A recently uncovered video of my grandma and great grandma making fresh pasta has given my brother a few tips and tricks to incorporate into his own fresh pasta recipe, and I’m here to share them.
My dad was cleaning out his house recently and found what is now a priceless family heirloom: a film reel that he shot over 40 years ago (now digitized) with footage of my grandma (his mom) and great grandma (his grandma) making fresh pasta on a Sunday afternoon. (And anyone who grew up in an Italian American household knows the importance of Sunday pasta). My brother edited the footage down into a ten minute video. And in the process of watching and the editing footage of his ancestors making fresh cavatelli and ravioli, he was inspired. While making fresh pasta is no new feat for my brother, he definitely picked up some tips from his grandma and great grandma in the video. I’m here to share the fresh pasta recipe that is the amalgamation of my brother’s fresh pasta recipe and a few of those generations-old tips.
FRESH PASTA TIPS
This past Sunday, in honor of Mother’s day, my brother made fresh cavatelli and short rib ravioli (recipe coming soon). And it seemed fitting that he made it for three incredibly important women in our lives – his wife Julie (mother of his daughter/my niece Scarlet who even helped making the cavatelli), our mom, and our stepmom. But it was also fitting that he used some tips learned from the generations of mothers that came before us. And there were two important tips he learned from those mother’s that have become an integral part of his fresh pasta making:
ONCE KNEADED, LOOK FOR TINY AIR HOLES IN THE PASTA DOUGH
One of the most important parts of making fresh pasta is sufficiently kneading the dough. As my great-grandma says in the video, as she expertly kneads pasta dough by hand, “they have machines for this now, but they’re expensive.” Of course those machines are not as expensive as they once were. And most of us who are passionate about cooking probably have a kitchen aid mixer on our counters, which is what my brother uses to knead the pasta dough. But whether you use a machine or knead by hand, the tip to knowing if your pasta dough is sufficiently kneaded is to cut the ball of dough open and look for tiny pockets of air.
WHEN MAKING FRESH RAVIOLI, USE THE OFF-CUTS FOR CAVATELLI
The word ‘cavatelli’ actually means tiny hollows in Italian. And it’s a perfect description for this pasta shape, formed by expert Italian grandma’s all over the world with a flick of the finger that creates an open-sided hollow tube. Traditionally, you’d only use two ingredients for cavatelli: flour and water. And even though we use eggs in this ravioli dough, there’s not hard and fast rule about not using that same dough for cavatelli. So instead of chucking those excess scraps of dough, use them to make cavatelli. You can roll them by hand like all those Italian grandmas (learn how from a pasta grannie here) or use this amazing (and inexpensive) cavatelli rolling machine that my brother uses.
PASTA SAUCES
While the actual fresh pasta technique for this recipe comes from generations of mothers, the inspiration for the sauce we served with it actually came from our dad. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned many times before, my dad hates to throw anything out. So while you can literally use any sauce you want when making this fresh pasta (try my recent 5-Ingredient Chili Oil Sauce or a really awesome Puttanesca) for our cavatelli we use a mock-pesto made with greens in our fridge that were about to go bad. Simply pulse up whatever greens you have on hand (spinach, arugula or mescaline mix), give them a quick saute with some garlic and shallot, and your pasta sauce is ready to go.
My Brother’s/Great Grandma’s Fresh Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz semolina flour
- 8 oz double zero flour
- 1 egg yolk
- water
Instructions
- If using a stand mixer fitting with the paddle attachment, combine flours and egg yolk in the mixer. Begin mixing on a slow speed, adding small amounts of water as you go until the mixture comes together into a ball. Knead on medium for 5 minutes
- If kneading by hand, mix flours and dump out onto the countertop. Make a well in the center of the flour pile where you'll whisk together the egg yolk and 1/4 cup water. Begin incorporating flour into the egg/water mixture, adding more water as needed as you go. Knead the dough by hand on the countertop for 5-10 minutes.
- Check that the dough is sufficiently kneaded by cutting the dough in half. You should see many small air pockets inside the dough. If you don't see these, continue kneading.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or cover and set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes. The dough can also be made in advance and at this point can be wrapped and left in the fridge for 1-2 days.
- Roll out your pasta, either using a shape extruder, a pasta roller for long noodles or ravioli, or by hand using the cavatelli method. Whichever method you choose, use the leftover scraps of dough to easily make cavatelli.
- Cook pasta in salted rapidly boiling water until the pasta begins to float, 3-4 minutes.
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