You would think in an Italian household, homemade pasta would be a staple dish. While my parents and grandparents made other homemade Italian specialties, I cannot recall eating any homemade pasta. The closest we probably got was buying fresh pasta from Deer Park Ravioli in Deer Park, NY. Maybe that's why we never made it at home (my parents just bought homemade pasta instead?).
I always wanted to learn how to make my own pasta, so when my wife and I created our wedding registry, we added a pasta machine. My sister-in-law highly suggested that we get a Kitchen-Aid mixer with the add-on pasta attachment instead of a pasta machine because she said the mixer was awesome. We really didn't see a reason for having a mixer (my parents never had one growing up), but she said we would love it, so we placed that on our registry instead of a pasta machine. And I have to tell you, that mixer one of the most used pieces of equipment in our kitchen today (my wife and daughter love to bake)!
The first time I made homemade pasta, it was a disaster! The pasta never floated to the top of the water like the recipe said it would. It tasted like a rock and was absolutely horrible. But I was determined to make homemade pasta, so I tried other recipes and finally found one that I liked, and then I tweaked it from there over the years. Each time I made homemade pasta, it got better and better. I only recently discovered the secret of adding extra egg yolks to the pasta, NOT adding salt to the dough, and dusting the pasta with semolina flour to prevent it from sticking together (I'll explain in the video why).
I've been making homemade pasta now for almost 15 years. I know the recipe and the process so well I can do it in my sleep. It does take some practice, getting the right feel of the dough, knowing how much to kneed, and how to prevent it from sticking together. I hope to share this knowledge with you and the tricks I've learned over the years to make the perfect homemade pasta.
Video Tutorial (Season 1, Episode 3)
Watch us make homemade pasta (tagliatelle) with our children in this video. The kids really like doing this, especially rolling out the pasta using the pasta attachment. And of course, they absolutely love eating it.
Recipe
Here is a link to the recipe made in this video: https://www.ardolinoskitchen.com/the-kitchen-table/pasta/homemade-pasta
Tips, Tricks, and Essentials
For tips and tricks cooking with children, read our post here: https://www.ardolinoskitchen.com/the-kitchen-table/tips-tricks/cooking-with-children
Looking for kitchen equipment? Like what you see in our videos? Check out our recommendations for your kitchen: https://www.ardolinoskitchen.com/kitchen-essentials