2-Ingredient Fresh Southern Italian Pasta
Semolina flour and water are all that's necessary to make a southern Italian pasta. While there are many shapes of pasta throughout Italy, this recipe explains how to roll and shape common flat, strip pasta like fettuccine, tagliatelle, and pappardelle along with the traditional coiled busiate. This recipe makes a ½ pound of pasta enough for 2 people; double the recipe for a full pound to feed 4 people.
Servings: 2 servings (½ pound)
Ingredients
- 200 g (1⅔ cup) durum wheat semolina flour
- 100 ml (~½ cup) warm tap water ~100˚F / 38˚C
Instructions
For making all pasta shapes:
- On a work surface or in a large bowl, measure out the semolina flour. Make a well in the center of the flour.TIP: A well in the center helps to prevent liquid from oozing out during mixing.
- Measure the water. Slowly pour the water in the well of the flour and stir with your fingers as you pour to moisten the flour. Add enough liquid while stirring until a shaggy dough begins to form.
- Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough reaches a tacky smooth ball adding regular or semolina flour or water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed.
- Cover the dough with a towel or plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.
- Line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper and dust with semolina or other flour.TIP: You can simply flour the pans without paper, but the paper helps to manipulate the pasta in and out of the pans.
- Lightly flour the work surface under the dough. Shape the dough into a disk. At this point, you can roll out the dough to the shape you want for making different pasta shapes including using a pasta machine if available.
For making long, flat noodles (like fettuccine, tagliatelle, & pappardelle):
- Divide the dough disk in half. Place one half on a lightly floured work surface and cover the other. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough flat keeping the work surface floured. The dough should be thin enough to see through it. For this amount of dough, roll it into a ~14-x18- inch rectangle.TIP: If using a pasta attachment, flatten as described.
- Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut out long strips that are the full length of the dough. Make them as thin or as wide as desired. For fettuccine, cut out strips ¼ inch wide. For tagliatelle, cut out strips ½ inch wide. For pappardelle, cut out strips 1 inch wide. As you cut out the strips, place them on the floured baking sheet. You can mound the strips of the same size in a nest or lay them flat.TIP: If cutting by hand, don’t worry too much about traditional measurements, cut to the width of what you like to eat. Maybe you prefer a pappardelle that's 2 inches wide. 😊
- Repeat with the remaining dough making as many flat strips as desired.
For making busiate (long, helical shape or mini spiraled spaghetti):
- Divide the dough disk into quarters. Place three of the four dough pieces on a plate and cover.
- Set a medium-sized bowl near the work surface and add 1-2 tablespoons of regular flour.
- Roll the remaining dough piece into a rope about ⅛ to ¼ inch thick.TIP: If the rope is becoming too long for the surface you are rolling on, cut the rope in half. Set one half aside and continue rolling the other until the appropriate diameter is met.
- Cut the rope into 6-inch-long pieces. Toss the mini ropes in the bowl with flour,TIP: Mixing the ropes with flour helps to dry them out and prevent them from sticking to each other and on the skewer.
- Take a long wooden dowel, skewer, ice pick, or skinny straw. Take 1 of the floured mini ropes. Place one end of the dough on the skewer. Use the thumb or index finger on the hand holding the skewer to hold the dough in place on the skewer. Roll the dough at a 45-degree angle in a single layer down the skewer to create a spiral. Gently slide the dough off the skewer without mashing the dough. You can rotate the skewer in the opposite direction to help release the dough. Place each busiate on the floured baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining dough making as many noodles as desired.
Video
Notes
Serving:
Use any preferred pasta sauce. A traditional sauce for the coiled-shaped busiate is trapanese pesto (from western Sicily). It's a tomato-based pasta sauce made from ground almonds, garlic, and basil.
Storage:
Place pan(s) with the pasta in the fridge for up to 2 days or freeze the pasta on the pan(s) until frozen (a couple of hours). Once frozen, transfer the pasta all together in a sealed bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Cooking:
Bring a large pot of 4 qts of water to a boil. Add about 1 tbsp of salt, enough that the water has a salty taste like the ocean (salinity of the sea). Add the pasta and reduce heat to a simmer. Once the pasta rises to the surface, cook 2 minutes. Taste to check for doneness “al dente” meaning “to the tooth” and should have a small dense bite in the center. If a dense white spot is in the center of the pasta, it needs to cook another 20-30 seconds. Once done, drain and serve immediately with your preferred sauce.