Homemade noodles!

Supplies and Ingredients:

1.5 Cups unbleached flour
2 eggs
Salt
Olive oil (optional)

Rolling pin
Fork
Surface for rolling out dough
Knife
Plastic baggies

Soundtrack:

Mario Lanza
Vikki Carr
Sergio Franchi

Pour the flour onto a flat surface, and create a little bowl with your fingers (it will resemble those volcanoes you made for science projects as a kid). Break the two eggs into the bowl. Sprinkle the salt over the eggs.

Use the fork to begin whisking the eggs. Try to avoid letting too much of the flour work its way into the mixture at the beginning. The flour will naturally start to combine with the eggs, whisk it together slowly. Slowly work the eggs and flour together to form the dough.


I added a little olive oil to my dough to make it more pliable. Work the dough on a flat floured surface, like you would a bread dough, rolling away from you with the palm of your hand. After working it for at least 30 seconds: if it seems dry, add a little water; if it seems wet, add a little flour. I worked my dough for about 7-8 minutes, but this could vary with each batch. When its ready, it should be soft like a baby's bottom.

I separated my dough for two small batches: thin and thick fettuccine noodles. Once separated (or as one whole ball), the dough needs to rest for about 20 minutes. DON'T leave it out, it will become too dry. The best way to rest your dough is in a plastic baggie, and if you don't really like using a lot of plastic, save and reuse this bag for future pasta-making adventures!

Time for a break! I used mine to make a fresh pot of coffee, and enjoy some Irish butter on a slice of yesterday's homemade white bread... mmm. I fed the pigeons outside of my window, and smoked a cigarette (I know it's bad for me, just hush).

I don't have a "pasta machine" (pish-posh, I say), so i rolled mine by hand. Lightly dust the rolling pin with flour, and start rolling, rotating the dough once in a while. You want it to be Twiggy-thin, about 1/6 of an inch. The disadvantage to rolling it by hand is that you will probably not get a perfectly rectangular sheet of dough.

Another disadvantage to doing it by hand is that its quite difficult to get your dough as thin as it should be. I did my best and worked it as long as I could, but there was only so much I could do! I think I got my dough to about 1/3 of an inch, which was close enough for me (I'm not very geeky or picky about these things), as long as it doesn't negatively affect the taste or texture.

Fold the dough over onto itself until you get a long sort of tube. This is how you will cut the pasta to your preferred thickness. I made both very thick and somewhat thick fettuccine noodles.


















Allow the noodles to dry -- there are a lot of ways to do this, including using a towel rack or clothes drying rack. I used an unused dish drainer, but it certainly wasn't the most effective method... Let the noodles dry for a few hours. (You can also place them on a cookie pan and stick them in the freezer. Once they are stiff, put them into baggies to save and cook later.)

When the noodles are ready to cook, you will be boiling them as usual, but not for as long. Heavily salt your water, boil, and cook the noodles for about 3-5 minutes (perhaps longer, depending on the thickness of the noodles).

I topped my noodles with olive oil, some shredded gruyère, and cracked black pepper -- molto buon!

This recipe could serve 1-3 people (depending on how much you eat). In my family (of two) it would probably serve both of us with none to spare.


Please leave comments below, or email brokefoodie@chicago-student.com!