Cooking pasta in Vitorchiano, Italy

Cooking pastaI’ve already written about my pleasant trip to Vitorchiano, an adorable medieval town north of Rome.

While there, I was also lucky enough to take part in a cooking course. After all these years of living in Italy, I finally learned how to make homemade fettuccine pasta.

Some in my family might say ‘About time’… : )

Cooking pastaHere in the photo above you’ll see my nice little work space with everything set out for me. If only I could manage to get my kids to do the same for me back home, I might enjoy cooking more…

It’s actually a lot of fun, and only requires simple ingredients. For four servings of pasta (generally it’s calculated at 100 g per person), you will need the following:

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 3/4 cups (400 g) pasta flour (type 00)
  • 4 T extra virgin olive oil
  • flour for dusting work surface
  • a pinch of salt

First you place the flour on the work surface and create a well in the center. Break the eggs into this well, then add olive oil and salt. Using a fork, beat the eggs gently. Gradually, use the fork to add in flour from the edge of your well, but DO NOT allow the egg to ‘escape’. Keep building up the outer edge of the flour if necessary. Keep mixing together until the dough begins coming together.

Once you have the basic dough, beging using your hands to knead the mixture. this is the time consuming part, and you’ll need to add more flour if the mixture is too sticky. Keep working it in. Continue kneading until it is smooth and elastic, and let it sit for 30 minutes to allow it to rest.

When you’re ready to roll it out, dust the workspace with flour. cut the ball in half. Flatten the dough and begin rolling it into a circle of uniform thickness.

Cooking pastaEt voila, here’s the fettuccine after it’s been rolled out perfectly and cut into strips.

It’s ready to be thrown into boiling water to be cooked perfectly al dente, and then mixed with the sauce you’ve already been preparing.

Enjoy your freshly prepared pasta and sauce. Buon appetito!

3 Comments

  1. evelyneholingue on December 2, 2015 at 12:23 am

    Miam Miam! Sounds lovely, Kimberly, this combo food and beautiful setting.

    • kimberlysullivan on December 2, 2015 at 9:14 am

      As a Frenchwoman, you know what an ideal combination that is. Nothing better than delicious food and wine while visiting some gorgeous French or Italian village. : )

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