Pasta Dough

A few seconds ago I was in my kitchen, whipping up a batch of pasta dough for tonight's meal, and thought, "OH!  How dare I not share this with you!" So, I started taking pictures immediately.  Lucky youuuu!

I found this recipe on Epicurious.com, originally printed in Gourmet's April 2008 issue. I've made a few changes to reduce waste (I include the egg whites) and removed a lot of the water (since I incorporate the entire egg), as well as added a little healthy glimmer in there for your hearts (whole wheat flour). I know, that is awfully kind of me.

My recipe is doubled from the original, which makes about one pound of pasta. You can roll the dough out by hand or use a pasta machine. Make spaghetti, linguine, lasagna, pappardelle, ravioli, you name it! Just remember, fresh pasta cooks in a matter of minutes! Oh, and salt your water, per favore :)

Pasta Dough
makes approximately 1 lb | prep time: 10 min | rest time: 1 hr 30 min
(Adapted from Epicurious.com Pasta Dough recipe)

• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• ¹/₂ c. whole wheat flour
• 4 eggs
• 3 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp salt

In a stand mixer or food processor, blend together all dough ingredients until mixture just begins to form a ball.

If the dough is not coming together after a minute, add water by the tablespoon.

Either using the stand mixer's dough hook or by hand, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface, adding flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking.

Knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, 6 to 8 minutes.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.*

Using a pasta machine (or roll and cut by hand), roll the dough to preferred pasta shape and place on a pasta drying rack. Allow the pasta to dry for 30 minutes or more before cooking.

*If you are making the dough a day ahead, skip the 1 hour rest time and place the wrapped dough in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before rolling your pasta.

Buon appetito!