Eggless Fresh Pasta

Fresh pasta doesn’t need eggs to work. The dough is a little different from a classic egg dough, but it rolls beautifully through a pasta machine and cooks up just as tender.

Eggless Fresh Pasta (4 servings)

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour, 300 g
• Warm water, 150 g
• Olive oil, 1 tbsp
• Salt, ½ tsp
• Fine semolina, 1 tsp (optional, for texture)

If you have 00 flour, it works even better. Bread flour also works, just expect a slightly chewier result.

Method

1. Dough

1. Mix the flour and salt together.
2. Add the oil.
3. Add the warm water gradually while bringing the dough together.
4. Knead well for 10 to 12 minutes.
5. The dough should be smooth. If it feels dry, add water a teaspoon at a time. If it’s sticky, add a little flour.

2. Rest

Cover with plastic wrap or a bowl and let it rest for 30 to 45 minutes. Don’t skip this step, it matters.

3. Roll

1. Start on the machine’s thickest setting.
2. Roll, fold, and roll again. Repeat this 2 to 3 times.
3. Then pass the dough through each setting once, working thinner each time.

Thickness guide:

• Fettuccine: setting 5 to 6
• Spaghetti: setting 5 to 6
• Lasagna sheets: setting 4 to 5

4. Dry

Hang the pasta on a drying rack for 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Cook

Boil the fresh eggless pasta in salted water for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on thickness. Taste and pull it as soon as it’s done.

Alfredo (Restaurant Style)

This is the American-style Alfredo, creamy the way you’d get it at Olive Garden.

Ingredients

• Butter, 4 tbsp
• Garlic, 2 cloves, finely minced
• Heavy cream, 1 cup
• Parmesan, freshly grated, 1 cup
• Salt, if needed
• Black pepper
• Nutmeg, a pinch (optional)

Method

1. Melt the butter.
2. Cook the garlic for 30 seconds.
3. Add the cream and let it simmer gently for 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Turn the heat down low.
5. Stir in the Parmesan.
6. Adjust the consistency with pasta water as needed.
7. Toss in the fresh pasta.

This one’s a hit with kids too.