Homemade Pappardelle Pasta

If you follow me on instagram, then you witnessed my play by play of this homemade pappardelle pasta last week. While I claim to have a lot of favorites (Costco, hot dogs, tacos, brussels sprouts, just to name a few), my actually all-time favorite thing is making dinner with my fiance. It's actually not at all romantic, but makes me fall completely in love with him over and over again if this makes sense. We usually turn on some cheesy music and spend half of the time chopping and whisking, and the other half of the time awkwardly dancing around the kitchen island, or sliding down the hall in our socks waiting for the oven to warm up. This pasta was the perfect rendition of food and fun. We ran the dough through the pasta machine, hand over hand, seamlessly helping each other through each step, then Andrew manned the sauce while I set the table and filled our wine glasses (I'm really good at wine). There's just something extra special about homemade pasta, the texture, the fresh taste, and knowing that you made it together. It's the gift that keeps on giving. 

Homemade Pappardelle Pasta
Makes 20 oz. of pasta

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 eggs, room temperature
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• pinch of salt

Sift flour onto a clean workspace, I used my granite island in my kitchen. Use your finger to make a well in the center of the flour mound. Add in the eggs, olive oil, and salt.

Using a fork, gently whisk the eggs and then gradually add in the flour to the mixture. Once all of the ingredients are combined, use your hands to form the mixture into a ball (be sure to take off your rings or you will find bits of dough in them for days; true story). Knead the dough by hand, folding it over upon itself over and over again, for about 4 minutes or so.

Split the dough ball into 4 even-sized balls. Coat the balls in flour and run each ball through your pasta machine, or roll out with a rolling pin, getting it as thin as you can without ripping it. Use a pizza cutter to cut the noodles into 1/2-inch thick strips. Place on a dry surface and allow to sit out for 10-15 minutes to dry out slightly before cooking.

If you do not plan on cooking all of the pasta, place whatever you want to save into a large ziplock bag and freeze for future use. 

To cook, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook for 4-5 minutes until all of the noodles have risen to the top of the water and are al dente. Serve with your favorite sauce.