Homemade Pasta with my Imperia Pasta Maker

Have you tried fresh pasta before? The experience is totally divine. It has a very distinct texture and rich silky taste that you can’t find in dried store bought pasta. It also cooks way faster - almost half the time and holds more flavor than selmolina based pastas.

Do you know what makes fresh pasta even better? It is when you make it yourself. The process is quite simple. All you need is 1 large egg for every cup of all purpose flour along with ¼ tsp salt and 1-2 tablespoon water. You will also need a nice wide work surface, rolling pin, flour duster and a sifter. Of course we wouldn't want to forget the most important tool of all - the Imperia Manual Pasta Maker for $65.99 at Amazon.com. It does the job far better than those expensive “Kitchenaid” attachments. You will also need a drying rack to allow pasta to firm.

First step is you sift your dry ingredients: flour and salt onto a board and form a well.

Crack-open an egg and gently beat with a fork – taking in gradual amounts of flour. As the dough becomes dense, it is time to work it with your hands. Adding a little bit of water will allow you to knead the dough with ease. Knead at least 10 minutes and let it rest on a bowl covered with a dish towel.

After resting for 10 minutes, dust the surface with flour and flatten your dough with a rolling pin. With a thickness of a quarter of an inch sprinkle your dough with flour and feed it to your Imperia pasta machine with the thickest setting: #1.

Pass it through a few times advancing the setting to achieve its desired thickness. Don’t forget to dust your pasta dough with flour each time to prevent it from sticking to your machine.

I made fettuccine pasta by using the Imperia fettuccine attachment. Instantly, it yields these gorgeous strands of yummy goodness. After letting it firm (optional) for 20-30 minutes on a wooden rack, our pasta is now ready for cooking.

I used a very simple pasta recipe that starts with butter, minced garlic, a handful of Parmesan cheese and lemon zest and juice. Tossed the cooked pasta in and let it sear for 2-3 minutes to soak up the flavor. This basic recipe will be perfect with sundried or roasted cherry tomatoes, brocolli rabe, artichokes or grilled chicken - I topped mine with Nick’s smoke tuna steak. Sprinkle with grated parmesan, freshly torn basil and dried red chili flakes. How divine?