“Back home, Kory turned on the TV, but I could no longer watch. For the rest of the afternoon I stood at the kitchen table mixing eggs and flour in a rhythmic circle, gathering the dough into small round balls, In the background the new was insistent. Arms dusted in flour, I kneaded and rolled and cut. I fed the smooth elastic dough through the steel machine. Over and over, through the rollers like a mantra, the pasta stretched and lengthened into cool, yellow sheets. It grew strong and supple. I covered the table with those sheets and cut capellini, linguini, pappardelle. Some I dried, some I froze, some we would eat fresh for dinner. Even as I let the work soothe the edges of my grief, I felt guilty, knowing there were many who would be too grieved to eat tonight, or tomorrow, or for many days to come.” from A Double Life, Discovering Motherhood
Basic Fresh Pasta, after Marcella Hazan
for each person
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup flour
- Dump flour on a smooth, clean, dry work surface. Make a well in the center. Break eggs into well.
- With a fork, beat eggs until blended . Then, with fork, slowly incorporate flour bit by bit until the egg is no longer runny.
- Using your fingers and hands, continue to incorporate flour until eggs and flour are well-combined.
- Clean your hands and knead the dough until it smooth, compact, and elastic.
- Using a pasta rolling machine, feed dough in pieces through rollers until desired thinness is achieved. Cut pasta into desired shapes.