I didn’t think it would have been so easy and rewarding making pasta by myself.

Ok on the easy part I have to confess: I tried 2 years ago with not so great results and I got discouraged.

But considering all the free time I had this year during lockdown I tried again, and ta-dah!

What ensured a better result?

• I still used a manual pasta maker, I borrowed from a friend to try this brand (Marcato)

• I tried a different flour blend (with naturally gf ingredients, proportions below)

• I tried different proportions, with more eggs than what I used last time

• I worked the dough a little bit at a time

So if it’s your first time don’t use 1 kg or even 500 gr of flour altogether!

Use max 200 gr or even better 100 gr at a time to start.

You can use this recipe to make homemade tagliatelle, spaghetti, ravioli, noodles or even lasagna sheets.

You have to try the homemade lasagna as well, it’s such a different league and imagine how impressed your friends will be if you serve them homemade lasagna from scratch!

It’s totally possible, just try one thing at a time.

Ingredients for 4 people

First of all blend this mix:

• 100 gr corn starch

• 100 gr potato starch

• 45 gr rice flour

• 5 gr xanthan gum

Other ingredients:

• 2 whole eggs, 1 yolk

• 2 tsp xanthan gum

• pinch of salt

Making Pasta

1. Place 200 gr of flour mix and 2 tsp of xanthan gum on a clean wooden surface or baking board. Mix flour and xanthan well and create the shape of a round fountain with the flour. Dig a little valley in the middle of the fountain and place the eggs in the middle. Start kneading by adding a bit of flour at a time to the egg mix. I did use a pinch of salt on the dough at this point, but some recipes are also recommending no salt. Up to your taste.

2. Once the eggs and flour are all mixed, keep kneading with your hands until you form an homogenous ball of dough. If it’s too dry you can add 1 tsp of lukewarm water at a time. If it’s too wet you can add a bit of the extra flour mix. If the dough it’s hard to work at the beginning you can divide the dough in 2 halves and work each half separately.

3. Once the dough is ready (you’ll feel that it’s less rigid than the beginning and the ball doesn’t have rough edges) you can place it in a piece of cling film. Let it rest for 30 min in the fridge.

4. After this time, you’re ready to make pasta!  You’ll have to work a piece of dough at a time, probably in 4-5 rounds. Take a piece of dough and follow these steps to reach the right thickness:

   1. Dust the piece of dough with some flour.

   2. Flatten with a rolling pin until it reaches the thickness of the pasta maker roll at 0. You’ll see that each pasta maker has a little wheel with numbers. That regulates the thickness of the dough while you roll. Usually 0 is the thickest and 9 is the thinnest. Since gluten free flour is not as elastic as regular wheat flour I recommend making the pasta dough not thinner than 6.

   3. Roll 2 times at level 0.

   4. Then roll 2 times at level 2.

   5. Then roll 2 times at level 4. Level 4 or 5 could be already be good for thick tagliatelle and spaghetti

   6. Finally roll 2 times at level 6 for ravioli and lasagna.

   7. At the end of the process place the pasta on a clean cloth, or in a tray with a bit of flour.

   8. Proceed with the other pieces until the initial dough is all turned into the pasta shape you desire.

   9. At this point you can finally cook pasta in boiling water (with a bit of salt in it)! 

5. I’ve made a few experiments with this type of pasta and usually it is cooked after 3 minutes. Taste it after 2 minutes and every 30 seconds to ensure the texture you prefer.

6. Remove the water with a sieve and season the pasta right away with your favourite sauce: tomato, pesto, cooked vegetables etc.

What are the different types of pasta that I can make?

The Marcato pasta maker usually has 3 rolls:

• the plain roll for lasagna and ravioli (then you have to cut pasta manually with a knife or rolling cutter)

• the tagliatelle roll for broader strings of pasta

• the spaghetti roll for thinner strings of pasta 

To have a visual idea, I’m sharing this overview that I love from the Italian Blog Ricette della Nonna.

Lasagna: Roll the dough to level 6 and cut it into rectangular sheets (approx 10x6 cm). Cook the pasta sheets in boiling water for 1 min, transfer them in cold water and then use them for your lasagna (alternating levels of pasta and sauce)

Tagliatelle: you can use the pasta maker accessory or a sharp knife / rolling cutter to create the pasta strings

Maltagliati: This is the favourite pasta for creative people because by definition “maltagliati” means “badly cut” so you can use a knife to create the squares or rectangular shape as you wish. They don’t have to be of the same exact size and shape.

Ravioli: A detailed description is online for the recipe of Ravioli with Spinach & Ricotta.

How to preserve pasta to cook later?

1. Freeze it right away. When you want to cook it, just take it out or the freezer and pour into boiling water. In this case it might cook 20-30 seconds longer.

2. Some cookbooks and pasta makers also recommend to dry the pasta on a stick for 5-6 hours. If it’s completely dry and rigid it can be placed in an airtight container for up to 1 month. But I personally never did it so I’d suggest to make some more research before giving it a try.