The making of this book dispelled the myth that you need a full-size kitchen to make homemade pasta. Not only
did Lindsey pull it off in her bus home, but Tommaso and Eva also made fresh pasta on their sailboat! When we showed up to Lindsey and Zach’s, they had pasta laid out over chairs and along their entire countertop (which runs the whole length of the bus). If you don’t have a pasta maker, don’t fret, you can do this by hand. In fact, we tested this recipe by hand and it turned out great—you just have to put in a bit more elbow grease. Fresh pasta is much more delicate than dried and is truly worth the extra effort required.
Directions
- On the countertop or in a large bowl, mix together the flour, eggs, and salt and knead for 5 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and let it rest for 20 minutes at room temperature. Cut the dough into 6 even pieces. Work with one piece out at a time and leave the rest wrapped so the dough doesn’t dry out.
- If rolling the dough through a pasta machine, set the rollers at their widest setting, flatten the dough with lightly floured hands into a rough rectangle, and feed it through the rollers.
- Fold the dough into thirds, then feed it through the rollers again. Repeat the folding and rolling five times, using flour as needed if the dough becomes sticky.
- Turn the roller one notch thinner, only this time you’ll be folding the dough in half, not thirds. Remember to keep dusting with flour and repeat this step twice if needed.
- Turn the roller one notch thinner and feed the dough through without folding. Continue making the pasta thinner by changing the settings on your machine as necessary. The dough is thin enough when you can see the color of your hand through it. You may find that the dough is thin enough before you reach the last setting on the machine.
- Place the sheet of pasta on a floured surface to prevent sticking and start on the next piece of dough, repeating the steps above. When all the dough has been rolled out, cut each sheet crosswise into 6- to 8-inch sections and let dry for 10 minutes.
- Feed the pasta sheets through fettuccine cutters, turning the handle slowly and steadily, guiding the delicate pasta strands with your other hand. Lay the noodles on a floured surface and continue with the rest of the batch.
- Bring a pot of water to boil, add some salt and oil, and cook half the pasta for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pasta gently and transfer to a colander to drain. Let the water come back up to a full boil, then repeat to cook the remaining pasta. Drain and serve with your favorite sauce.
Reprinted with permission from The Tiny Mess by Maddie Gordon, Mary Gonzalez and Trevor Gordon, copyright © 2019. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
