Pappardelle Tagliatelle Or Other Fresh Hand Cut Pasta Food

HOMEMADE PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• Add the flour and salt to the center of a large wooden board. Use your hands and make a well in the center of the mound. Whisk together the eggs and olive oil in a bowl and pour into the well. Use a fork to whisk the eggs into the flour, incorporating slowly into the rim of the flour until it is completely incorporated.
• Once incorporated, knead the pasta for about 8 minutes, adding just a bit more flour if the board is sticky. If the dough feels too dry, add a drop of water as you go. The dough should feel elastic, smooth and a bit sticky. Shape the pasta dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Let rest for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature to let the gluten relax so rolling will be easier.
• Set your pasta machine to the widest setting. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece out from the widest setting to the thinnest. Hand cut the pasta into pappardelle.
• Gather the strands together in your hands and shake loosely so they don't stick together. Toss with some semolina flour. Divide into portions on a sheet tray.
• Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Boil the pasta until al dente and drain, about 3 minutes.

HOMEMADE PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• Make the dough. Sift both flours together on a large work surface and make a well in the center. Place the eggs, olive oil and a pinch of salt in a bowl, then pour into the well; with a fork, break up the eggs, then gradually mix the wet ingredients into the flour mixture just until combined.
• Knead by hand. Gather the dough into 2 equal-size balls; flour the surface. To knead each piece, push the dough away from you with the heel of your hand, fold the dough over itself and turn it counterclockwise. Continue pushing, folding and turning until the dough is smooth and elastic, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Rest the dough. Pat each piece into a ball. Flatten slightly, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight. (You can freeze 1 ball for later, or roll out both and freeze the cut pasta.)
• Roll out the dough. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and dust with flour. Starting in the middle, push away from you with a rolling pin, easing up on the pressure as you approach the edge. Continue rolling the dough into a sheet, turning occasionally, until you can see your fingers through the bottom. Let dry about 10 minutes.
• Cut the pappardelle. Dust the top of the sheet of dough with flour and loosely roll it into a cylinder. Using a sharp knife, cut into 3/4-inch-wide slices. Unwrap the noodles; dust with semolina and gently toss to separate. Place on a sheet pan and cover with a tea towel until ready to cook (or freeze in freezer bags for up to 2 months).

HERBED PAPPARDELLE WITH PARSLEY AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Set a large pot filled with 5 quarts of water over high heat, cover, and bring to a boil. Add 6 tablespoons fine sea salt or 1/2 cup kosher salt. Set a colander in the sink.
• Lightly dust a sheet of pasta with semolina flour, then loosely roll into thirds lengthwise, like folding a letter. Using a sharp knife, cut noodles in 3/4-inch increments. Shake off the excess semolina, and repeat with remaining pasta sheets. Form pasta into small nests (about 3 ounces per portion) on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and dusted with semolina.
• Add 4 nests of pasta to the water and stir. (Freeze the rest of the pasta for later use.)
• Set a large frying pan over medium heat and add the olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until the garlic threatens to turn golden, about 1 minute.
• Just before the garlic begins to brown, add 1 cup pasta cooking water and increase heat to medium-high. Let the sauce simmer until it reduces by about a third.
• Cook pasta until al dente, about 3 minutes, and drain, reserving another cup of pasta water.
• Add drained pasta to the pan and toss. Add parsley, and continue cooking over medium heat for 1 minute, tossing continuously with tongs. If pasta looks dry, add a little pasta water. It should be slightly wetter than you are comfortable with, because the pasta will continue to absorb sauce even after you pull it from the heat. Taste and adjust salt as needed. Remove from heat, and serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan.

FRESH PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Mix dough Mound the all-purpose flour in the center of a clean work surface or in a large wide bowl and form a well in the middle. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and salt with a fork until smooth, then pour into the well. Begin to work the flour into the eggs with the fork. Then use your hands to work the rest of the flour into the mixture, a bit at a time, just to form a sticky dough (don't force all the flour to be incorporated; it's okay if some remains on the work surface).
• Knead dough Start working the dough with your hands to form a rounded mass for kneading. Knead dough about 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Scrape any loose bits of dough from the work surface with a bench scraper.
• Rest dough Form dough into a ball. Wrap tightly in plastic and let rest 1 1/2 hours at room temperature.
• Roll dough with machine Use a bench scraper to cut dough into eight equal pieces (four for filled pasta shapes and lasagne). Working with one piece at a time (keep remaining pieces covered with a clean kitchen towel), flatten dough into an oblong shape somewhat narrower than the pasta machine's thickest setting (number 1). Very lightly dust with all-purpose flour and feed through machine. Fold dough in thirds and rotate 90 degrees. Pass through two more times on the same setting to smooth dough and increase its elasticity. Adjust the setting to the next level (number 2), and pass pasta dough through two times, gently supporting it with the palm of your hand as it emerges. Continue to pass through ever-finer settings, once on each setting. End with next-to-thinnest setting for pastas and lasagne; thinnest setting for ravioli (lasagne should be slightly thicker; filled pastas, thinner, almost transparent). If dough bubbles or tears, simply pass through one or two more times to patch the dough (dust lightly with more all-purpose flour if dough is sticking). As each sheet of dough has been rolled to the desired thickness, immediately cut into desired shapes or strands, according to the instructions that follow.
• Alternatively, roll pasta by hand Divide dough into pieces, as above. Lightly dust a clean work surface with all-purpose flour. With a rolling pin, vigorously roll out dough to a very thin circle, applying even pressure and working from the center out, without actually rolling over edges (which would cause them to stick to the work surface, and inhibit stretching). Do not bear down too hard or dough will tear. Roll constantly for several minutes, until dough is as thin as possible (it should be almost translucent). If it starts to shrink back as you roll, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let rest 10 minutes before resuming. To cut strands by hand, working with one sheet at a time, lightly fold dough into thirds, and use a pastry wheel or a sharp knife to cut desired thickness.
• Drape dough over a drying rack until only slightly tacky, 10 to 15 minutes. Run dough sheet through the pasta machine (fitted with the appropriate attachment) to cut into strands, including tagliatelle or spaghetti. (If making pappardelle, cut by hand into 1-inch-thick strands fig. 5.1; there is no setting on machines for this shape.) Then immediately drape strands over rack until they are almost dry and do not stick together, about 20 minutes. If not cooking immediately, keep strands flat on a baking sheet lightly dusted with semolina flour (or cornmeal); cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. To dry and store longer (up to 2 weeks), follow instructions on page 363.
• Before making pasta dough, clear ample counter space for kneading, laying, and cutting the dough.
• You will need room to dry the strands. If you don't have a wooden drying rack (a laundry or dish rack works just fine), get creative. You can lay the strands out on tabletops or drape them over chair backs; cover the chairs with clean dishcloths, and lightly dust the flat surfaces with semolina flour.
• Eggs and flour should be at room temperature to ensure that they combine well.
• When mixing the dough, hold back on adding all of the flour called for in the recipe until you are sure it will be needed, which can vary depending on the freshness of the egg, among other factors.
• Work with just one piece of dough at a time, rolling it out and then immediately cutting it into shapes before starting on the next piece.
• When resting or storing fresh pasta on baking sheets, first sprinkle them lightly and evenly with semolina flour, which is coarser than other types of flour and keeps the dough from sticking more effectively. Coarse-ground cornmeal is a good substitute.

HAND-CUT PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• Tip the '00' flour into a large food processor with a pinch of salt and the beaten eggs and yolks. Pulse in short bursts, being careful not to overheat the motor, and scrape the sides with a spatula between pulses to incorporate any dry flour. Stop pulsing when the mixture has come together in even crumbs. Tip onto a work surface and knead for 5-10 mins until you have a smooth, firm dough. If it's very dry, you may need to add a splash of water to bring it together. Shape into a ball, wrap and chill for at least 1 hr and up to two days.
• Keeping the rest of the dough well covered, roll a quarter into a rectangle that will fit through the widest setting on your pasta machine. Pass the dough through the machine, reducing the width down to level three. This means it won't be super thin, but will have a nice bite to it when cooked.
• Unfold the dough onto a work surface dusted with semolina. Cut it into smaller 25cm sheets, then cut each of the sheets lengthways into 2.5cm-thick pappardelle strips. Toss the strips in semolina. Repeat the rolling and cutting with the remaining dough, a quarter at a time. Once all cut, leave to dry for a few mins on a parchment-lined tray generously dusted with semolina - this will make it easier to handle. Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted water for 3 mins, then drain to serve.

PAPPARDELLE, TAGLIATELLE, OR OTHER FRESH, HAND-CUT PASTA

Steps:

• Combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt on a counter or large board. Make a well in the middle. Into this well, break the eggs and yolks. Beat the eggs with a fork, slowly and gradually incorporating a little of the flour at a time. When it becomes too hard to stir with the fork, use your hands. When all the flour has been mixed in, knead the dough, pushing it against the board and folding it repeatedly until it is not at all sticky and is quite stiff. Sprinkle with a little of the reserved flour and clean your hands. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a cloth and let it rest for about 30 minutes. (You can store the dough in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic, until you're ready to roll it out, for up to 24 hours.)
• Clamp a pasta machine to the counter; sprinkle your work surface lightly with flour. Cut off about one third of the dough; wrap the rest in plastic or cloth while you work. Roll the dough lightly in the flour and use your hands to flatten it into a rectangle about the width of the machine. Set the machine to its highest (that is, thickest) setting and crank the dough through. If it sticks, dust it with a little more flour. Repeat. Set the machine to its next-thinnest setting and repeat. Each time, if the pasta sticks, sprinkle it with a little more flour and, each time, put the dough through the machine twice.
• Continue to work your way down (or up, as the case may be-each machine is numbered differently) through the numbers. If at any point the dough tears badly, bunch it together and start again (you will quickly get the hang of it). Use as much flour as you need to, but in small amounts each time.
• Pass the dough through the machine's thinnest setting, only once. (If this fails, pass it through the next-thinnest once.) Flour the dough lightly, cover it, and set it aside. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
• Cut each sheet into rectangles roughly 16 inches long and as wide as the machine: trim the ends to make it neat. Put it through the machine once more, this time using the broadest (tagliatelle) cutter. Or cut by hand into broad strips (pappardelle). Cook right away or hang the strands to dry for up to a couple of hours.
• To cook the noodles, drop them into boiling salted water; they'll be done when tender, in less than 3 (and probably less than 2) minutes. Sauce them immediately and serve.
• Pizzocheri
• The buckwheat noodles of the mountains of northeastern Italy, best sauced as described on page 549: substitute 1 1/2 cups fine buckwheat flour for 1 1/2 cups of the white flour; use white flour for the balance of the dough and all of the rolling and proceed as directed.
• Malfatti
• This translates as "badly cut," and is perfect for soups, many pasta dishes, and the lazy cook: Roll out about a quarter of the dough as thin as possible, using a machine or rolling pin, then simply cut it into random shapes. Cook as you would any other fresh pasta.

FRESH PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• Whisk together both flours and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Make a well in center; add eggs and 2 tablespoons oil. Using a fork, work flour mixture into wet ingredients, slowly incorporating all flour in bowl to form a sticky dough. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead dough until all bits are incorporated. Continue kneading until very smooth and no longer sticky, adding additional 00 flour as necessary, about 5 minutes. Place an overturned bowl over dough and let stand 1 hour (or wrap in plastic and refrigerate up to overnight; let stand at room temperature 1 hour before using).
• Dust work surface with semolina. Cut dough into 16 pieces. Working with one piece at a time, and keeping the rest covered with plastic wrap, flatten into an oblong shape. Very lightly dust with 00 flour; pass through a pasta machine at its widest setting. Fold in half, rotate 90 degrees, and pass through two more times on same setting to smooth dough and increase elasticity. Adjust machine to next setting and pass pasta dough through twice more, gently supporting it with the palm of your hand as it emerges. Continue to pass through ever-finer settings, once each, ending at second or third to last; dough should be very thin, and you should be able to see the outline of your hand through it, but it should not be translucent. Lay dough flat on an 00 flour-dusted surface, or drape over a pasta rack or backs of chairs, until just tacky, 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Fold pasta into quarters; cut into 3/4-inch-wide strips. Unfold and drape over rack until almost dry, about 20 minutes. (If not cooking immediately, you can gather several strands and form into a nest shape. Place pasta on a semolina-dusted baking sheet and let dry 24 hours. Store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.)

HOMEMADE TAGLIATELLE

Steps:

• Place flour on a marble or wooden work surface. Make a well in the center and crack in eggs; add salt. Gently beat eggs using a fork, incorporating the surrounding flour, until mixture is runny. Pull remaining flour into the center using a bench scraper, incorporating it until dough forms a ball.
• Knead dough with your hands by flattening the ball, stretching it, and folding the top towards the center. Turn 45 degrees and repeat until dough is soft and smooth, about 10 minutes.
• Shape dough into a ball. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Flatten the first portion and pass through the thickest setting of the pasta machine. Dust with more flour, fold in half like a book and repeat 3 to 4 times, flouring, folding, and passing through the thickest setting,until the dough is smooth in texture, even in size, and no longer sticky.
• Move the pasta machine to a middle setting and pass each sheet through once. Move to the next-to-last setting and pass through once. Cut in half. Repeat with remaining 2 portions.
• Add the tagliatelle attachment to the pasta machine and pass each piece through. Roll the machine handle with one hand and collect the pasta with the other.
• Gently toss pasta with some more flour. Air dry for 30 minutes.
• Cook tagliatelle in plenty of salted, boiling water until tender yet firm to the bite, 3 to 5 minutes.