Homemade Pasta Alfredo
Homemade pasta topped with cheesy homemade alfredo sauce
Ingredients
For the pasta:
- 2 cups AP flour plus more for dusting
- 2 large whole eggs
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp kosher salt plus more for salting the water
For the sauce:
- 5 oz grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus more for serving
- salt and pepper
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- fresh chives or parsley optional, for serving
Instructions
To make the pasta:
- On a large, clean work surface, pour flour in a mound. Make a well in the center. Pour whole eggs, egg yolks, and salt into well and, using a fork, beat thoroughly. When combined, gradually incorporate flour into the eggs until a wet, sticky dough has formed.
- Using a bench scraper, scrape excess dough from fork and fingers. Begin to fold additional flour into the dough with the bench knife, turning the dough roughly 45 degrees each time, until dough feels firm and dry, and can form a ball, 2 to 5 minutes.
- Knead the ball until dough develops a smooth, elastic texture, adjusting the liquid if needed. Wrap ball of dough tightly in plastic wrap and rest on countertop for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place a sheet of parchment on a baking sheet and and dust lightly with flour. Unwrap rested dough and cut into quarters. Set one quarter on work surface and re-wrap remaining dough. With a rolling pin, flatten the quarter of dough into an oblong shape about 1/2 inch thick.
- Set pasta maker to widest setting and pass dough once or twice. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface. Fold both ends in so that they meet at the center of the dough, and then fold the dough in half where the end points meet, trying not to incorporate too much air into the folds. Using rolling pin, flatten dough to 1/2-inch thick. Pass through the roller another couple of times.
- Narrow the setting by 1 notch and repeat the last step. Continue passing the dough through the rollers, reducing the thickness by 1 setting each time until it reaches the desired thickness. It should now be very delicate and almost see through.
- Place rolled dough onto a work surface lightly dusted with flour, folding the dough over. Sprinkle with flour between folds to prevent sticking. Fold a few times, then use a chefs knife to slice into your desired thickness. Shake the pasta ribbons loose and toss with flour. Shape into a nest and place on flour lined baking sheet, then continue with the rest of the dough.
For the sauce:
- Combine cheese, heavy cream, egg, cornstarch, olive oil, and lemon zest (if using) in a large bowl. Season lightly with salt and heavily with black pepper and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, until cooked but still very firm (not quite al dente), about 45 seconds for fresh pasta or 1-2 minutes less than package directions indicate for dried pasta. Drain pasta into a colander set over a large bowl. Transfer 2 cups of cooking water to a liquid measuring cup and discard the rest. Transfer pasta to the now-empty bowl. Add garlic and butter and toss to coat.
- Whisking constantly, slowly add 1 1/2 cups of pasta cooking water to bowl with cheese mixture. Transfer cheese mixture to the now-empty pasta cooking pot, scraping the bottom to make sure you get everything. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Season sauce to taste with more salt and pepper as desired. Transfer pasta to sauce mixture and turn to coat. Just before serving, stir in more pasta water to thin sauce out as necessary. Serve immediately or it will stick together. Top with herbs if using and more cheese.
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