Homemade Pasta

Well it was finally lazy weekend for us here in DC.  The last 3 months have been filled with travel, visitors, and commitments.  This weekend Nick and I finally had some time to spend together without anything to do... except chores, errands, etc.  But still, it was nice.  Last night we decided to make dinner together and do a double feature from Redbox.  Not wanting anything too fancy or complicated we opted for some homemade pasta.  The process is quick and it is something that is easy for two people to make together while sharing a bottle of wine.

I love dinners that we can make together.  Standing the kitchen cooking together, chatting, listening to music, and drinking wine is one of my favorite date nights.  Nick is the perfect person to make dinner with in the kitchen.  He is willing to help with anything and able to adapt to rapidly changing conditions (is that garlic on fire?!).  Whether it's chopping the onions or waving an oven mitt in front of the screeching fire detector he is always there to help.  Even if his job is laying the pasta out on the drying rack (don't worry - I cleaned it afterward!) he acts like it's fun.... though he did remind me how little work boxed pasta is quite a few times... ;)

Last Christmas I got a pasta roller attachment for my kitchen aid mixer (like this one: Pasta Roller Attachment).  I absolutely love it.  While you can use a rolling pin to roll the pasta out this just makes the process so much faster and easier - no Kitchen Aid? No Problem... we made pasta growing up every Christmas and used a hand crank pasta roller and it worked fantastically (like this one: Hand Crank Pasta Roller).  I didn't get the cutter that goes with it so we have to cut it on our own.  To make things a little easier this time I lightly floured the fresh sheet of pasta and folded it over itself then used a pastry cutter (or pizza cutter) to make thin  strips.  Were they perfectly even... heck no... were they perfectly delicious... oh yes!

While it is more work than just opening up a box of Barilla even Nick admitted it was worth all the effort.  The taste and texture of homemade pasta just doesn't compare to anything from the store.  And all in all (as long as you don't mess up the first batch of dough... ooops!) it really only takes about 30 minutes start to finish.  As long as you have a good bottle of wine, nice music, and a chatty sous chef the time flies by in a heartbeat.

So if you have a night this winter where there isn't much to do but eat dinner and watch a movie try out this recipe and see what you think.  Though be warned... you may never want to go back to the boxed stuff ;)

Homemade Pasta Recipe

Ingredients

yields 2-3 servings of pasta

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3 eggs

1 T. olive oil

1/2 t. salt

Directions

1) Place the flour on the counter and form a small well in the middle.  Crack the eggs and pour the olive oil into the well.  Using a fork combine the ingredients.  When the dough has come together knead it until smooth (about 5 minutes).

2) Allow the dough to rest on the counter for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile prepare your pasta roller (or do some stretches so you're ready to use the rolling pin!) and put a large pot of water with 1 t. salt on the burner to boil.  Cut the dough into 4 batches and roll out into thin sheets and if you have cutter cut the dough.  Otherwise lightly dust the sheet with flour, fold it over itself and cut into long strips.  Place the strips flat to dry or hang the from a rack. 

3) Place the fresh noodles in the boiling water and cook 1-2 minutes or until the texture is to your liking.  Drain and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley.

Looking for something tasty to do with the pasta?  Check out some other recipes of mine that use pasta!

Shrimp Fra Diavolo