Delicate Handmade Pasta

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*use this recipe when you want soft thin pasta such
as noodles for Ricotta Parmesan Cannelloni *

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 egg

Pinch salt

1 tsp olive oil

Place the flour on a work surface in a mound and make a well in the center. Put the egg, salt and olive oil in the well.

Mix the egg, salt and oil together with a fork without disturbing the flour.

Little by little use the fork to gently incorporate the flour into the egg mixture.

Once incorporated use your hands to blend the mixture together well. Form into a ball.

If the dough seems to dry, add a little more egg mixture. If the mixture is too wet and sticks to your fingers, rub your hands with flour and form the dough into a ball.

Knead the pasta dough by pushing down and away from you with the palm of your hand. Turn the dough 90 degrees, fold the dough over on itself and push down and away again. Continue this until the dough is smooth but not too dry.

Use a pasta machine or rolling pin to roll out and cut the dough:
Flatten the dough ball with your hand until it's about 1/2 an inch thick and about 2 ½ inches wide (to fit into the pasta machine. Set the pasta machine on its widest setting (1). Crank the handle while feeding the dough into the slot. Gently hold the flattened dough as it comes out of the pasta machine, but don't pull on it. If the dough feels sticky dust a both sides with flour.

If the side edges are jagged fold the dough in half, press out air pockets with your finger tips and pass through the machine again at the same setting.  Continue doing this until the side edges have smoothed out.

Turn the knob down one setting (2) to make the rollers closer together.  Crank the handle and feed the dough through the slot. Continue to turn down the knob and make the rollers closer each time the pasta is fed through the machine.

The dough will get longer and longer. Carefully hold the dough as it exits the pasta machine so it doesn't tear.  Continue passing the dough through the machine until desired thickness.  Very thin for cannelloni and angel hair- thick for fettuccini or spaghetti noodles.

Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut the dough to desired lengths (about 6 inches for cannelloni).   Or use the cutting blades on the pasta machine to make thin or wide noodles.

Lay the pasta flat on a towel dusted with flour.

Heat a large pot of water and add a generous pinch of salt.  Fill a large bowl with ice, water and 1 T olive oil.  When the water is boiling add a small amount of pasta.  The pasta is cooked when it comes to surface of the boiling water (just a few seconds). Use a slotted spoon to remove the pasta and immediately place it in the ice water bath to stop the cooking.  Repeat this process until all pasta is cooked.