Plastic-Free Pasta
As I talked about in All My Trash for November, I started making pasta from scratch because:
- Whole Foods had switched all their cardboard pasta boxes to plastic bags
- All the cardboard pasta boxes I could find in other stores still had a tiny plastic film window
- A pasta machine had been on my wish list for over a year
I know you can buy dried pasta in the bulk bins in some stores, but none of my local stores have this option. If you need a refresher course on bulk bin shopping, check out “Bulk Shopping for Beginners“.
So, with no plastic-free pasta options nearby, last month I bought this Italian beauty (Marcato Atlas 150) and started making fresh pasta. There were cheaper pasta machines, but this was the best rated.
Now, I will say it takes a little extra time to make fresh pasta. If you’re in a rush, fresh pasta is not the way to go. Still, I’m a busy working mom and I squeeze in time to make homemade pasta on the weekends. I wouldn’t try to fit this into a weeknight dinner since the whole process takes about an hour.
With that said, it’s so delicious! So, let’s dive into the recipe.
Pasta Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
All these ingredients are generally sold without plastic!
You can also substitute some all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour. I start with this ratio (pictured above):
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
Note, that the more whole wheat flour, the harder it will be to knead the dough.
Directions:
In a large bowl, add all the ingredients and stir until it comes together.
Place the dough on a smooth surface and knead for 5 minutes until it becomes very difficult to knead. To knead the dough, I put it on a silicone baking mat.
Form the dough into a ball and place it back in the bowl. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Start bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Divide the dough into 4 – 6 portions. Take one portion and flatten it with your hands. Starting with the widest setting on your machine (mine is 0), feed the dough through. Then change the machine to a thinner setting and repeat with the same piece of dough. You want to continue doing this until you get to your desired thickness.
I go from settings “0”, to “2”, and end with “5” which is the thinnest setting on my machine. So, each portion of dough goes through three passes in the machine to fully flatten it.
If the sheets are too long, cut them in half with kitchen scissors or a knife.
Sprinkle and rub a little bit of flour onto the surface of the dough sheet so that when you cut it the pasta won’t stick to other strands. Next feed the sheet into the cutting rollers and set the cut pasta aside.
Repeat with the rest of the dough.
If your pot of boiling water is large enough to fit all the pasta then dump it all in. Otherwise split it into two rounds. As soon as you put the pasta in the water, stir the pasta around a little to keep the pasta from sticking to each other. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes according to how al dente like your pasta and enjoy!
If you don’t plan to cook the pasta right away, you can dry the pasta for future use by laying the pasta on a flat try and leaving it at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. To speed up the drying process you can place a fan next to the pan to increase air flow over the pasta.
When you’re ready to cook the air-dried pasta, cook it for 4 – 7 minutes depending on the thickness.
Finally, the first time I made pasta from scratch, I did not have a pasta machine. I took a charity cooking class at the Ronald McDonald House in San Diego with the chef from one of my favorite restaurants, Whisknladle. My best friend worked at the Ronald McDonald House at the time and this was an awesome way to support her work (and eat delicious food).
During the class, I rolled out the dough using a rolling pin and then rolled it through a pasta rolling board. Which is basically a board with a bunch of wires strung across. It looks like an ancient guitar of sorts.
You place a sheet of dough on top of the wires and then use a rolling pin to press it through the wires. The pasta falls under the wires and you slide it out.
Also, if you’re making ravioli or pappardelle, you won’t need a pasta machine either. Long story short, while there are plenty of affordable pasta machines available, you can also try doing this by hand before committing to purchasing a pasta machine.
What do you think? Sounds easy, right? Do you think you’ll try some homemade pasta? Let me know how it turns out in the comments section!
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