Pasta | Basics with Babish

Pasta from Scratch

Ingredients

• Basic egg pasta: Flour, added by feel; 2–3 eggs, depending on how much pasta you want; and optional olive oil and a little salt.
• Semolina variation: Equal parts all-purpose flour and semolina flour, eggs, and a little olive oil.
• Cacio e pepe: Equal parts finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano and Romano cheese, freshly ground black pepper, butter (a nontraditional addition), and about ½ cup pasta water. Add salt and more pepper to taste.

Equipment

A countertop or work surface, fork, bench scraper, plastic wrap, rolling pin, knife, pasta machine with cutter attachment (for the machine-made version), pot for boiling pasta, pan for finishing the sauce, grater, baking sheet, and carving fork for plating.

Method

1. Mix the dough: Mound the flour on the counter and make a well. Crack in the eggs, add optional olive oil and a little salt, then beat with a fork, gradually drawing in the flour.
2. Bring it together and knead: Once the mixture is too sticky to work with a fork, use a bench scraper to fold it toward the center. Knead by hand for about 10 minutes, until smooth, supple, and elastic—like Play-Doh, tacky but not sticky. It’s fine to leave extra flour on the counter; incorporate only as needed.
3. Rest: Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, minimizing air, and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to relax the gluten.
4. Roll by hand: Generously flour the dough, hands, work surface, and rolling pin. Cut a small portion of dough in half; for a larger batch made with 4–5 eggs, cut it into quarters. Roll, fold into thirds, turn 90 degrees, and repeat about three times to laminate. Then roll the dough thin enough that you can almost see your hand through it. A dowel-style pin gives an even roll; a tapered French-style pin can help even out the shape.
5. Cut fettuccine: Trim the rolled sheet into a rectangle. Loosely roll it up and slice it into wide noodles using a light sawing motion rather than pressing straight down. If the noodles stick or fail to unfurl, dust the sheet with more flour before cutting. Separate the noodles, then hang them to dry or keep them under plastic wrap until ready to cook.
6. Roll with a pasta machine: Flour and laminate the dough at least once, then feed it through the machine starting at its widest setting. For a machine whose widest setting is 7, work down to about setting 2 or 3, passing the dough through roughly four to five times. If the sheet becomes long, cut it in half and work with each piece separately. Dust the sheet before using the cutter attachment to make linguine. Toss the cut noodles with flour and keep them on a baking sheet under plastic wrap, or freeze them in a zip-top bag.
7. Cook: Put fresh pasta into salted boiling water for no more than about 90 seconds. Taste it to check for doneness.

Cacio e Pepe

Grate the Parmigiano Reggiano and Romano very finely so they melt easily. Melt butter in a pan and toast freshly ground pepper in it. Time the pasta so the butter is foamy when the pasta is ready.

Transfer the pasta promptly to the pan, add the cheeses and about ½ cup pasta water, then toss vigorously until the cheese melts and emulsifies into a creamy sauce. Season to taste just before serving. Twirl the pasta into a small mound with a carving fork and finish with more freshly ground pepper. The dish is rich, so the presenter suggests serving a small portion.

Tips and Variations

• The presenter describes hand-mixed dough as a useful way to learn to judge it by look and feel rather than exact measurements.
• All-purpose flour dough and dough made with half all-purpose flour and half semolina differ in flavor, color, and texture.
• A pasta machine makes more uniform sheets, which is helpful for ravioli and other filled pasta that requires precise dimensions.
• Dust dough with flour before cutting—especially before using a machine’s cutter—or the noodles can stick together in a clump.
• Starch in pasta water helps sauces thicken and come together; the presenter notes that this can work with many pasta sauces.
• Butter is presented as “training wheels” for cacio e pepe; traditional cacio e pepe does not include it.
• Aglio e olio is introduced as another favorite, but the subtitles end before its ingredients or method are given.

Presenter/channel: Babish, Basics With Babish (Binging with Babish). Referenced: BasicsWithBabish.com and Squarespace, mentioned in the show’s sponsorship introduction.