Making fettuccine pasta from scratch is a wonderful tradition that should never be lost. So – let’s go for it! It's actually pretty easy! Just add 1 egg for every 100 grams of flour. Of course, it’s important to be patient as you roll out the dough – but it’s absolutely worth it for fresh fettuccine, right?
What's the difference between fettuccine, tagliatelle and pappardelle?
Simply the width of the pasta. Fettuccine is a slightly narrower pasta variety than tagliatelle – usually about 3 millimeters in width. Tagliatelle pasta is about 4 millimeters, while pappardelle are over five millimeters in width. The basic recipe for the dough is always the same, though: one egg per 100 g of flour.
The Recipe: Homemade Fettuccine
Ingredients: 1 lb flour, 5 whole eggs (at room temperature)
Tools: Rolling pin, Wooden pastry board, Plastic wrap, Cloth napkin or rag
How to make homemade fettuccine:
Start with a classic fountain of flour on a wooden pastry board, made by widening the center with your fingers. Break the eggs one at a time in the center of the fountain, stirring with a fork to mix with the flour.
To avoid using bad eggs, we suggest breaking them in a separate bowl. If you just bought the eggs, no worries. Collect the dough with your hands and start to knead, working the mixture until you get a smooth, dry (and not too soft!) dough. It is not necessary to add any salt.
Cover in plastic wrap and let it rest for half an hour. After half an hour, crush the dough with your hands and start rolling it out with a long rolling pin.
As you roll out the dough, apply light pressure with the palms of your hands, pulling it apart and bringing the mixture back together. Continue doing this until you have a sheet of dough that is about one or two millimeters thick, depending on personal preference. This process can take quite a while, requiring a little patience and willingness – but it’s worth doing by hand, we promise!
Spread the dough and let it dry for a minute before rolling it up and cutting it into strips of 3 millimeters width using a sharp knife.
While you are preparing the sauce, cover the pasta with a cloth. Flour it slightly before using again. Cook the pasta in boiling water for only 5-6 minutes.
Cooking the pasta. Plus sauces. Fettuccine pasta cooks in just a few minutes – like all homemade pasta. If the sauce is particularly thick, always add a little cooking water from the pasta.
Fettuccine pasta goes well with many sauce recipes – from vegetable and meat sauces to sauce made with fish (an ingredient particularly excellent with fettuccine because the pasta absorbs all the flavors of the sauce so well). Now that we've learned how to make fettuccine by hand, all that’s left is choosing the right sauce or ingredients to add!