Homemade pasta options

Heather Goddard
Posted 1/19/22

Sometimes, in spite of meal planning, freezer meals and grocery budgets you find yourself staring at cupboards, r

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Homemade pasta options

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Sometimes, in spite of meal planning, freezer meals and grocery budgets you find yourself staring at cupboards, refrigerators and freezers feeling like you have nothing to pull together. If it is that late in the day then I can pretty much guarantee I don’t feel like packing up four kids and going to the grocery store to spend money when I have more than enough food in the house….just nothing that i feel like putting all together into a meal. That is where homemade pasta comes into play. 

It is easy, fast, and economical. Homemade pasta also gives me the chance to remind my kiddos that anything you find in the store, people once made at home first. Egg-based pasta is our typical go to (and even works with a high-quality GF all purpose flour) but I will be including a egg-free noodle type just in case you don’t eat eggs or need something even more economical than egg pasta. 

While pasta is easy to make, it does take practice. This tradition actually came from my husband, who learned from his mother. While I get a little more creative he is still know as the ultimate noodle maker in our family. 

Basic Egg Noodles

This recipe is simply increased based on how many people you are feeding. To increase the number of noodles simply increase based on the 2/1 ratio of eggs to flour. Depending on the size of the eggs and how your flour works up you might need another egg or more flour.

4 eggs

2 cups of all purpose flour

pinch of salt

In a medium to large sized bowl place your flour. Sprinkle your pinch of salt over the flour and sift around to mix. Make a well in the flour and then crack eggs into the well. Using a fork begin to combine egg with flour until a stiff dough starts to form. Finish pulling the doug into a ball and then knead on a well-floured surface until the dough is smooth and stiff. Place on the counter with a damp paper towel over it to rest while you assemble your stretching and cutting equipment. If you own a pasta maker you are in luck and can now roll and cut it using your pasta machine. If you don’t, lightly dust your counter top. Divide the dough into four sections keeping the damp with the paper towel. 

Roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness and then cut using a pizza cutter or knife into desired width of noodles. We like short wide for chicken noodle soup and longer and skinnier for spaghetti. These noodles can be cooked right away or dusted with flour and then frozen in baggies for later use.

Egg-free fettuccine

3 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup liquid from a can of white beans

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons olive oil

The process is much the same as the previous recipe however combine the bean liquid, water and olive oil well in a bowl first then combine with the flour. Once formed into a stiff dough knead well and cover with a damp towel or paper towel. Let rest for 30 minutes. Knead again 3-5 times and allow to rest another 30 minutes. This is additional resting time is to help the dough develop the bonds that it will need that would normally be created by coating the gluten strands with egg protein.

For fettuccine the dough should be rolled to 1/8 inch and about 12 inches long then cut into thin strips. To dry the noodles flour them and wrap over hangers or baking racks.

Homemade Ravioli

We like our ravioli to have a little more stretch to stand up to the extra handling. For this I add more egg yolks into the dough and allow it a little longer rest period. This recipe makes a lot of ravioli since I like to make extra to freeze.

4 cups all purpose flour, plus more as needed

1 teaspoon kosher salt

6 large eggs

4 large egg yolks

4 tablespoons olive oil

As before place the flour in a large bowl and combine with the salt. Whisk together the egg, egg yolks and oil. Pour into a well in the flour and combine with a fork until a stiff dough begins to form. This dough is a little softer than the traditional egg noodle dough. Finish by kneading the dough on a well floured surface. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rest for at least 40 minutes but don’t allow to dry out. Divide dough into eight sections.

Roll so thin that you can see your hand well through it since it will be double thickness once the ravioli are assembled. 

Make your ravioli filling while the dough rests. When you are ready to fill the dough roll the dough out and then cut to 4 inches wide and about 12 inches long. place a small (roughly tablespoon or small cookie scoop) scoop of filling 2 inches apart int eh middle of the length of dough to the half-way point. Then fold the dough over the filling pressing the air out of the “pocket” before sealing the dough together. Press the dough down around the filling and then using a pizza cutter or a knife (I prefer a pizza cutter) cut the dough out in squares leaving at least 1/2 inch of dough around the pockets on all sides.

You can now either cook the ravioli or freeze them on a cookie sheet in a single layer and then place in a plastic sack and cook later.