Cooking With Kids is our new weekly recipe series on getting creative in the kitchen with the family.
Making pasta from scratch might sound complicated, but once you realise how easy it is – you only need three ingredients – you’ll might never buy dried pasta again.
Owner of Michelin-starred Pied a Terre restaurant in London, David Moore has shared his fail-safe recipe with HuffPost UK for our Cooking With Kids series – and if his Michelin star leave you doubting the simplicity of this recipe, know that his daughters have not just made pasta, but mastered it.
“This recipe is child’s play and can be done from start to finish by kids but does need some supervision for the rolling out and the boiling water,” he tells HuffPost UK, adding: “There is nothing more satisfying than making something with your own hands, especially when you start with basic ingredients like flour and eggs and you end-up with totally delicious fresh pasta.”
Don’t be afraid to roll your sleeves up and get messy with this one. You can use a pasta roller, if you have one, but a rolling pin works just fine – you just need some extra elbow grease.
“Kids can learn that pasta doesn’t grow on trees. If you take the time and effort to make something it’s totally worth it,” explains Moore. “They will also learn some discipline by following a recipe and patience because you have to let it rest as the pasta can’t be eaten straight away.”
Homemade Pasta
Serves: 4 | Prep Time: 40 mins | Cook Time: 5 mins
Ingredients:
300g 00 flour (plus 100g extra flour for dusting)
1 whole egg
8 to 10 large egg yolks
Splash of olive oil
Method:
1. Sieve the flour into the bowl. Make a well with the flour and crack in one whole egg, then begin kneading, slowly adding a few eggs yolks and a splash of olive oil. The flour will start looking like breadcrumbs and will come together as a dough as you add more yolks, go slowly with the egg yolks, don’t let it get slimy, but if it does add a little more flour.
2. The dough should be smooth when finished, remove from bowl, wrap in cling film, rest in the fridge for half an hour.
3. Have a large pan of water on the boil ready, with salt and olive oil.
4. Lightly flour the surface, and rolling pin, before rolling out the pasta. It should be about 3mm thick. Using a knife cut the sheet of dough into strips (6-9mm wide), then place directly into the boiling water, cook for about 1 minute.
5. To go with pasta, children like simple sauces the best. Try basil pesto, tomato sauce or cheese – the world’s your oyster!