Making Homemade Pasta

I've always wanted to make homemade pasta. Any kind. My mother-in-law made homemade noodles. My sister-in-law makes homemade noodles. Our oldest son learned to make homemade noodles from my sister-in-law Eileen, and he makes pretty darn good ones. For Christmas one year, she and I each gave him a pasta roller machine (great minds think alike!), and I got myself the pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer. That was over 5 years ago, and my attachment has been sitting on a shelf ever since. I'd let everyone else make the pasta, and I just enjoyed it.

Yesterday I decided the box had collected enough dust, so I dusted it off and tried my hand at making homemade spaghetti. Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I didn't realize that these probably aren't the noodles to try on your first attempt at pasta making :) But Kevin jumped in to help in the end, and all in all, it turned out edible. Travis, our youngest son, said it was actually pretty good, so I must have done something right!

I used Bob's Red Mill basic pasta recipe using semolina flour. Really is an easy recipe to make, in my opinion anyway.

BOB'S BASIC PASTA RECIPE

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water
2 eggs, or 3 egg whites, beaten
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1-1/2 cups semolina pasta flour

Directions

Combine semolina and salt, add beaten eggs (or egg whites), water and oil. Mix to make a stiff dough. Knead 10 minutes or until dough is elastic. Wrap dough in towel or place in plastic bag and let rest for 20 minutes. On a lightly floured surface roll out to desired thickness and cut as desired.


To top of the homemade pasta, the sauce was definitely a shoot-from-the-hip recipe using what was hand in the cupboard plus some fresh spinach and herbs from the garden. I think it turned out yummy, and I'll be making it again soon. While I'm listing a recipe for this sauce, please know that I generally cook as my grandmothers did: Add this and that, taste, and adjust until it is how you like it. Measurements and amounts really are approximate, as I didn't measure anything exactly. Use your tastebuds and adjust the sauce to your liking...and if you make adjustments or additions, let me know what you did and how it turned out :)

Creamy Tomato Sauce For Pasta

1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 quart home-canned tomatoes (drained of liquid)
1/8 cup dry red wine
1 small can mushrooms, chopped
Chopped fresh baby spinach, approximately 1/2 cup
Fresh basil, chopped, approximately 3 tablespoons
Fresh oregano, approximately 2 tablespoons
Fresh thyme, approximately 1 tablespoon
Heavy cream, approximately 1/4 cup
Parmesan cheese, approximately 1/4 cup
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add in tomatoes, red wine, and mushrooms. Lower heat and let sauce reduce while you work on the pasta, stirring occasionally.

When you start cooking your fresh pasta, add in the chopped spinach and fresh herbs. Add salt and pepper, adjusting to taste. When spinach and herbs have nicely wilted, add in cream and Parmesan cheese. Continue to simmer to keep warm, but don't let sauce boil. Be sure to taste and adjust any seasonings if needed. Serve hot over fresh pasta.


Overall the meal was tasty. There are some things I will do differently the next time I make homemade pasta, like make really big noodles or ravoli so that I don't have to mess with tiny spaghetti noodles (at least until I get the hang of it!), but it was fun, and I'll definitely do this again.