Zero waste chef Max La Manna shares his simple DIY homemade pasta recipe that anyone can try at home.
As a child, I remember my mother making homemade pasta from scratch almost every Saturday morning, and it was such a treat to have a home-cooked meal – especially when made completely from scratch. Not only is making pasta at home delicious and fun, it also reduces the amount of single-use plastic that, sadly, the majority of store bought pasta is wrapped in. Here is my way of making easy homemade pasta from scratch and all products can be purchased at The Source Bulk Foods in London (or any bulk food stores to make it zero-waste):
INGREDIENTS
* 2 cups of semolina flour
* 3/4 cups AP (All-Purpose) flour
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 1 cup warm water
* pinch of pink Himalayan salt
METHOD
This is an easy DIY homemade pasta that will impress whoever you are cooking for and all by hand!
1. Begin by mixing the semolina and AP flour together in a big bowl with sea salt. Next, slowly add your warm water whilst mixing the flour. Next, add your olive oil.
2. Begin to knead your dough – pressing the heel of your palm into the dough, then folding the dough back towards you. You may have some flour leftover at the bottom of the bowl and that is totally okay – we will use it later. Just be sure that you get most of it and keep those hands moving by kneading the dough. After about 3-5 minutes of kneading, take out the dough from the bowl and knead on your floured countertop for one more minute. You want a smooth ball of dough. After those 5 minutes or when you get tired, give the dough some tough love, by throwing it down onto your countertop – warning: this may get a little messy. After a minute, put the ball of dough in a lightly floured bowl and cover with a kitchen towel.
3. Allow the dough to settle from 15 – 30 minutes or even up to one hour.
4. Take your dough out of the bowl and onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out lightly with a rolling pin.
5. To cut the pasta, I did not use a pasta maker. Instead, I used a pizza cutter and cut each piece of dough into fettuccine sized noodles – you can even use a knife.
6. Allow the pasta to rest for a few hours or cook immediately!
7. Bring a pan water to boil. Add a pinch of salt and a drizzle of oil to the boiling water – then add your pasta next. The pasta will cook rather quickly – within 2 – 3 minutes.
There you have it – homemade pasta that anyone can make and have it on plate within 30 minutes. Good luck and enjoy, and don’t forget to take a photo, share the recipe and tag @eatingwithmax and @ecoage.
Serve it with:
1. Tomato sauce with fresh basil and sautéed garlic
2. Sautéed mushrooms, breadcrumbs and sage
See Max’s recommendations for the Best Vegan Restaurants in New York City, and his guide on How to Travel Plastic Free
For more foodie inspiration see our 5 Simple Vegan Substitutes to use when cooking, and Christine Liu‘s tips for How to Reduce Food Waste.