There is something about making pasta, getting two ingredients [flour and eggs] in a pile and running them out by hand, that’s so … magical and satisfying: it felt like an epiphany the first time I did it.
And also, I guess, that pride of having made something yourself that you never get with a cardboard box from the store … I think there’s absolutely something romantic about making pasta.
There’s the whole process I enjoy … the flour and egg mix coming together.. It’s a real modest activity, but making pasta by hand has become this beautiful reminder of a way of doing things the old ways, and yet it’s also a kind of therapy – in my kitchen, making pasta by hand has become ritual.
After freshly made pasta’s al dente bite and its silken, eggy taste, nothing else seems good enough. Come with me on this journey of discovering how to make pasta at home, and how to bring Italy into your kitchen.
The 11 Best Homemade pasta and recipes
1. Spaghetti
I am a fan of the way in which spaghetti turns the ordinary into the extraordinary – my kitchen is reduced to the equivalent of the funfair when cooking the ubiquitous noodle. And I think that spaghetti is best served with a crowd, whether that’s the family or just a group of friends having an impromptu get-together.
There is a reassuring aspect of spaghetti in its simplicity – yet it lends itself to all forms of creativity.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Water (as needed)
- Pinch of semolina flour for dusting
Instructions
1. On a clean work surface, make a pile of the flour and form a well in the centre. Crack the eggs into the well, add the salt and olive oil.
2. With a fork, squish the eggs and gradually incorporate the flour from the well until you have a shaggy dough.
3. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes until you can stretch it without it breaking and it has a nice elastic feel. If the dough feels to dry, put a little water and if it feels too wet, add some more flour.
4. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and roll out the dough, then sprinkle it with nuts or seeds. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and let it rest in a cool place for 30 minutes.
5. Cut the dough into four equal pieces. Run each piece through a pasta machine or roll it out with a rolling pin into thin sheets and dust with semolina flour to avoid sticking.
6. Cut into strips as thinly as possible by hand or with a cutter on your pasta machine attachment. Boil in salted water for 2-3 minutes until al dente. Drain and serve with your favourite sauce.
2. Fettuccine
While I cannot claim to have eaten all 30-odd varieties of pastas, it is not a difficult decision to reach; my absolute favourite pasta must be the ribbon-like strands that deliver a big, chunky bite with each mouthful, enjoying a symbiotic relationship with creamy, rich and decadent sauces.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
- Semolina flour or additional all-purpose flour (for dusting)
Instructions
1 Mound the flour in the center of a clean surface and make a well in it. Crack the eggs into the well with the salt and olive oil, if using.
2. With a fork, work your way through the eggs, then start drawing in the flour from the sides of the well until a ball forms.
3. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. If it is too sticky, add a small amount of flour; if too dry, add a few drops of water. 4) Lay out the dough on the counter, shape it into a ball, wrap it in plastic and let it rest 30 minutes at room temperature.
5. Divide the rested dough into quarters. Roll out one piece at a time with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface or using a pasta machine to your desired thickness, and slice into fettuccine pieces.
6. Boil the fettuccine in a large pot of water with salt added for 2-3 minutes or until al dente. Drain and serve with any sauce you’d like.
3. Tagliatelle
It is food that defines comfort for me. I am helpless in the face of a bowl of this ribbon pasta.
I love the way that the generous, wide-stranded pasta catches the heartiest sauces – my favorite is a meat ragù but it’s wonderful with butter and sage. It has a texture that I can’t match with any other pasta type.
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pinch salt
Instructions
1. Place a pile of flour on a clean working surface and make a well in the center.
2. Place the eggs in the well and beat the eggs with a fork while gradually incorporating the flour from the perimeter of the well
3. Knead the dough into a smooth and elastic mass.
3. Knead with your hands until the dough is smooth and silky, about 10 minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
4. Using a rolling pin (or better still, a pasta machine), roll out the dough to a thickness of 1-2mm, dusting with flour to prevent sticking.
5. Roll up the dough and cut into strips about ¼ inch wide. Unroll the strips and dry them slightly on a floured surface before cooking.
6. Boil tagliatelle in salted water, bring to boil and simmer until al dente for 2-4 minutes, drain and dress as desired with your favourite sauce.
4. Pappardelle
There’s something about pappardelle. For a plain pasta, it’s fat and delicious, the wide, flat ribbons of flour and eggs soaking up the sauce into a greedy mouthful.
It can carry both a heavy meat ragù as well as a light, creamy sauce. It’s the pasta I make for guests, and the pasta I make when I’m feeling blue.
My favorite way to cook it is a testament to the power of simple ingredients made magical by extraordinary preparation.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
1. On a clean work surface, make a pile of the flour and put a well in it.
2. Break eggs into well, then add the olive oil and a pinch of salt.
3. Start to incorporate the yolks and the oil little by little, using the fork to lift in some flour from the sides to form a mass of dough. 4 toss and knead for about 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. cover once again and let stand for 30 minutes.
5. Roll thin and cut into wide, flat strips of pappardelle with a pasta machine or rolling pin.
6. Boil the pappardelle in large pan water with generous salt, 2-3 minutes or al dente, ready to add your favorite sauce.
5. Ravioli
Yum! I’m passionate about savouring meat, cheese, and vegetable-filled pasta pockets.
Rich in history and ravenously exciting, filling ravioli contains infinite culinary possibilities. There is just something incredibly comforting about delving my fork into a steaming pile of these doughy delights.
My tongue delights in the perfect harmony of cheese, meats and vegetables bundled within a pasta sheet. Re-imagining old and new recipes is exhilarating and tantalising.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (additional for filling)
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
- Marinara sauce (for serving)
Instructions
1. Place flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add eggs and olive oil, and mix until dough forms.
2. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic, and then wrap in plastic and put to rest for half an hour.
3. Stir together ricotta, Parmesan, spinach, nutmeg, black pepper, and additional salt in another bowl till it combines well.
4. Split the dough into two pieces. Roll each piece out on a floured surface into a thin sheet. Spoon small mounds of the cheese mixture onto one sheet of dough. Leave a little space between the mounds.
5. Brush the filling with beaten egg; place on the second sheet and press down around the filling to seal. Cut across into individual ravioli with a pastry cutter or knife.
6. Tortellini
This is my favorite recipe for an Italian pasta dish. Its rings are so adorable, and it’s so fun to fill them with all sorts of decadent ingredients, whether they be cheese and meat or veggies too.
Those little rings have such a wonderful texture and taste that I find they go well with any kind of sauce or broth when I’m cooking them at home. All in all, this is, for me, my favourite dish to serve in any setting, especially to cosy up to on a cool evening in a steamy bowl of warm broth.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup finely chopped spinach (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Pinch of nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
1. Spread out the flour on a flat surface in a pile, then dig out a well in the centre and crack in eggs.
2. Mix the eggs and the flour with a fork, adding the eggs little by little until a dough is formed. Knead it for a good 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and bounces back when you press it. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.
3. In a bowl, stir together ricotta, Parmesan, chopped spinach (if using), salt, pepper and nutmeg.
4. Roll the dough out to a thin sheet. Cut it into 3-inch squares or use a round cutter to cut out circles.
5. Put a little teaspoon of filling in the middle of each piece of dough. Fold to form a triangle (square) or a half-moon (circle), and press the edges to seal. Then bring the two corners together to form the tortellini shape.
6. Boil salted water and cook tortellini for 3-5 minutes, or until the dumplings rise to the surface. Toss with your favorite sauce.
7. Lasagna
There is something about a piping hot ramekin out of the oven that is so comforting, and one of my favourite dishes to make is a layered parmigiana of cheese, meat and perfectly cooked pasta. The dish alone is mouthwatering, a mix of aromas that conjure up joyous memories.
My recipe has a thick, hearty marinara sauce and a heaping amount of mozzarella melting into every bite.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
- 2 cans (6 ounces each) tomato paste
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Brown ground beef, sausage, onion and garlic in a large pot over medium heat until well-browned and drained of fat.
3. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and water. Add sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon of salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of parsley. Cover and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring here and there.
4. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
8. Cavatelli
I think my favourite pasta is cavatelli. I find its shape and texture quite excellent for sucking up all sorts of sauces, and I love the way it kind of squishes out and creates a little explosion of carby goodness in my mouth with every bite.
I love to make it deliciously tender, and I think it pairs well with a rich ragù as much as it does with a simple garlic and olive oil number.
Ingredients
- 2 cups semolina flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup water
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
1. Mix the semolina flour, all-purpose flour, and salt in a large bowl.
2. Gradually add water to the flour mixture, stirring until a dough forms.
3. Knead it on a lightly floured board for 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Then cover it with a damp cloth and leave for 30 minutes.
4. Separate the mass of dough and roll each piece into a long rope, to be about 1/2 inch in diameter.
5. Cut the rope into 1-inch pieces and roll each under your thumb to mould them into the typical shape in a cutter or on a roughened surface.
6. Boil the cavatelli in a large pot of salted boiling water until they float to the top of the water, about 3-5 minutes. Drain and serve with your favourite sauce.
9. Farfalle
Farfalle is my favorite pasta shape. It looks like little butterflies, and catches so much sauce!
When I make pasta, I think it adds a good texture and aesthetics. It seems to impress guests when I get mine out at parties, and I always think it works with both creamy and tomato-based sauces.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
1. Pour the flour onto a clean work surface. Form a volcano shape by making a well in the midst of it. Crack the eggs into the depression in the flour and then add the olive oil and salt.
2. Draw the eggs with a fork, adding the flour from the well a little at a time until a dough begins to form.
3. Knead, knead, knead. For about 10 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour; too dry and crumbly, wet your hands a bit and keep working it.
4. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
5. Roll out the dough on a floured surface until quite thin. Cut into 1 1/2-inch squares, and pinch the centres to shape as farfalle.
6. Put the farfalle in a large pan of salted, boiling water and boil for 2-4 minutes until al dente. Drain and sauce.
10. Gnocchi
Gnocchi, is pure heaven. Nothing beats that melt-in-your-mouth pillowy sensation.
I’m always curious how those three ingredients – potato, flour and egg – can be so simple yet so scrumptious. When I make gnocchi myself, I like to think it’s traditional – the combination of potato, flour and egg forming a delicious culinary amalgam.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds russet potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
1. Put the fish on the backbone and chill. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C), then prick the potatoes all over with a fork and bake for about 1 hour, until tender.
2. Peel the potatoes while still warm and pass through a potato ricer into a large bowl.
3. Add the flour, egg and salt to the potatoes and mix until you get a dough, taking care not to overmix.
4. Divide into portions and make four long ropes, about ½-inch thick, and cut into 1-inch pieces.
5. Form little mounds of the gnocchi-gnome dough, then use the tines of a fork to push into it lengthwise in a zigzag manner, as the illustration below depicts. This step serves to make the gnocchi retain the sauce better.
6. Boil the gnocchi in batches in a pot of salted, boiling water – they’re done when they float to the surface, generally 2-3 minutes; lift out with a slotted spoon. Serve with your chosen sauce.
11. Orecchiette
There is something about the ear shape of the orecchiette that has always pleased me as a perfect form for picking up the sauce so I like it in ragu or with a garlicky olive oil dressing. I play around with different recipes and each time I make it, I am struck by the texture, its weight and its variety.
For anyone wanting to put more love into pasta, I recommend this pasta as a great place to start.
Ingredients
- 200g semolina flour (also known as durum wheat flour)
- 100g all-purpose flour
- A pinch of salt
- 100-120ml warm water
Instructions
1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the semolina flour, all-purpose flour, and a pinch of salt.
2. Slowly pour the warm water into the flour mixture, while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the dough forms.
3. Knead on a lightly floured work surface for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
4. Cover with a damp cloth and allow it to rest at least 30 minutes.
5. Divide the dough into small portions. Each small portion should be rolled into 1cm-thick long ropes. Cut each rope into small 1cm cubes.
6. Orecchiette: Make individual mounds of the small dumpling-size piece of dough, press each one with your thumb or a knife against a floured surface and make up into a small, cup-like shape. Let it dry a little, then cook.