EASY HOMEMADE PASTA WITH NO EGGS

In order to celebrate the end of 2012 in simplicity , we are going to prepare something homemade and very Italian: the homemade pasta with flour of durum wheat (semolina), which is the simple pasta without eggs , the one we  commonly eat, but in dry form. 

If you have always believed that making pasta at home was a difficult thing, only for great cooks, today you will see that it is not, as making your own pasta, it can be very simple and even fun, not to mention the ultimate satisfaction. 

Now I will describe step by step  how to make a basic dough using only our hands, tap water and good flour made ​​from durum wheat semolina.

First, the dosage of the ingredients: 
Calculate 100 g of flour and 50 g of water per person.  

And the procedure:
Pour the flour on the work surface. Ideally, the pastry wood with high sides, available in stores or well-stocked home, for those who have skills in carpentry, to be built at home. 
Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in cold water, a bit 'at a time so that the flour absorbs the gradually. Do not pour the water all at once because you would get a pap which will be impossible to work with. 
Knead for ten minutes with some force until you get a nice hard stick like the one pictured below. Try to work the dough stretch it on the floor and then folding it in the book, again stretching and folding. 

Once you have the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and leave it on the floor to rest for half an hour.  

MY HANDMADE CAVATELLI
With this simple dough we decided to prepare the cavatelli and serve for the dinner of last year eve, with a simple sauce and a sprinkling of ricotta cheese.  
To give the shape we just used our fingers.  

First you make the sausages half an inch wide, then cut the with a sharp knife to a length more than an inch in order to obtain the cubes.

At this point, using the index finger, press on the lump of dough and drag your finger back toward yourself so that the dough is rolling slightly.  
The movement is simple but it takes a little of practice before having a perfect cavatello. Do not worry about the form, the important thing is that all the cavatelli are the same size in order to obtain a uniform cooking.

Note that these are cavatelli a finger, if you want them longer, you make chunks of two centimeters instead of one, and use two fingers, index and middle fingers. You can get them up to four fingers, using index and middle fingers of both hands so that the two indices are touching. The four-finger cavatelli, according to my father who has childhood memories, are excellent for preparing first courses of vegetables, such as turnip greens, chicory, broccoli and more. 

As you form your cavatelli, move them to a corner of the work you've dusted with semolina flour, so the dough does not stick. 

Once ready, the dough should be done dry air for at least a couple of hours but if you can, leave even one night, the ' important is that the place is dry. To avoid that take dust, recline above the sheets of kitchen paper. 

Bake in salted water for a time that depends on the size of the dough. When it starts to unravel, I suggest you check the consistency and taste. 

Cavatelli with these cute homemade kitchen Green greets you and wishes you a great 2013.  
And so much happiness!