Homemade lasagna: Part one - Noodles

When I was 8 or 9 my parents took my brother and I to have dinner with their friends, and it may have been the most influential meal I have ever had. Their friends were Italian, like legit Italian, and they made fresh pasta. When we got there mid afternoon they had already made the dough and we all rolled it out together. It seriously changed my life. I was, and still am, obsessed with fresh made pasta. It's not hard, no crazy ingredients, it is a little time consuming, but so so worth it.
Fresh pasta is kind of my signature dish. When it's someones birthday, fresh pasta. When we have a dinner party, fresh pasta. When it's a holiday, fresh pasta. Alfredo, creamy mushroom sauce, fresh tomato basil sauce, braised short rib ragu, but my favourite favourite thing to do with fresh noodles is lasagna.
Who doesn't like lasagna? I mean really it may be the perfect food. It has all the food groups, and it's mostly carbs and cheese! (I make myself feel better by adding spinach)

I make fresh pasta quite often so I got myself the attachment for my mixer. Is this recipe hard if you don't have a mixer for the dough or the (expensive as eff) attachment? Not at all. I have done it by hand many times, I've always used a machine (either hand crank or the attachment), but I have heard you can also use a rolling pin with great success. 

Making the dough is pretty simple. If you are doing it by hand you put all the flour on your counter and make a hole in the middle. Then I beat the eggs, water, olive oil, and salt together and pour it into the well. You then take your finger or the handle of a wooden spoon and start to mix the liquid, catching a little more of the flour each time you go around. Do this till the liquid is more of a paste, then start to knead your dough. When the dough is smooth you form it into a ball. 

With the mixer you use the dough hook. Put the flour in the bowl make a well, beat the wet ingredients and pour them into the well. Turn the mixer on.  When the dough is smooth, take it out and form it into a ball.
What ever method you choose, it is important to let the dough rest for at least 20 minutes to let the gluten form.
Before you start rolling you should think about where you are going to put your noodles. I take my broom handle, cover it in plastic, and put it up on two chairs.  The basic technique is you put the dough through the rollers at the highest setting a few times, folding the dough after each pass. Then you start turning up the rollers, going through once at each stage. I usually go to a 5 or 6 for pasta and lasagna. 

Fresh Pasta

1 1/2 cups Semolina flour

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

or

3 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs

1 tbsp olive oil

2-7 tbsp water

Happy cooking