Homemade pasta – sounds good, maybe intimidating? It doesn’t have to be! With a little patience, the right tools, and maybe a touch of Nonna magic, you can make your own delicious pasta at home. Learn what our Italian cooks and their own Nonnas say are the must-haves for homemade pasta:
Pasta Machine or Rolling Pin?
If budget isn’t a barrier, a pasta machine is ideal for creating smooth and flat sheets of dough. There are stand-alone models or KitchenAid attachments that work just as well. This is ideal for spaghetti or sheets of pasta for lasagna and ravioli making. If you’re looking to be a bit more wallet-friendly, a simple rolling pin can help with making rustic-style rolled out dough. Your pasta may be a little on the thicker side, but just as tasty. Roll out the dough until you can see the color of your hand through it. Then you’re ready to cut your preferred pasta shape and get to cooking!
Bench Scraper
Flour is your best friend when it comes to making pasta at home. But even if you’ve generously floured the surface you’re rolling on, sticky bits of dough will undoubtedly be left behind. A bench scraper makes cleaning up significantly easier for both pasta and other pastry projects. Look for bench scrapers that have inch measurements printed on the blade, this can help with eyeballing pasta dough balls sizes.
Gnocchi Board
When you want to begin making homemade pasta, but don’t know where to start, gnocchi should be your first stop. These tender little dumplings are made with a potato-based (or occasionally ricotta-based) dough. Once that is rolled together, you’ll simply pinch off a small amount, rock it across the wooden gnocchi board with the side of your thumb, and voila! You’ve just created your first homemade pasta. The most fun way to make gnocchi is to gather a bunch of friends. Once you all get into the rhythm, you’ll have a large serving of gnocchi in no time.
Ravioli Stamp
Available in shapes like squares, circles, or even hearts, ravioli stamps are an easy way to make delicious homemade pasta. Simply lay down a sheet of dough, dollop on top your favorite fillings (we love a combo of meats, cheeses, and veggies), top with a second dough sheet, then get to stamping! Make sure you use enough force to both cut and seal the ravioli together before cooking.
Apron
Making pasta at home can get messy very quickly. To protect your clothes, and to give you a trusty spot to dust off your floury hands, always wear an apron. Bonus points if it has handy pockets! If you do happen to get pasta dough on your clothing, remove what you can and then set aside the clothing until the dough fully dries. Once dried, you can peel off most of the dough. Any remainder can be handwashed out in cold water (hot will set the dough further into the fibers) with dish soap before running it through the washing machine as usual.
There are countless tools to make the infinite number of pasta shapes, which includes a butter knife, small dowels rods, and fluted wheels. Here at Sprezzatura, we love QB Cucina, but you can also opt for supporting local by perusing the pasta-making section at Pennsylvania Macaroni Company.
