Turkish Egg Noodles - Erişte Pasta

5 from 1 vote

Making Erişte (Kesme) Pasta, or Turkish Egg Noodles, is all about simplicity, tradition, and creating something versatile and satisfying.

Prep Time4

Cook Time25

Drying time2

Total Time2 4 25

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Turkish

Diet: Halal, Vegetarian

Servings: portions

Calories: 230kcal

Combine your flour, eggs, salt, milk, and water in a large mixing bowl.
Work the dough until it’s smooth and elastic, which might take about 10–15 minutes of kneading.
Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and shape them into balls. Cover with a dump cloth and let them rest for 15-20 minutes.
Roll the dough into thin sheets on a generously floured surface. Aim for a thickness of about 1-2 millimetres (about 1/16 inch), very thin but sturdy.
Transfer the rolled out pastries on clean sheets and let them dry for a couple of hours before cutting into thin strips.

Mix together 2 cups of semolina with 2 cups of plain flour.
Sprinkle your worktop with generous amount of semolina mixture and layer a piece of rolled out sheet. Sprinkle on some more semolina mixture and layer another sheet on top. You will have 2 rolled out pastry sheets on top of each other and a generous amount of flour in between.
Cut the pastries in halves, which will give you 4 layers of pastries. Make sure between the layers are generously sprinkled with flour before proceeding to cut them into strips.
First, cut the dough into 1.5" (3-4 cm) wide strips. And then stack a few strips together and cut them into matchstick size strips.
Separate the ones that are stick together and lay them out on clean cloths or trays.
Let them dry completely in a cool, airy space before transferring to an airtight container. This might take 2 to 3 days, depending on the weather.

Boil eriste in lightly salted water for 20-25 minutes until they are softened, then drain.
In a large pan, melt the butter, season with salt, pepper, and chili, and toss in the cooked noodles.
Sprinkle on the cheese and crushed walnuts on top and serve warm.

Make sure to knead the dough for eriste until it’s smooth and elastic, which might take 10-12 minutes!
Separate the noodles right after cutting them if there are any stuck ones. It will be impossible to separate them when they are dry.
Let them dry completely in a cool, airy space before storing them in a glass jar or airtight container.
Thicker noodles take longer to cook but have a chewier bite, while thinner noodles cook quickly and soak up sauces more easily.
Some people like to toast erişte in a bit of butter before boiling. This gives the noodles a nutty flavor and golden color.
Turkish cooking loves butter for a reason—it adds richness that makes erişte shine.
When cooking and seasoning eriste, add salt with caution as the dough already contains some salt!