Simple ingredients, a bit of elbow grease and your choice of shapes – you can make several kinds of pasta with this recipe. This will make enough pasta to serve 5 or 6 people.

2 3/4 c. All Purpose Flour (plus more for kneading, rolling and/or processing)

3/4 t. Kosher salt

2 large Eggs, whisked lightly (in a 2 cup measuring cup or similar container)

1/2 c. Water

1 t. Olive Oil

Put the flour and salt into a large bowl and whisk it together, breaking up any clumps.

Add the water and oil to the eggs and whisk to blend well.

Make a well in the center of the flour and add the liquid ingredients all at once. Stir, using a stiff rubber spatula, until well combined and dough starts to come together.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough, using a rolling motion, for 8 to 10 minutes. Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes, then divide into 4 or 6 equal parts, which ever you find easier to work with.

Before Kneading

After Kneading

Place each portion on a lightly floured surface and roll it to about 1/16th inch thick or process with a pasta machine to the same thickness. You will likely find that you need to add a bit more flour as you roll/process the dough (we always do) or it is a little too sticky to work with.

When using a pasta machine, you need to start with the widest setting (1) and process the dough at that setting several times, folding it double or even triple before putting it back through the machine. We often have to add a dusting of flour every other time, just to give you an idea of how the flour additions work. After several runs through at a (1) you can decrease to (2), though we usually skip to (3) and then to (5) without any catastrophic failures.

Once you’ve gotten the pasta to the proper thickness – and for us, this usually works out to about a 5 for fettuccine or ravioli and a 6 for angel hair (capellini) – you’re ready to cut your pasta. If you’ve chosen to roll out your pasta by hand, you’ll want to leave it slightly thicker for wider noodles and for filled pasta, thinner for noodles like spaghetti and capellini.

Our version of Farfalle, Fusilli & Shells

Allow the pasta to dry for about 30 minutes before cooking. If you don’t have a pasta drying rack, a cooling rack, like you would use for baked goods works well, or a kitchen towel will even work in a pinch.

Bring about 6 quarts of water to a boil. Add salt, about half a teaspoon of olive oil and a dash of Italian seasoning to the boiling water, then add the pasta and cook it as follows…about 2 minutes for spaghetti or plain pastas, about 3 minutes for twisted or shaped pastas and 7-9 minutes for filled pastas.

To save all or part of the pasta for another day, dry it for at least 2 hours, then store it in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to 72 hours, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.