Best Fresh Pasta Rectangles Recipes

ITALIAN SAUSAGE, SPINACH, AND RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and saute the onion until fragrant and translucent. Add the Italian sausage meat, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon and brown it until no longer pink, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain the excess fat from the sausage meat, and set aside to cool. In a large mixing bowl stir together the drained and squeeze-dried spinach, ricotta, 1 1/2 cups Parmesan, eggs, cooled Italian sausage and onion mixture, salt, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Place the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the fresh pasta rectangles for 1 minute and remove with a slotted spatula. Set aside. In a 9 by 13-inch baking dish, spread 2 cups tomato sauce. Working with 1 pasta rectangle at a time, spread 6 tablespoons filling along one edge and roll the pasta sheet up tightly, leaving the ends open. Repeat until you have 8 cannelloni. Arrange the prepared cannelloni, seam-side down, in a single layer in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining 2 cups tomato sauce evenly over the cannelloni. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup grated Parmesan over top. Bake the cannelloni for 20 minutes and let it stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve the cannelloni with extra tomato sauce from the baking dish and garnish with fresh basil.
• To make fresh pasta dough: Mound the flour on a clean work surface. Hollow out the center making a well in the middle of the flour with steep sides. Break the eggs into the well. Add the salt, and olive oil to the hollow center and gently mix together with a fork. Gradually start incorporating the flour by pulling in the flour from the sides of the well. As you incorporate more of the flour, the dough will start to take shape. With your hands or a bench scraper continue working the dough until it comes together. If the dough is too dry, add a little water; if too wet or sticky, add a little flour. Begin kneading the dough and keep kneading until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. At this point, set the dough aside, cover it with plastic, and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. You can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, but allow it to return to room temperature before rolling it out. Divide the pasta dough into 4 even sections. Keep each section covered with plastic wrap or a clean towel while you work with each one. Flour the dough, the rollers of a pasta roller (or your rolling pin), your hands, and the work surface. If using a pasta machine: Flatten 1 of the of the dough pieces between your hands or with a floured rolling pin until it forms a thick oval disk. Dust the disk, the roller, and your hands with additional flour. Flour a baking sheet to hold the rolled out finished pasta. With the roller on the widest setting, pass the pasta through the machine's rollers a few times until it is smooth. Fold the dough over into 1/3, and continue to pass through a few more times until the pasta is smooth again. Begin adjusting the pasta machine settings to become thinner, passing the dough through a few times at each setting. If rolling the pasta by hand: Flatten a dough piece into a thick oval disk with your hands. Flour a baking sheet for the rolled out finished pasta. Place the oval dough disk on a floured work surface, and sprinkle with additional flour. Begin rolling out the dough with a floured rolling pin working from the center of the dough outwards, constantly moving the dough and lifting it to make sure it's not sticking.
• To make Simple Tomato Sauce: In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and garlic and cook until soft and golden brown. Add the basil and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juices and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. With a potato masher, break up the tomatoes to achieve a sauce-like consistency. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve. Cook's Note: Tomato sauce will last 1 week in the refrigerator and up to 6 months in the freezer.

FRESH PASTA SHEETS

Steps:

• To make dough in a processor:
• Blend flour, eggs, salt, and 2 tablespoons water in a food processor until mixture just begins to form a ball, adding more water, drop by drop, if dough is too dry (dough should be firm and not sticky). Process dough for 15 seconds more to knead it. Transfer to a floured surface and let stand, covered with an inverted bowl, 1 hour to let the gluten relax and make rolling easier.
• To make dough by hand:
• Mound flour on a work surface, preferably wooden, and make a well in center. Add eggs, salt, and 2 tablespoons water to well. With a fork, gently beat eggs and water until combined. Gradually stir in enough flour to form a paste, pulling in flour closest to egg mixture and being careful not to make an opening in outer wall of well. Knead remaining flour into mixture with your hands to form a dough, adding more water drop by drop if dough is too dry (dough should be firm and not sticky). Knead dough until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Cover with an inverted bowl and let stand 1 hour to let the gluten relax and make rolling easier.
• Roll pasta:
• Divide dough into 8 pieces, then flatten each piece into a rough rectangle and cover rectangles with an inverted large bowl. Set rollers of pasta machine on widest setting.
• Lightly dust 1 rectangle with flour and feed through rollers. (Keep remaining rectangles under bowl.) Fold rectangle in half and feed it, folded end first, through rollers 7 or 8 more times, folding it in half each time and feeding folded end through. Dust with flour if necessary to prevent sticking. Turn dial to next (narrower) setting and feed dough through rollers without folding. Continue to feed dough through rollers once at each setting, without folding, until you reach narrowest setting. Dough will be a smooth sheet (about 36 inches long and 4 inches wide). Cut sheet crosswise in half. Lay sheets of dough on lightly floured baking sheets to dry until leathery but still pliable, about 15 minutes. (Alternatively, lightly dust pasta sheets with flour and hang over the backs of straight-backed chairs to dry.) Roll out remaining pieces of dough in same manner.

FRESH PASTA

Steps:

• Beat together the eggs, yolk and olive oil with a fork in a large spouted measuring cup.
• Combine the flour and a large pinch of kosher salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly to combine. With the food processor motor running, gradually pour the egg mixture through the feed tube and let it run until the dough forms a ball around the blade. (If the dough is too sticky to form a ball, add a tablespoon or so of flour and process again. If it is too crumbly to form a ball, add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and process again.) Once the dough forms a ball, process until smooth and springy, 20 to 30 seconds.
• Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead several times, until the dough comes together in a smooth ball.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. (The dough can be made 1 day ahead, wrapped and refrigerated. Let it come to room temperature before rolling.)
• Anchor a pasta machine to your countertop or secure the pasta attachment to a stand mixer. Set the machine to the widest setting. Unwrap the dough and cut it into 4 equal pieces. Wrap 3 of the pieces while you work with the fourth.
• Flatten the dough into a rectangle and lightly dust with flour. Roll it through the pasta machine at the widest setting. Fold the dough in thirds like a letter and feed it through the pasta machine. Repeat the folding and feeding of the dough through the machine 2 more times. (Rolling and folding in this manner will help strengthen and smooth the dough.)
• Set the pasta machine to the next setting (one setting thinner than the widest). Flour the dough as necessary and feed it through the machine. Repeat, feeding it through one more time.
• Adjust the machine to the next thinnest setting and feed the dough through 2 times as above. Continue changing the setting and feeding the dough through 2 times for each setting until you have fed the dough through the second-to-last setting. The dough should be thin enough so that you can see your hand through it.
• If you are cutting your pasta into noodles: Stop rolling the dough through after you have gone through the second-to-last setting.
• If you are making filled pasta, like ravioli: Change the machine to the final setting and feed the dough through.
• Cut the dough in half crosswise and cover it with plastic wrap. Repeat the folding, rolling and cutting process with the 3 remaining pieces of dough. Cover each piece of dough as you finish. You should have 8 pieces of dough total.
• If you are cutting your pasta into noodles: Affix the cutting attachment to the pasta machine. Choose the desired setting and feed the dough through. Lightly toss the noodles with a little flour on a baking sheet to prevent sticking and cover with a dry kitchen towel while you process the rest of the dough. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, 3 to 4 minutes.
• If you are making filled pasta: Proceed according to your recipe's instructions.

FRESH PASTA SQUARES

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Blend all ingredients in a food processor until mixture just begins to form a ball. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface, incorporating only as much additional flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, 6 to 8 minutes. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let stand 1 hour.
• Roll out dough:
• Set smooth rollers of pasta machine at widest setting. Cut dough into 4 pieces and keep 3 pieces covered. Flatten unwrapped piece of dough into a rectangle and feed through rollers. Fold rectangle in half and feed through rollers 8 more times, folding in half each time and dusting with flour as necessary to prevent sticking.
• Turn dial to next (narrower) setting and feed dough through without folding. Continue to feed dough through without folding, making space between rollers narrower each time, until narrowest setting is used. Cut rolled-out dough into 31/2-inch squares. Gather trimmings into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Transfer squares to a wax-paper-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Roll out and cut remaining dough in same manner, then repeat with trimmings.