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Homemade Duck Egg Pasta Dough

Duck egg pasta takes advantage of the different fat and protein structures in duck eggs to produce a richer, silkier and tastier pasta.

The process is the same for making all egg pasta recipes, so you can use the ratios here to make perfect chicken egg pasta too.

Homemade duck egg pasta being cut into tagliatelle in a pasta machine.

Homemade Pasta Dough

I think a good homemade pasta recipe is something that is often overlooked and is a real joy.

Naturally, I don’t advocate making it every time you eat pasta!

But when you want to make a homemade ravioli or even better a proper lasagna bolognese then it is worth the effort.

And if you are going to make the effort to make pasta then using great eggs is a must.

Weight for weight duck eggs contain more fat, protein and carbs than chicken eggs. Most importantly they have a lower water content.

This leads to a richer, silkier and altogether tastier pasta.

Whilst best used fresh this pasta can be dried and will last well for 2-3 days.

Close-up homemade duck egg pasta being cut into tagliatelle in a pasta machine.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Type 00 Flour & is it Important?

“00” flour is a finely milled “plain” flour, it makes wonderfully smooth and silky pasta. In my option and that of many others, it is well worth the additional “expense”.

Can I use this method with chicken eggs?

Yes, I use the same ratio of 1.75 to sort out the amount of flour needed for chicken egg pasta too.

Generally speaking, pasta recipes call for 100g of pasta for each large egg.

I use a set of scales because I started making my own pasta when we had ducks and chickens, and those eggs would come out in all sorts of sizes!

Do I have to use a pasta machine?

No, pasta has been made for centuries with nothing more than a rolling pin… having said that I would personally not entertain making pasta without a rolling machine.

Portrait image of pasta served with a ragu bolognese meat sauce served in a white bowl with basil and grated Parmesan cheese

Serving Suggestions

Oh gosh, it’s pasta and homemade duck egg pasta does a grand job whenever you would use fresh pasta.

Most pasta machines will come with a cutter that will make tagliatelle or fettuccini. This is perfect for ragu alla bolognese or my rather glorious cod pesto pasta.

It is also really easy to cut by hand into one of my favourite pasta strips, pappardelle which I serve with heavy ragu sauces like my braised lamb ragu.

Sheets of homemade pasta make a superb classic lasagna bolognese.

Then of course you have filled pasta like my crab ravioli (picture below), and if you are up to it, homemade tortellini.

Finally, how about some cannelloni? I have everything from beef cannelloni, goat cheese and spinach cannelloni and even a cauliflower cannelloni.

Overhead crab and ricotta ravioli with a saffron and dill butter sauce.

Equipment Used

I only name-check brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

  • Cling film.
  • Pasta machine, you can roll pasta with a rolling pin too. My pasta machine is made by Imperia.
A duck egg being dropped into flour to with a pasta machine in the background.
Yield: 4 Servings

Homemade Duck Egg Pasta Recipe

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Duck eggs really do make the most incredible pasta, the larger, richer and fattier yolk really does make a marked difference!

Ingredients

  • 2 Duck Eggs
  • 250 g "00" Flour or 1.75 times the weight of the eggs without the shell

Instructions

  1. Crack the eggs into a bowl and weigh them
  2. Add 1.75 times the weight of the eggs in plain flour and mix together.
  3. Tip out onto a work surface and knead until the pasta dough becomes smooth and silky.
  4. There is no secret to this just get stuck in bash, turn, twist and repeat, it should take between 8 & 15 minutes. You should really be getting a sweat on doing this and if you ain't then you ain't doing it properly.
  5. Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for an hour
  6. Clamp your pasta machine to a sturdy surface, and set it to it's widest setting
  7. Flour the work surface and cut off approximately 100g of pasta returning the rest to the fridge.
  8. Press the pasta into a rough rectangle shape and roll it through the pasta machine.
  9. Fold the pasta in on itself, in thirds.
  10. Pass through the pasta machine again.
  11. Set the pasta machine to the next smallest setting and repeat processes 9 & 10.
  12. Then continue passing the pasta through the machine on the next smallest setting until your pasta reaches your desired thickness.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 467Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 557mgSodium: 114mgCarbohydrates: 69gFiber: 3gSugar: 1gProtein: 20g

Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.

Did you make this recipe?

If you made this recipe, I'd love to see what you did and what I can do better, share a picture with me on Instagram and tag me @krumplibrian and tell me how it went!

Diane

Friday 21st of August 2015

Homemade noodles are on my list to make. I never have but this fall I really want to get a noodle making gadget and give it a try! Yours looks yummy! Do you have a favorite noodle machine?

Brian Jones

Friday 21st of August 2015

I am in the market at the moment for a new pasta machine Diane, I am using the first one we bought 7 years ago and it is not a well known name and came from a local market, it has done well but the wee thing needs retiring... But as we have our own chickens and ducks I could do with something a little larger and substantial, at the moment I am eyeing one by a company called Imperia but need to find one that can be shipped to Hungary. However they are all pretty similar, the best things to look for are a solid connection between the handle and the rollers and make sure that the mechanism that opens and closes the rollers sounds and feels well engineered, apart from that I personally don't think there is much else to choose between them.

Maggie

Monday 8th of June 2015

Hi Brian, it's great to find your blog. I found your adventure in Hungary really amazing and I love to browse through your photos. Using duck egg in fresh pasta sounds so delicious! I'm a big fun of duck egg, because of its rich flavor. I'd definitely want to try this out :)

Brian Jones

Tuesday 9th of June 2015

Thanks Maggie, glad you like the site... We originally got ducks for meat but now have become much more enamored with their eggs, they are so luxurious and our wee brood of 7 gives us a reasonably number to do all sorts with :) I sometimes increase the yolk content and stick to the same 3:2 ratio to make it even more naughty :D

Jo

Tuesday 2nd of June 2015

Oh I love these photos Brian! Look at those eggs nuzzled up in the flour and the shot of the dough in the pasta maker - swoon! You do make me laugh at the thought of your pasta maiden drying in your Hungarian village ;)

Brian Jones

Thursday 4th of June 2015

Thanks Jo, they were fun to take, breaking out the fearless stunt wifey again, although dropping eggs is definitely less risky than setting fire to stuff ;)

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