• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Grits and Chopsticks

Fresh Recipes and Stories from Around the World

  • Main
  • About
    • meet ann
    • press
    • FAQs
  • contact
  • Recipes
  • At Home
  • Travel
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • France
    • Indonesia
    • Italy
    • Malaysia
    • Singapore
    • Spain
    • Sri Lanka
    • Switzerland
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • The Netherlands
    • United Kingdom
      • London
      • Wales
    • United States
      • Florida
      • New Orleans
      • New York
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • South Carolina
        • charleston
      • Washington, DC
    • Vietnam
  • Skip to the Blog >>>

04.12.2017

how to make fresh pasta by hand (without a machine)

how to make fresh pasta without a machine

Last month I attended a blogger-only event at Borough Market, my favorite food market in all of London (and possibly the world). This month, Italian food expert Ursula Ferrigno, who is regularly featured on BBC Good Food and is an instructor at my alma mater, Leith’s School of Food and Wine, is the featured chef there. I spent a few hours with Ursula and other bloggers learning how to make fresh pasta and other easy pasta recipes. It. Was. Life. Changing.

how to make fresh pasta without a machine

I’ve always thought of making pasta from scratch as really intimidating and quite frankly, out of my league. I don’t have an Italian nonna (grandmother). Even though my people invented noodles, the limitless shapes, sizes and kinds of Italian pasta always struck me as a mystery. A tasty, beautiful mystery, but a mystery nonetheless. 

how to make fresh pasta without a machine

As it turns out, Ursula Ferrigno showed us an easy pasta recipe and a method for making pasta by hand, and it couldn’t be more straightforward. The key with making pasta is to make sure your dough is pliable and smooth. It should feel kind of like refrigerated silly putty by the time you’ve finished kneading it. If it’s sticky, pillowy, or cracks easily — well, I hate to say it, but you’re not going to make good pasta.

how to make fresh pasta without a machine

how to make fresh pasta without a machine

The best part of this method is that you don’t need a machine, even though I do own this classic, affordable Atlas machine. I bought a pasta machine with the idea that I’d be making pasta all the time after I finished my stint in culinary school, but the truth of the matter is, the machine is kind of intimidating to me. There’s the gears, the folding, and the issue of where to dry the pasta. When you hand roll and cut your pasta, it dries during the process, so all you have to do with the pasta at the end is dust it with more semolina flour.

how to make fresh pasta without a machine

The noodles that this easy pasta recipe produces is gorgeous — just the right amount of bite, with a heavenly mix of doughiness. I love that I can make enough pasta for appetizers for my whole family using this recipe. I mean, I could easily double it and make enough for dinner-sized portions, but really, I don’t want to spoil my family into thinking that they can come home after a long day and sit down to a meal of fresh pasta like, every night.

It’s called managing expectations, right?


5.0 from 1 reviews
how to make fresh pasta (without a machine)
 
Print
Ingredients
  • 100g tipo "00" flour (finely milled Italian flour)
  • 100g semolina flour, plus more for dusting
  • 2 high-quality eggs (if in England, use Burford Browns)
  • splash of good quality olive oil, plus more for serving
  • freshly grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper for serving
Instructions
  1. Mix together the flours on a flat surface and make a well in the center. Crack both eggs into the middle and add the oil.
  2. Using a fork, whisk together the eggs until light and fluffy. Gradually begin incorporating the flours into the center until you feel like you can bring together a nice dough.
  3. Using the fleshy part of your palms, begin kneading the pasta dough until your pasta dough is smooth and silky. Flatten the pasta into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
  4. After the dough has refrigerated, cut the dough in half and shape into a ball. Begin rolling out the dough with a long rolling pin, shaping in the sides as you roll to make a nice long oval shape.
  5. Continue rolling the dough until the dough is thin enough for you to see the outline of your hand through it. Fold the ends of the dough into the middle, then fold the folded ends in again toward the middle again. Do that one more time.
  6. Trim the edges of the folded pasta, then begin cutting thin strips. Weave your knife through the folds of the pasta, shaking the knife to loosen the pasta threads.
  7. Boil the pasta in heavily salted water for around 4 minutes until al-dente.
  8. Serve with grated Parmesan, salt, pepper and more drizzles of olive oil.
3.5.3226

Looking for more pasta recipes? Check these out:
  • Pasta Al Pomodoro
  • Gluten Free Roasted Eggplant Pasta
  • Wild Garlic Pesto Orechiette
  • Classic Mac & Cheese
Like this way of making pasta? Pin it for later!

make pasta by hand

 

Making fresh pasta without a machine couldn't be easier -- click here for a video on how to do it!
you might also like:
blueberry and brie ice cream
steak and eggplant caponata
Five Can't Miss Instant Pot Recipes
lion's head meatballs with collard greens

SHARE THIS

10 Comments Filed Under: cooking tips, main courses, recipes

Yum
GET ALL THE LATEST FROM GRITS & CHOPSTICKS BY FOLLOWING ALONG ON Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mark Calloway says

    04.27.2018 at 11:46 am

    Wow! Thanks for this information. I never tried to make pasta without a machine but after reading your I am gonna try it for sure. Very nice post I like the way of expressing the information here. Generally I ordered pasta from http://belottirb.com/ they also make pasta so tasty that you will love it. But your post is also amazing love reading blogs like this.

    Reply
  2. Fran E says

    05.14.2018 at 3:02 pm

    I’ve made pasta with the recipe a few times now, and every time it works perfectly! Using high quality eggs means the yolks are very yellow and make the pasta a warm yellow colour as well, and I am always so pleased with the results! Keep in mind, the pasta does need to be used pretty much immediately after being cut, unless you can hang the strands so they don’t all stick to each other. I put my cut pasta in a bowl and even after 30 minutes they’d all stuck together into a big lump…

    Reply
    • gritsandchopsticks says

      05.15.2018 at 12:26 pm

      Glad this recipe has worked out for you! It’s one of my favorites.

      Reply
  3. Esther de Schone says

    01.28.2019 at 1:09 am

    Hi, when you say in step 5 to “do it again” do you mean just fold it in one more time or repeat the whole step …. as in roll it out till thin then fold again?
    I’m looking forward to making this tonight with pesto.

    Reply
    • gritsandchopsticks says

      01.29.2019 at 11:18 am

      Hi Esther, just fold it again. Good luck!

      Reply
  4. طراحی سایت مشهد says

    06.25.2019 at 8:02 am

    Amazing recipe! I really love making pasta at home

    Reply
    • gritsandchopsticks says

      07.02.2019 at 12:26 pm

      Great!

      Reply
  5. Kay says

    11.17.2019 at 8:07 pm

    So, I tried this recipe and ended up with what I’d call really long dumplings. The pasta never got thin enough, even after 10 minutes of rolling it out. I wasn’t sure how thin it was supposed to be, so eventually I stopped. My only note would be that you should really, really, really make sure to roll this out very thinly (<.5mm) or the pasta ends up as essentially strips of dough.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. pasta evangelists x grits & chopsticks - Grits & Chopsticks says:
    04.29.2018 at 10:53 am

    […] How to Make Fresh Pasta Without a Machine […]

    Reply
  2. DIY Gourmet Pasta - Green-Mom.com says:
    07.11.2018 at 4:28 pm

    […]  https://www.gritsandchopsticks.com/the-gravy-train/2017/04/how-to-make-fresh-pasta-without-a-machine… […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:  

Primary Sidebar

East Meets South in London. I share tips about food, travel and home life inspired by where I'm from, the places I go, and what I eat.

READ MORE

find it

greatest hits

    • cube storage bins ikea kallax Using Cube Storage Bins in Your Magic IKEA KALLAX
    • congee (chinese rice porridge)
    • strawberry balsamic panna cotta
    • whole30 breakfast scramble (and what whole30 is)
    • whole 30 lamb, mint chimichurri & butternut “rice”

Archives

search

Footer

Categories

follow me on social media

Archives

  • Current mood. . . . . . #mood #fireside #instagood #instadaily #instalove #gooddog #goldendoodle #goldendoodlepuppy #puppylove #photooftheday #photogram #abmlifeissweet #lightroom #loveislove #lovemydog #ikethedog #couchpotato #sofadog #dogsofinstagram #dogsofinsta #dogslife #doglife #doglovers #instapic #instadog #puppygram
  • A cheap and cheerful shakshuka for dinner tonight, with chickpeas swirled in a smoky paprika tomato sauce with wilted spinach and feta, topped with a sprinkling of cilantro (coriander). Accompanied, of course, by a lot of hand-wringing, disbelief and wine. So much wine. . . . . . #food #targetstyle #thatsdarling #thehappynow #thekitchn #instayum #instafood #igfoodie #f52grams #chefmode #instapic #droolclub #bhgfood #goodeats #eatfamous #hungry #foodgasm #honestcooking #foodgawker #foodgram #foodstagram #eatstagram #foodshare #dinnerparty #foodie #foodblog #eeeeeats #yum #shakshuka #onedishmeal
  • The big meat parade continues ... today was the culmination of a 3-day process of brining, smoking and crisping up a lamb leg from @fieldsofathenryfarmva, accompanied with a spattering of Israeli-inspired sides from chargrilled broccoli with tahini & pomegranates, a bright tomato and red onion salad, yogurt cucumber dip and freshly made flatbreads. As I’ve said this entire crazy, isolated holiday season, I need projects. It’s good for me to have projects. . . . . . #food #nomnomnom #thatsdarling #thehappynow #thekitchn #instayum #instafood #igfoodie #f52grams #chefmode #instapic #droolclub #bhgfood #goodeats #eatfamous #hungry #foodgasm #honestcooking #foodgawker #foodgram #foodstagram #eatstagram #foodshare
  • E I G H T.
  • In the absence of friends, family and parties to celebrate both, I spent this holiday season baking. Really baking. Cookies. Breads. Chelsea buns. Cupcakes. A buche de Noel. This weekend was the finale of a season of sweets, starting with a pistachio and raspberry roulade and then, using the last remaining bits of cream and egg whites I had laying around, a glorious pavlova slathered with leftover lemon curd cream cheese and topped with a cloudy layer of soft whipped cream, berries and toasted almonds. My neighbors have benefited from my baking largesse; my waistline thanks them for indulging me!
  • Bucket list item #432: bring baby alpacas wearing tiny party hats to daughter’s birthday, cause heart explosions in otherwise dismal start to the year. ☑️ @mypetalpaca . . . . . #birthdayparty #alpaca #peruvian #babygoats #birthdays #abmbeautifullife #abmlifeisbeautiful #photooftheday #instagood #instadaily #instalove #instamood #llamallama #llama #kids #kidsactivities #todayparents #parenting #birthday #birthdaygirl #kidslife #familytime #quarantinelife #2021 #happynewyear #hello2021

Copyright © 2021 Grits & Chopsticks · Design by DESIGNER BLOGS · Privacy Policy