Simple Egg Pasta

A simple recipe that works for all different pasta shapes. Going the extra mile to make pasta from scratch is well worth it, and is surprisingly fun and easy. The second time you make it, you won’t think twice about whether or not it is worth the extra effort!

Ingredients:

1.5 cups flour (Type 00 if you can find it, but all purpose works too)

2 eggs

Glug of olive oil

pinch of salt

About 0.5 cup of extra flour for dusting the work surface

Directions:

1. Make a volcano shape with the flour directly onto a clean working surface. Crack the eggs into the center and add the pinch of salt.

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2. Beat the eggs with a fork, while bringing in a little bit of the flour at a time. Continue to combine the ingredients, it won’t combine in one uniform mass, but a bunch of flaky bits.

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3. Flour the working surface, and knead the dough for about 5 to 10 minutes; you will start to see moisture come to the surface while the dough combines into a uniform mass. You want a stiff, springy, dense dough – this is what gives pasta it’s desirable texture.

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4. Toss the dough ball in a glass bowl with the olive oil, swirl it around for a couple seconds so that all sides are coated in oil. Cover in plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour.

5. Roll the dough out using a pasta machine or rolling pin into your desired noodle shapes; if not using right away, dust the noodles with a bit of extra flour and drape over a pasta rack, or just wooden spoon propped between a couple of tall cans.

Enjoy in your favourite pasta recipe – remember that the cooking time will be less than dried pasta, so taste while they are cooking to determine the level of doneness!

 

Mayonnaise

If you’ve never made real mayonnaise before, your life is about to change. It’s actually an insult to mayonnaise that we call the store bought, processed, fallout-proof oil emulsification by the same name. Real mayonnaise is extremely easy to make after you understand the process, and all the ingredients can usually be found in any fridge and pantry. Variations on the base recipe are endless, and opens up a whole new world of sauces. To suggest a few variations on the base product: garlic and lemon (aioli), reduced red wine, smoked paprika (serve with jamon and manchego croquettas), wasabi, and of course sriracha. I’ve even heard of fish roe mayonnaise, but I have yet to try it. 

This is the start of mayonnaise. Egg yolk, diijon mustard, and salt. There’s only one more ingredient past this point, but technique is the important thing. 

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 To make, you’ll need the following (makes about 1/2 cup of mayo):

1 egg yolk

1/2 tbsp of diijon mustard

pinch of salt

Oil, vegetable oil for a light mayonnaise, olive oil for a richer, more flavorful mayo

Directions:

1. Place egg yolk, mustard, and salt into a bowl or pestle and mortar. Mix gently with a fork or whisk to incorporate. 

2. Here is the crucial part. Add the oil in a small stream (think hourglass stream) and whisk with egg yolk mixture regularly, but not too rapidly. Too little oil is will not be an issue, too much and your mayonnaise will break. Continue to add the oil in a steady stream until the emulsification sets, then you can increase the rate at which you’re adding oil. Continue adding oil and whisking continuously until the desired firmness has been reached. If too firm, add some lemon juice to reduce the viscosity. 

3. Your mayonnaise is complete, now is the time to enjoy as is, or create a variation with whatever flavor combinations you can think of. 

Enjoy!