Fresh Pasta for Absolute Beginners

Instructions

1. Make the dough

   • Get ready to get a little bit tired.
   • Preparing the pasta dough is not as easy as it looks.
   • Take a huge bowl and mix the all-purpose flour with semola flour.
   • It is very important to use semola, because it gives the pasta a firmer bite.
   • Start adding the eggs one by one.
   • You can also add all the eggs together, but it is easier if you add them one by one.
   • It is important to use your hands to mix the dough.
   • It looks shaggy at first, but it should come together into a ball as you mix.
   • If it stays hard and crumbly, with loose flour that won't join the dough, beat one more egg in a small cup.
   • Add half of it, mix it in, and add the other half only if the dough still won't hold together.
   • After you have mixed it for approximately 15 minutes, the dough should be soft, but not sticky.

   • You need
   • 650 g all-purpose flour
   • 350 g semola flour
   • 5 eggs
   • 1 egg yolk

   Start a 15 min timer

   Too hard? Add another egg, half at a time.

2. Rest the dough

   • Next, cut the pasta dough in half and store one half in the fridge for another day.
   • You can store it in the fridge for about a day or two.
   • Do not forget to cover the other half with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature for about 1 hour.

   Start a 1 hr timer

3. Roll it thin

   • After the dough has been resting for 1 hour, divide it into 4 pieces.
   • Get the first piece, dust some flour on top of it and start rolling in a square shape.
   • Do not forget to cover the other pieces with plastic wrap, because you don't need them air dried.
   • As you are flattening the dough, dust some more flour so that it doesn't stick to the table or the roller.
   • Roll it in one direction first, rotate it, and then roll it again.
   • Pasta usually grows in size when it is getting cooked, so make the dough as thin as possible.
   • At first, flattening might be difficult, but you will learn it very quickly.

   

4. Cut the tagliatelle

   • After the dough becomes as thin as paper, use a knife to cut the pasta into long strips, the tagliatelle.
   • To cut them straight, fold the sheet over from both sides and cut straight lines with a sharp knife.
   • When doing this, be careful not to cut the pasta on top of the brand new kitchen table.
   • Next, use a cutting board or something similar.
   • In addition, dust some flour to prevent the tagliatelle from sticking to each other.
   • After all the tagliatelle are ready, put some water to boil with salt and olive oil, as we are going to use it for the pasta.

   

   • You need
   • salt

5. Cook the mushrooms

   • Next, chop the onion and the garlic.
   • In a hot pan, add some olive oil and the chopped onion.
   • After the onion changes the color to brown, add the mushrooms and sauté them until you start hearing the sizzling sound of water.
   • Right at that moment, add the garlic, butter and the black pepper.
   • Cook the mushrooms for around 2 more minutes.

   • You need
   • 50 g onion
   • 4 garlic cloves
   • 2 tbsp olive oil
   • 600 g mushrooms
   • 20 g butter
   • black pepper

   New to this? How To Finely Chop An Onion by Gordon Ramsay

   Start a 2 min timer

6. Cook the pasta

   • As the water is boiling, add the tagliatelle to cook for around 2-3 minutes.
   • Notice that fresh pasta doesn't need as much time as dried ones to cook.
   • After the tagliatelle are ready, add them on top of the mushrooms.

   Start a 2 min timer

7. Finish in the pan

   • When the pasta is mixed with the mushrooms, cook it for approximately 2 minutes.
   • Add some of the pasta water if necessary, so that it doesn't stick to the pan.

   Start a 2 min timer