I went to my first cooking class in Florence, Italy about two months ago and the menu included pesto lasagna. I definitely thought that the lasagna was going to be pre-made by the chefs there because there were probably 15 of us in the class that night.
Photo by Halee Sanko
I always pictured making pasta would be such a long and drawn-out process with a room full of pasta drying racks. I didn’t realize until the chef came over and placed a bowl of flour with a few eggs in front of us that we would be making our own from scratch. I also didn’t realize that pasta was only a few ingredients and SO easy to make.
Photo courtesy of goldmedalflour.com
As college students, we should all be ditching that box of store-bought pasta and going back to the cutting board to make our own. Pasta is an easy meal to make, it cooks very quickly, and it is usually very filling. What more could a poor and hungry college student want?
Photo courtesy of davidlebovitz.com
There are two types of pasta: fresh and dry. The names are pretty self-explanatory but fresh pasta is no more than five days old and includes ravioli, penne, linguini, rigatoni, gnocchi, tortellini, angel hair and many more.
Fresh pasta is made with flour and eggs, where dry pasta is made with flour and water. Sometimes you can add a few other ingredients such as salt, white pepper, parmesan, or extra virgin olive oil to add a little bit of flavor.
Photo courtesy of gourmet.com
If you want to make your own pasta, don’t be intimidated. All you need is eggs, water, salt, and flour. Be careful with what type of flour you use because it can change the taste of your pasta drastically and if it’s not fine enough, then it won’t work as well.
You’ll also need a cutting board, a knife, a pasta maker (or you can even just use a wine bottle or a rolling pin), a bowl or two, and plastic wrap. Check out a super-easy recipe here. I will be adding a pasta maker to my summer wishlist of things to get after I come home (and, of course, start making money again).
Photo by Halee Sanko
Boxed pasta (and all of its preservatives) might be the easier and faster choice, but in the end, the fresh pasta that is homemade is healthier and will probably taste a lot better because I made it and can be proud.