Our Favourite Fresh Pasta Recipe…
In our current Caldesi newspaper we’ve printed the recipe for the filling for our lemon, mint and ricotta ravioli recipe from our new book ‘The Amalfi Coast – A collection of Italian Recipes’.
Here’s the Caldesi recipe for fresh pasta which is perfect for the ravioli and in fact for all our fresh pasta dishes. There are variations on the theme (some people add salt or olive oil etc) but I find that this one has stood the test of time.
You can also see an instructional video here
Pasta fresca
Fresh pasta
The standard recipe for making fresh pasta is to use one egg for every 100 g of ‘00’ flour. In the south of Italy many add a little salt for flavour, some add water for elasticity or economy and some add olive oil to stop the pasta drying quickly. However, we use only eggs and flour. We keep our own chickens and sometimes their eggs can be a little small so a splash of water makes up the difference in size to obtain the perfect ratio.
Makes enough long pasta (such as tagliatelle) for 4 as a main course or 6 as a starter
- 200 g ‘00’ flour, plus a little extra if necessary
- 2 medium free-range eggs, preferably corn-fed for colour
- Tip the flour into a bowl, make a well in the centre and crack the eggs into the centre.
- Using a table knife, gradually mix in the eggs and flour, starting in the centre and working your way outwards. Keep mixing until you get a thick paste, then use the fingertips of one hand to incorporate the rest of the flour until you get a ball of dough.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and place it onto a floured surface. Knead the dough by stretching and rolling it until it stops sticking to the palm of your hand, adding a little more flour if necessary. It should form a soft but firm ball that bounces back to the touch when prodded.
- If the dough becomes too dry, return it to the bowl and add a drop or two of water. Knead it again or use a food processor.
- Wrap the dough in clingfilm and leave it to rest for 20 minutes or up to a day in the fridge.
- It is now ready to go through a pasta machine or to be rolled by hand.
It’s a simple as that…
Enjoy!
Katie
PS:- You can purchase ‘The Amalfi Coast – A collection of Italian recipes’ here
