Spaghetti is a long, thin, cylindrical pasta that’s a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine. In its simplest form, spaghetti can be formed using no more than a rolling pin, a knife, and time. A home pasta machine simplifies the rolling, makes the cutting more uniform, and speeds up the process. Commercially made spaghetti can be dried and stored for months, but handmade spaghetti is best when cooked within a few hours. Traditionally spaghetti is served with a rich tomato sauce or a cheesy carbonara. Regardless of how you serve it, this Italian classic is fun to make and delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Pour out the flour onto a clean work surface and form a well in the middle. Add the salt, eggs, and olive oil into the center of the well. Lightly beat the wet ingredients with a fork. Gradually draw in the flour from the inside wall of the well in a circular motion. Once it starts to come together, knead with your hands until it completely combines into a ball of dough. Continue kneading for 5-7 minutes, until smooth. If the dough is too dry, add a teaspoon of water and keep kneading. Form the dough into a smooth ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Set up a pasta roller on your kitchen counter or table. Flour the entire work-surface around the pasta roller. Divide the dough into thirds and, using your hands, form each into a rectangle. Pass one of the pieces of dough through the roller on its widest setting twice. Change the roller to the next thinnest setting, and again run the piece of dough through twice. Continue through each setting until you have gone through the second to the thinnest setting (on mine that was #6.) Note that after a few runs through the machine, the pasta will get very long, so flour regularly throughout the process to ensure there is no sticking.
- Once rolled out completely, cut the long piece of pasta into 12-15 inch pieces. Run the smaller prices of pasta dough through the spaghetti cutter on the machine. Use your hands to separate the individual pieces of spaghetti and flour generously to avoid sticking. Repeat this process with the rest of the dough.
- If using right away, form into little mounds of spaghetti, but if using at a later time, use a drying rack or spaghetti drier to completely dry the pasta without any sticking.
