I got a pasta maker for my birthday! I have always wanted one (I am absolutely crazy for kitchen gadgets) and I spent Sunday morning doing research on how to make pasta and noodles from scratch. This is my very first batch, my very first attempt at homemade, fresh egg pasta! I would love to make (in the near future) pasta with flavours, like saffron or spinach; and attempt to make Asian noodles (rice flour, anyone?) too! Watch this space! Yinnie has a new toy….

It may look daunting, but it was actually quite easy as long as you keep calm and follow the instructions. There are many types of flour out there – ’00’ flour, all-purpose, cake flour… I used ‘ΑΛΕΥΡΙ ΣΚΛΗΡΟ’ which is translated as ‘hard flour’. It is high in protein content (about 11.4%). So, find the type of flour that is similar to what I used.

Equipment:

• Pasta maker machine (cleaned!)
• Rolling pin
• Baking silicone mat (or something similar)
• Clingfilm

Ingredients: (serves 2-4 people, depending on how hungry you are!)

• 275g of flour, plus extra for dusting
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon of good extra virgin olive oil
• a pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. In a big bowl, whisk together the flour and the pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre of the mixture.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and the olive oil thoroughly. Add this mixture into the well of the flour mixture, and gradually incorporate the flour mixture into the egg mixture until you form the dough.
3. Turn out the dough onto the mat, and knead, gradually dusting with the extra flour if it’s too sticky to form into a ball. 
4. Continue to knead for about 7-8 minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth and slightly stiff.
5. Wrap in clingfilm, tightly, and leave to rest in the fridge for about an hour.
6. You will know when the dough is ready when you make an indentation with your finger in it and the indentation stays.
7. Dust the dough lightly, and cut into 4 pieces. Work on 1 piece at a time, while keeping the rest wrapped in the clingfilm so it doesn’t dry out.
8. Lightly roll the dough with a rolling-pin to slightly flatten the dough into a narrow rectangle.
9. Have the pasta machine setting on 1 (the biggest setting first), and gently pass the dough through the rollers. 
10. Fold the dough as needed to fit and run it through the rollers again.
11. Repeat without folding, and adjust the setting to a thinner setting (2, and then 3, and then 4..) after each pass, dusting if the dough ever gets too sticky.
12. Continue until you get to the thickness of your choice. I would recommend setting 6-7 for linguine or fettuccine, and thinner (8-9) if you are planning to make angel hair or pasta sheets to make tortellini or ravioli. If it gets too long, you can cut the rolled out sheet into half so it becomes more manageable.
13. Run the sheet of pasta through the cutter part of the machine gently.
14. Toss the pasta noodles with more flour to prevent them from sticking and form them into small baskets (portion-wise)
15. If you plan to cook them immediately (like I did), cook them in a big pan of salted boiling water. Fresh pasta takes less time to cook than normal store-bought dried pasta. This batch took 2-3 minutes to turn into a lovely al dente portion.
16. Serve!