Pasta Dough with Eggs
Serves 6
Ingredients
400 grams plain flour
4 eggs
Method
Put flour out onto bench as in basic pasta dough
and break eggs into middle and whisk, then draw in the flour and let it absorb the egg mixture. If the eggs are large, you may need more flour.
Knead, pressing hard, roll out slightly, fold, re-fold
Let the dough rest covered about 20 minutes
Break off a piece, about 1/4 of the dough and leave the rest covered.
Flatten the dough sufficiently to feed through the pasta machine (a hand driven model, not electric)
Fold and turn the dough and pass through the machine, at least four times
Repeat until all the dough is used
Cut into the shape required
Once the pasta is cut it should rest and dry out a little (approx 20 minutes) before cooking
If you wish, the cut pasta can be left to dry out completely and will keep for months. However it does become very brittle and breaks easily. Home made pasta without eggs is best used within a couple of days, for longer storage, the commercially made packets are safer to use
Cooking Pasta
A large amount of water is needed so choose a pot accordingly. Approximately 1 litre per 100 grams of pasta. Bring the water to the boil, add salt and then add pasta all at once. If you add it gradually then it will cook unevenly.
The water should come back to the boil and continue to bubble so that the pasta keeps moving and does not stick together. Stir it with a wooden spoon to ensure that the pasta seperates
Fresh homemade pasta will cook more quickly than commercial dried pasta. The cooking times given on the packet instructions are usually quite accurate so follow those. However, you need to watch and test during the cooking. Pasta should not be overcooked and should not be allowed to soften completely. It should retain some texture, remain 'al dente' ‚ to feel it on the teeth. ,
You don't need to drain pasta too much. The pasta should not be too dry. With some sauces, you can even take it out of the cooking water with tongs and toss straight into the pan. It depends on what you are making and the texture of the sauce. In most cases, you should use a colander but don't shake it too vigorously and don't leave it too long and let all the steam escape. If you drain all the water off too well you may finish up serving 'fried spaghetti'. When the pasta dries too much,
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