Make your own Pasta from scratch

Today my work is cut out for me. 

I have decided to make pasta at home right from scratch. Till now, I have bought pasta from the stores but today I feel like being different. I had planned to make Chicken Strogannoff  for dinner but have run out of boxed pasta. Having heard and read so much about how good and fresh home made pasta tastes, I thought instead of going to the market in this heat why not try making the same at home.

This recipe is adapted from Nikki's blog "Cook with Nikki-Anyone Can Be a Chef! 
I love the way she makes the recipe look so simple and easy to follow by showing step-by-step photographs which rightly so was. When rolling out the dough, make sure that you roll it out as thin as you can (about 1/8 of an inch thick). In my hurry to make the second batch, the pasta came out much thicker. Still edible - but thinner would be much preferable. 
As this was a first time for me I am quite happy the way my pasta turned out - ofcourse the final judgement would be tonight on the dinner table.


Ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp olive oil
Water - as needed to knead the dough.

Method

Combine the flour and the salt. Make a well in the center and break in the eggs. 

Add the olive oil and with a quick hand mix the flour and the egg. Mix in enough water to bring the flour together and knead the dough for 4-5 minutes till smooth and elastic. Wrap the dough in a clingflim and keep it aside to "rest" for about 30 minutes.

When you are ready, on a clean surface roll out the dough with a rolling pin as thin as you can manage. This is what is going to make all the difference to your pasta. Between each roll, dust more flour and keep moving the dough so that it does not stick to the counter.

Cut into thin strips as required. I took the help of a pizza cutter and a ruler.

 Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water 3 to 4 minutes just until al dente. Don't forget to stir in  between to ensure that the pasta does not stick together.

Remove from heat and drain the water. Add a tsp of olive oil and gently mix it in.

Put the pasta in a bowl and enjoy it with your favorite sauce.

My pasta served with Chicken Strogonaff

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