The dough mythbuster

Yesterday I was takling with a colleague and told him that I love cooking. He replied, with a glitter in his eyes: " I make pasta from scratch." The dough makers, the ones that love to knead, are like some kind of a secret society. We know something most people doesn't. We all know and share the knowledge. WE KNOW that making pasta from scratch is easy!

Try this recipe and be a part of the club. Let me know how did it go.

Homemade pasta
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups plain flour
4 eggs at room temperature
2 Tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
Additional flour as needed

Preparation
Put the flour mixed with the salt in a table and shape it as a volcano (with a hole in the middle). Whisk the eggs with the oil in a bowl and pour it in the crater of the volcano. Mix gently the dry with the wet ingredients.

Knead dough until smooth and elastic, yet stiff, sprinkling lightly with flour as needed if sticky, for about 10/15 minutes. You will know it is ready when poking it with a finger: if the dough gets back into the original shape quickly, it has reached the desired consistency.

Cover with plastic wrap and let it stand for at least one hour at room temperature.

Flatten with a rolling pin or machine until dough is 1/16 inch thick. Fold in half so opposed ends meet, then fold in half again sprinkling the pasta sheet with flour to avoid sticking. Cut it in stripes as wide as desired. Let them stand for a while until they dry a little.

Cook in abundant salted boiling water until the pasta floats on the surface of the water (this happens when the water starts to boil again). At this point pasta will be "al dente". Serve with the sauce of your choice, or with a pesto prepared with basil, walnuts, garlic, olive oil and grated parmiggiano cheese grinded in a mortar and pestle to a paste.

Buon mangiare!