Handmade Pasta with Fresh White Truffle

I just LOVE making pasta (well and eating it too :). Though it is quite simple, it is a bit time-consuming so I typically save it for holidays and special occasions. My husband’s birthday and Christmas are the go-to days. This recipes isn’t vegan, gluten-free or even vegetable-driven, I’ll admit. It is however made with real ingredients and a ton of love, so it’s SUPER good for you!!!

Handmade Pasta with Fresh White Truffle

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 extra-large eggs
1 Tablespoon premium olive oil

Makes about 4 servings (6 in Italy)

Dough By Hand~
Mound the flours in the center of a large wooden cutting board or on a clean smooth countertop. Make a well in the middle of the flour, add the eggs and the olive oil. Using a fork; beat together and begin to incorporate the flour starting with the inner rim of the well. As you incorporate the eggs, keep pushing the flour up to retain the well shape (do not worry if it looks messy). The dough will come together in a shaggy mass when about half of the flour is incorporated. If you have a pastry scraper use it to guide the flour towards the dough. Start kneading the dough with both hands, primarily using the palms of your hands. Add more flour, in 1/4-cup increments, if the dough is too sticky. Once the dough is a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up any left-over dry bits.

Lightly flour the board and continue kneading for 3 more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Continue to knead for another 3 minutes, remembering to dust your board with flour when necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes at room temperature.

In a Food Processor~
In a food processor blend all ingredients except for additional flour until mixture just begins to form a ball. Turn onto a floured work surface and follow directions in step two above.

To roll pasta dough~
Set smooth rollers of pasta machine on widest setting. Cut dough into 4 pieces and wrap 3 of them separately in plastic wrap or place them all in a large ziplock bag and close. Flatten unwrapped piece of dough into rectangle and feed through rollers. Fold rectangle in half and feed through rollers 5-6 more times, folding in half each time and dusting lightly with flour as necessary to prevent sticking.

Turn dial down to next (narrower) setting and feed dough through rollers without folding. Continue to feed dough through, without folding, making space between rollers narrower each time, until narrowest setting is reached. Pass the dough through the fettuccini or linguine attachment of the machine and place in small piles on a baking sheet as you go. Be sure to add some extra flour to each pile and gently toss.