough lie
Wrap the dough loosely with plastic and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes or store in the fridge for up to a day if necessary. The resting period allows the flour to continue to hydrate and the gluten network to relax, so the dough can be rolled thin without it springing back like a rubber band.
4. Divide & Conquer
Dust the dough liberally with flour, then flatten it into a rectangular shape. Once flattened, roll the dough into a long, thin sheet, and continue dusting with flour on both sides as you go.
5. Keep Rollin’
Roll the pasta as thin as possible as it will plump considerably when cooked.
6. Cut it out
Dust the pasta liberally with flour once again, then fold it into a wide, flat roll to prevent it from being squashed as it’s cut. Use a sharp knife to cut the pasta into strips or whatever shape you desire – there are as many kinds of pasta as you want there to be. Dust the pasta with flour one more time. At this point, it is ready to be dropped into boiling water and cooked! One thing to keep in mind when cooking homemade pasta is that it cooks much more quickly than store-bought pasta.
Hugo Chetcuti invites you to come over to Hugo’s Pizza & Pasta in Paceville and let us do the messy work. Just sit and savour one of our mouth-watering pasta or pizza dishes, made from the best dough!
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