Step #1: Make Pasta Dough
- There are several ways to make fresh pasta dough. The food processor method is the fastest. To accomplish this, place the flour, eggs, and olive oil in a food processor that has a metal blade attached. Process to form dough, about 15-20 seconds. After removing to your work surface, cover for five minutes with an overturned bowl.
- Form dough into a ball by kneading it for one to two minutes (don’t worry about technique, the food processor takes care of most of the kneading for you), cover again, and let rest for thirty to sixty minutes to allow the gluten to relax. In the following step, use this time to set up your workstation.
Tip: No food processor? No problem. For detailed directions and a video on making pasta dough by hand, see Beginner’s Guide to Fresh Homemade Pasta Dough.
How to Dry Lasagna Noodles
Line (2) wire cooling racks with kitchen towels. Arrange semolina-dusted lasagna noodles on top in a single layer. It’s critical that there be air movement beneath the lasagna noodles. Let air-dry, at room temperature, for up to 24 hours. The exact drying time will vary according to season (i. e. faster in winter, slower in summer). When the lasagna noodles break cleanly in half, they are completely dry. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
For a while now, I have been making homemade pastas using my dear Marcella Hazan’s “Essentials of Italian Cooking.” Before assembling the lasagne, she insists (in her typical orthodox manner) that the thin sheets of pasta must first be boiled, then wrung out and dried off. Even though I always follow her instructions to the letter, I wonder if this is just her being extremely particular. Has anyone ever dared to disagree with Marcella on this matter?
