Nick does very little in the kitchen, as I have written before, but one thing that he does contribute is homemade pasta.
It only happens about once a year, because it takes quite a while and..... well, pasta is cheap! But it is soooo yummy when it does.
Nick mixes all the ingredients by hand........then rolls the dough through the pasta machine to get it nice and thin........then he runs it through the machine again to cut the pasta into fettuccine noodles
We have used a couple of different recipes and each one has been great. Here is the one we used this time.
Pasta Dough
4 eggs
3 c flour
water if necessary
Pour the flour into a large bowl and make an indentation in the center.
Break the eggs into the center of the flour and with a fork, slowly combine the flour and eggs until well blended.
If the dough is too wet, add more flour. If the dough is too dry add water slowly. (Dough should be easy to handle, not sticky but pliable)
Flour your working surface and knead dough with your hands until uniform color and consistency. Form a ball with the dough and wrap in a damp towel to rest for a few minutes.
Cut the dough into slices and working with one slice at a time run through pasta machine.
I have never tried it without, but if you don't have a pasta machine you could just roll out the dough with a rolling pin (roll it really thin) and cut the noodles yourself.
I can't post the pasta recipe without also sharing the only tomato sauce I ever make anymore.
It comes from Everyday Pasta by Giada De Laurentiis. Nick gave this cookbook to me as a gift a few years ago. I use this sauce for everything that requires a red sauce so when I make it I always double the recipe and freeze the leftovers. It is perfect.
Basic Marinara Sauce
1/2 c extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 celery stalks finely chopped
2 carrots peeled and finely chopped
1/2 t sea salt, plus more to taste
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 (28oz) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
In a large pot, heat oil over med-high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add celery, carrots, salt and pepper. Saute until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer, uncovered, over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove bay leaves and season with salt and pepper if needed.
* I like my sauce to be less chunky so I blend it in my blender after it is finished cooking (and cooled a little). Also in the summer I like to use homegrown tomatoes instead of the canned.
Try it, you'll be glad you did!
