A few months ago, when Hostess was having problems with her attempts at homemade pasta, I commented that my husband, who’s been making it for decades, claimed it simple to make although I’ve never tried it myself. Since then, I’ve intended to post his recipe, but kept missing the chance to photograph him in action.
Meanwhile, Hostess got help from another blogger and turned out batch after batch in her food processor. Still, I thought you might like to see my guy’s charming performance as an Italian nonna.
As you can see, he first creates a well of flour (about 3 cups, with about 1 teaspoon of salt and any other seasoning you want to incorporate), and cracks in first 1, then 2, 3, and 4 eggs.. . .
and beats them into a
frothy yellow mix, at which point he begins pulling in flour from the ring
gradually moving outward, drawing more and more flour into the thickening dough
until bit by bit
it turns into
a workable dough that can be formed
into balls. . . At which point, he assures me that it’s very important to sip a glass of red . . .
before returning to work . . .
He pats the dough into rounds
and then rolls them flatter
and longer
at which point
he feeds them into the pasta machine
and cranks out
lovely long ribbons
which he then drops into a pot of boiling water
watching it rise to the surface, cooking much more quickly than dried pasta . . .
Tossed with a sauce (Italian sausages, peppers, tomatoes) topped with a generous grating of Parmigiano Reggiano, served up with sides of chard and roast squash
Mmmmm, perfect fuel for the First Half Marathon I’m running tomorrow with two of my sisters. Sadly, though, this was last weekend’s meal, and tonight I’m settling for sushi. But looking forward to the run and, especially, to time with my sisters, including our traditional post-race crepes. Meanwhile, though, think about clearing a space on your countertop and playing with flour and eggs, Italian nonna style . . .
Hm, food for thought indeed – I might just give this a try! Thanks for the play-by-play!
The fresh tastes so good . . .
He looks so calm and proficient! (I've ended up with bits of dough in my ears.) And what a mouthwatering meal. Good luck on your run!
And that dough turns to concrete quickly! Yikes!
You've reminded me how much fun making pasta can be. Have a fun run with your sisters.
He does make it look like fun — we sometimes make it for guests and it's a good entertainment feature along with our first glasses of wine.
I have no pasta machine, but I am determined to make this anyway – I'll figure something out. Your post is very encouraging – thank you!
If you were able to roll very thin without sticking . . .
It looks delicious. At a guess I will never get to experience this unless someone comes and does this for me…
I'm told it's quite simple — never done it myself . . .
Oh, it looks so yummy!! Making me hungry…
It's very yummy indeed!
Yum he does make it look easy!
I am so happy making pasta from scratch now that I have the Kitchen Aid attachment for pasta. Plys Adrienne at La Vie Quotidienne sent me a food processor recipe which is easy and quick.
Pater has the right idea about that red wine too!
Doesn't it taste so much better?!
Looks delicious, and he does make it look so easy! My pasta machine has been languishing in my cupboards, maybe I'll have to give it another go. (And I agree, a glass of wine improves almost any recipe.)
Actually, watching him carefully as I did for this "photo-shoot" I even thought I should probably try it myself. . . after all, I've been watching for some 35 years!
Mmm. He does seem to have an authentic Italian knack – although how would I really know? The finished product looks delicious and that's what's most important.
It's always so much better than the dried; glad I have my own Italian chef!
Lucky you to have such an expert! Just curious, does your husband thin out the dough by hand or in the machine? Hmmm, I may have to make pasta for dinner now!
Sorry, Diane, I should have made that step clearer — yes! the long thin oblongs pre-slicing are made by rolling them through the machine.
A glass of red wine is the chef's prerogative! Good luck with the half-marathon – I ran one once, in my younger days before my back gave in. Oh and I've posted a picture of you in a Catharine Malandrino dress on my blog, it's absolutely lovely but you're wearing a cardigan over it so I sincerely hope it has sleeves! If not, sssh don't tell anyone…
Yes, I think everything takes better if the chef's enjoying red wine!
The Half went well, thanks — it's my 7th, so I know by now I'm sure to complete, at least. Still, every single one is hard work.
And you're right that the Malandrino dress has sleeves — 3/4 actually. . .
He makes it look so easy. Just once I attempted to make noodles from scratch and had them hanging to dry EVERYWHERE in my kitchen.
So funny — Paul used to hang them as well, on broomsticks slung in doorways, etc. Now we can't really remember why. He makes them at least twice a month, has for years and years and years and never hangs them to dry but plops them right into the pot. Certainly, though, there was a certain entertainment factor to the drying . . . 😉
Loved the photos. This is exactly how I made pasta for many years (including the glass of wine, allowing the chef to rest while the pasta rests. I did however find that I did better with a rolling pin for truly thin sheets for ravioli and sometimes lasagana.
Now that I make gluten-free pasta, I find I need the kitchen aide for the dough. I just can't achieve the right stretch by hand and the dough is much wetter and stickier, a huge mess ensues when worked by hand. However, I mastered it enough that I have served my gluten free pasta to many a guest who never guessed that they weren't eating "normal" pasta.
I've never dried either kind though, just roll and cook, that's my motto.
I'm interested that you used a rolling pin for the ravioli — we've only made it once, as part of a collective family endeavour (bit of a competition, actually), and I can't remember what Paul did.
The gluten-free sounds v. challenging, so kudos to you for mastering it. Lucky guests!