Sunday pasta. What a treat – especially when it’s homemade!
Victor has been making pasta for years – and every batch just seems to be better than the last.
There’s something about homemade pasta that just can’t be compared to the fresh pasta you buy in a grocery store – and it’s fathoms away from dried. The lightness, the silkiness, the flavor – the way it takes up sauce.
It’s pretty awesome stuff.
I love it!
Tonight’s pasta is a tagliatelle made with Victor’s favorite recipe.
Fresh Pasta
- 1 1/4 cups Tipo “00” flour or all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup semolina
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tsp olive oil
Mix and mound the flours on the counter and make a well in the center.
Add the eggs and oil to the center and slowly start incorporating flour into the eggs.
When it becomes cohesive enough to start kneading, begin by pressing the heel of your hand down and pushing the pasta, fold it over itself, and repeat. The process will take about 10 minutes. The dough will become rather stiff, but smooth. The more you do it, the more you will get the feel and the more natural it becomes.
Wrap the dough in plastic and let rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
Take pieces of the dough and roll through a pasta machine or by hand,
and form into your desired shape.
This is half of the recipe. The rest has gone into the freezer for another day…
The sauce was chunks of pancetta, fresh fennel, asparagus, garlic, and fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden. The tomatoes are our San Marzanos from Italy. Unbelievably good.
Part of the beauty of this is its simplicity – just a few good-quality ingredients. The favors all come through and compliment one another rather than something overpowering the dish or cancelling something out. You get to taste everything.
Make some pasta. Roll it out with a rolling pin if you don’t have a machine. Cut it with a knife. The strands don’t all have to be the exact same size.
Dress it with some fresh vegetables. You don’t need a heavy sauce.
You’ll be really happy you did.
Really happy.