The Primack Times
June 2006
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How to Make
Fresh Pasta

Back by popular demand, it's the cooking column! Last time, bagels; this time, pasta. Sorry, but for the low carb column you're going to have to look elsewhere ...

OK, so you start with flour and eggs. That's it. It's kind of fun to make a little volcano like this one, although to be honest it's not really necessary, since it all gets mixed together!

Then, you knead. And knead. And knead. Consider it an aerobic activity! And, make you you are enjoying yourself.

You can add a little water and/or more flour to get the dough to the right consistency. Once you have a really nice smooth dough, roll it into the shape of a thin baguette. Then slice it into little pieces, like you see here.

Now you take those little pieces and put them through the pasta machine. There are a few different slots you can place dough through. One slot is smooth on the sides. This is what you're going to use first, to thin the dough out. The other slots have notches. These you will use later to actually make the pasta shapes.

On the side of the machine is a dial like this one. Mine has numbers from 1 to 8. Larger numbers correspond to making the slot larger. Basically, you turn this dial to adjust the thickness of the smooth slot.

You will put the pasta through this slot several times, making it gradually thinner and thinner. I generally put it through once at 7, once at 4, and once at 2. Then it will be thin enough. If you haven't kneaded it enough, then you may want to put in in under 7 a few times to complete the kneading process before moving on to 4 and then 2.

Out will come these thin oblong shapes. Dust them lightly with flour on both sides to they don't stick as they go through the cutting slot.

OK, now you're ready to thread it through the cutting slot. Out the other end comes pasta! Most machines also have thinner notches to make a thinner spaghetti-like noodle, but I've generally had better luck with the linguini.

And now it's ready! Dust with more flour to make sure it doesn't stick, especially if you're transporting it (say over to someone else's house). It cooks in 30-60 seconds. Enjoy.

Special thanks to Beatrice Litt for teaching me to make pasta!