Homemade Pasta w/ Bacon & Leeks

I bought a pasta machine a while back, but never had the time to try it out.

So today, i decided i should make some pasta for dinner! and i did!

Ingredients

Pasta (I followed the recipe from Gino D’acampo’s book)

Makes 400g – Serves 4-5

300g pasta flour (tipo 00)
3 medium eggs – i used large eggs and they were fine)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Sauce

6 rashers of bacon
2 leeks, sliced thinly
400-500ml cream

Directions

Pasta

I did this in my Kitchenaid, but you can also do this by hand.

Combine the flour, eggs, salt and extra virgin olive oil and work into a crumbly dough. Gather the crumbs together and knead till you have a soft dough.

Keep kneading for around 8 minutes or till the dough is not longer sticky sticky.

Form the dough into a ball, wrap with cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for around 20 minutes.

First, i halved the dough and flattened it slightly into an oval shape. Then i put it through the pasta machine starting at 1 and slowly your way up to no. 3, when you are there, you will realise that the pasta might be a little long to work with, so i halved it again. Remember to continously dusting the pasta with flour to prevent sticking. (I used plain flour since it’s much cheaper than pasta flour and it was absolutely fine)

Keep going through the pasta machine until you reach no. 5 which i feel is the perfect thickness and length. It should be thin enough to see your fingers through it.

 
Then put it through the cutter, i used the fettuccine cutter. Remember to keep dusting with flour and you will realize that some of the strands stick together, so just peel them apart first before hanging to dry.

I don’t have a pasta hanger, so i just cleaned a chair and hanged it on the back of the chair. Gino says to use the pasta within an hour.

 
So while hanging, i chopped up the leeks and bacon. i fried the bacon first to get it crispy and flavourful. Then added in the leeks to cook till they have caramelized and very soft. Add in the cream.

While waiting for the leeks to caramelize, cook the pasta in a pot of salted boiling water for around 2-3 minutes. Always try your pasta to be sure.

Add the pasta together with some of the pasta water into the creamy mixture.

Stir to combine. Adjust seasoning. Serve immediately.

I am so happy. Fresh pasta really tastes very satisfying and delicious. It is definitely worth the work. Not that difficult actually, it just takes some learning and time to work the machine but once you get the hang of it, it is really easy.

Try it! :)