Homemade Pasta

Ingredients:

2 cups cake flower

1 cup all-purpose flower

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup of olive oil

good pinch of salt

water

Directions:

In a food processor combine the flower, egg yolks, olive oil and salt. Mix, breaking down the egg yolks. The reason I use cake flower instead of only using all-purpose flower is because it keeps the pasta lighter. Using only all-purpose flower is fine, but your pasta will be heavier and denser. The olive oil is going to keep the pasta moist and add depth to the flavor. Once combined you will begin to pour in the water while the processor mixes. Now, it's difficult to say how much water you will actually need because it depends on the consistency of the flower. You want enough water so that when you grab some dough out, if you press down on it you can form a ball that stays together, but you do not want it so wet that it gets goopy and sticky.

Remove the dough from the processor. Lightly flower a work service and using the palm of your hand kneed the dough until the dough is relatively smooth, finish by rolling into one big ball. When finished, wrap the dough and place it in the fridge for at least a half hour to allow the dough to rest.

After a half hour bring the dough out. I cut my dough into 4-6 parts so that it is easier to work with. Make sure to flower both your hands and the surface of your work space throughout. If you have a pasta machine you may go ahead and thin the pasta out and used the machine to form whatever type of pasta you wish. If you do not have a pasta machine you can also do it by hand.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough. I roll it out to be thin enough that I can just barely see through the dough to my work surface below. Fettuccine is one of the easiest pasta to make when making pasta by hand. Once you've rolled out the dough, roll it up (long-ways, as you would a towel or blanket) and slice across the roll of dough. Once you finish cutting, unroll the pieces you've cut up and lay flat on a baking sheet or counter. You can allow the pasta to dry for later use or use after you finish cutting the fettuccine. If you want to make ravioli, roll out a much larger piece of dough and use a cup or cookie cutter to cut out circles or whatever shape you wish. Place filling in the center of the circle. Now you can either do half circles, wetting one edge of the ravioli with water and then folding the other side to meet it and finishing by scoring it with a fork or you can use your finger to wet the edge of the entire circle, place another circle of dough over it and score with a fork. If you do raviolis, make sure to allow the dough to rest after filling them and sealing them in order to allow the seams to really stiffen up so that they do not open during the boiling process. Finish with your favorite sauce. Hope you have fun with this recipe and the process!