Fresh Egg Pasta

1. Sift flour and salt onto a clean work surface. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs, olive oil and 1/4 cup warm water. Gradually work the flour and liquid ingredients together with your fingers until all of the flour is incorporated from the sides of the well.

2. Knead into a smooth, soft ball. (About 5 minutes). Scoop up the dough and put it in a greased dough bowl. Cover dough and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

3. Remove dough from refrigerator and bring dough to room temperature. If using a pasta maker, divide into four pieces. Roll dough through the machine and cut into shapes. Place on a drying rack or lay flat on floured baking sheet to dry, which takes about 5 minutes.

4. If you're not using a pasta maker, divide dough into six equal pieces. Place on lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it is 1/4-inch thick. Using a straight-edge ruler to guide you, cut pasta to desired width. (A regular paring knife works well.) Place on a drying rack or lay flat on floured baking sheet to dry.

5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in pasta and simmer until tender, about 1-3 minutes.

6. Drain well and top with *Quick Red Sauce.

Kitchen helpers: Let the kids play an active roll in all the steps of this dish. They'll particularly enjoy kneading the dough, rolling it out and measuring it.




*please see Soups and Sauces for "Quick Red Sauce"